Portal meets Bioshock meets Splinter Cell meets Time Crisis
As an old school splinter cell vet, I have a very high standard of stealth action, which this game does not meet. HOWEVER, this game comes VERY close in my opinion. After playing through 2 missions I restarted on the Hard difficulty and it was a much more positive experience. The stealth mechanics are too flawed (line of sight is pretty much the only stealth in the genre) and too shallow for you to have control over the game on the Very Hard setting.
That aside, what really struck me was the incredibly multipath approach to the levels. Do you sneak in through the overhang, knock out the two guards at top, then creep into the mark's room and wait for him to enter? Do you possess a guard, stroll in through the front door, then possess a rat and start using the tunnels to move upward, then blow the target off the roof with wind? Or better yet, do you run in like it's halo with swords (made of metal) and duel the crap out of everyone and paint the walls red with their blood?
This vast array of choice, freedom, and compelling story really give a sense of power over your environment. Shoddy stealth mechanics aside, your ability to do pretty much whatever you want, as crazy or cool as you want, lends this game quite a lot of street cred.
As for the difficulty... Hey, I've been playing games for a loooong time. So with that in mind, I beat the game on hard without EVER being... stretched. I was very rarely out of my comfort zone. After the initial learning curve, I never had trouble.
The graphics I expected to be better at first, but over time I was completely immersed in the pastel Team Fortress-esque art style with completely over the top gore. It really is a beautiful world accompanied by haunting piano melodies with soft violin breathing through ambient electronic pulses. It really is a mood all it's own.
In a world of CoD rehashes, Final Fantasy Three Hundred and Tweny Sevens, and overall mush, Dishonored is a breakthrough IP that deserves your attention if you enjoy intelligent, story driven, puzzle shooters with a lot of craziness.