Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Ambitious"

I was skeptical when I first put Dishonored into my Xbox, but once I got into the gloomy world, I was hooked. The game rewards you for exploring every nook and cranny of the levels, though you do accumulate too much gold (I ran out of stuff to spend it on). Most people won't have that problem though. What impressed me the most of the game was that your actions have effects on the in-game world, and I ended my first playthrough actually regretting how brutal I was, and feeling guilty.

The gameplay is very reminiscent of Bioshock 2, except both powers and weapons are used in your left hand. At first I thought that the powers would be very gimmicky, but I was quickly proved wrong. Each of them fits the gameplay, whether your going stealth or charging into combat, and they are tons of fun to mess around with. The actual steal mechanics are very satisfying, much more so than just trying to shoot everyone. I found that option more difficult, because Corvo is much weaker than someone like Master Chief, so you burn through your health potions very quickly. I also enjoyed that you could go through the game without killing anyone, though I found that it gets repetitive quickly (you only have three options: sleep darts, choke out, or sneak past).

Even with the unique gameplay and rewarding exploration, there are things that Dishonored could do better. The main story is quite good (Get revenge and stop evil people), but the supernatural aspect was very confusing and unnecessary. It brought down an otherwise great story, aside from a few bland characters. I also spent a completely unnecessarily long time looking at loading screens. Even the "open" world, was broken up into small areas. If they made one large world with all of the places and levels in it, the maps would have been even more impressive.

Dishonored was an amazing start to a new franchise, and one of the best games I've played this year. Its not very often that a great new IP comes out, and this one is certainly worth playing.