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Choose your daring escape in latest Dishonored trailer
How will you get away from the bobby-esque policemen who patrol Arkane's Dishonored? As it turns out, you've got a whole bevy of options at the ready, beyond the two weapons in your hands. Take a look at just a few in the latest trailer, above.
Dishonored's dishonorable sneaking looks like devilishly good fun
In between arguments about the current value of whale oil and somehow gaining superpowers, Dishonored's main character finds time to carefully sneak into brothels for murderous acts. Or he simply guns everyone down. Hey, it's your choice.
Dishonored pre-order bonuses continue dishonorable tradition of splitting up content
The marketing team at Bethesda Softworks cooked up a pre-order plan to go along with Dishonored that's perfectly fitting for the game's title, it seems. Like so many pre-order schemes these days, the Dishonored bonuses are varied across several retailers, making it impossible to purchase the game without a sense that you're missing something (well, unless you buy four different copies of the game, all with pre-order bonuses attached).Should you choose to participate in this arcane chicanery, might we suggest not snagging Target's bonus? While GameStop, Best Buy, Amazon, and Walmart each get their own "downloadable upgrade pack" for one of the game's playable characters, Target simply gets a Dishonored "smart phone decal." Not exactly what we'd call the best convincer. Also, the Best Buy one comes with a "Whale Oil USB Lamp," so, ya know, kinda the obvious choice.Take a look at all the options just below the break.%Gallery-156746%
Dishonored screens take a stab at ... well, everything
It looks like Ezio and co. are getting a run for their money in Bethesda's latest, Dishonored. The new slew of screens depict more of the madness we've seen in previous Dishonored media: giant walkers, stabby knives, and ... let's call them "ladies of the night." Take a peek for yourself below.
Dishonored's steamy, Dickensian world as seen from its rooftops
Yesterday's tease from Bethesda depicting a Kurt Cobain-esque character down on his luck was in no way indicative of today's blistering, vengeance-filled Dishonored trailer. Sure, we've seen the game's crazy giant walking machines before, but glimpsing them in action threw us right back to similarly terrifying experiences in and around City 17.Regardless, Arkane Studios' latest for Bethesda Softworks looks to be a thrilling mix of Assassin's Creed-like sneaking, BioShock-like power-based action, and ... uh ... early Industrialization era Neo-Darwinism. Color us intrigued! Take a look for yourself in the lengthy new trailer, just above.
Latest Dishonored screens depict Steam Punk X Dickens crossover
If "Dishonored" doesn't pick up steam as a marketable title, they can always fall back on "Steam Punk X Dickens."
Valve and Arkane's The Crossing 'on hold'
click for gallery of The Crossing Bad news for those of you anticipating Arkane Studios' and Valve's "crossplay" FPS The Crossing (and for those of you with good memories). After the two-year anniversary of the game's debut passed earlier this year, we renewed our attempts to get some information on the innovative shooter. In case you don't remember, The Crossing promised to merge single-player and multiplayer gaming (hence the "crossplay" moniker). Two years ago, the premise seemed impossibly ambitious; now, after the success of Valve's Left 4 Dead (and, specifically, its Versus mode) we're a lot more confident the approach could work. So, what happened to the project? "We ran into an unexpected financial challenge some months ago and we had to put The Crossing on hold," Raphael Colantonio, CEO and creative director of Arkane Studios, told us. "Since then, we shifted our efforts to other very good projects." Two of those projects are reportedly underway at Arkane's Austin studio, an FPS RPG and a "casual strategy game" for the iPhone, under the direction of Deus Ex-alum Harvey Smith.
Rethinking archetypes in Champions Online
When it comes to the subject of game design evolution the lead designer for Champions Online Randy "Arkayne" Mosiondz has some very interesting things to say. He recently posted his thoughts in the newest developer blog over on the Champions Online official website and the results are quite compelling. His write-up starts out as a general discussion on the topic of initial game design and how -- even why -- it always progresses into something different along the march to completion. After a bit of pontificating on that subject, Arkane moves onto how this all ties into Champions Online, which in turn dovetails into the subject of archetypes in Cryptic's game.It all ends up with the revelation that archetypes in Champions Online won't be playing the role they were originally intended for. The reason for the somewhat rug-tugging change comes from the community reaction to how archetypes were originally planned to function. A good developer always communicates with their players, so this is nothing new to Cryptic Studios.
Dark Messiah rises on Marketplace
A new Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Elements video is risen on Xbox Live Marketplace. The video is short and to the point, making sure to emphasize the violent first person combat of the title. There's plenty of slicing, dicing, whacking, and thwacking to be had, and just so you remember that there is both might and magic, a few spells are thrown in for good measure. We imagine most players will get a kick out of telekinetically launching opponents off cliffs. One new tidbit revealed in the trailer: the 360 version of Dark Messiah will have a new multiplayer mode designed by the Splinter Cell team (how will that work? Spies versus orcs?). Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Elements ships September 7.
Metareview - Dark Messiah of Might and Magic
If you're debating whether or not to purchase Ubisoft's Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, the extreme range of reviews for the new RPG-shooter may leave you even more confused. A few things to consider: IGN issued their score without reviewing Dark Messiah's multiplayer, and Game Informer didn't seem to experience any of the technical glitches that marred GameSpot's and GameSpy's sessions. If you haven't done so already, you might want to download the demo, then wait a few weeks and see what other customers are saying. Game Informer (93/100) enjoyed the Arx Fatalis-style atmosphere: "The ancillary aspects of the game – exploring Dark Messiah's fantastic world, enjoying the plotline, and simply basking in the great ambiance that Arkane Studios has created – are savory distractions that never get in the way of the core gameplay." IGN (88/100) loved the combat system: "The mix of brute force, spell casting and blade-work work well together. Combined with the ability to lift boxes, barrels, crates and a host of inanimate objects, you're never short of something to hurl or a clever way of inflicting pain." GameSpot (67/100) did not love the combat system: "All told, the game's single-player has its moments but is often really repetitive. It's certainly not bad, but the story never ropes you in, the combat isn't very satisfying, and you never get the feeling that Sareth is growing more powerful as you play." GameSpy (60/100) had issues with just about everything: "Unfortunately, things like shaky enemy AI, meandering and unintuitive level designs, and a paper-thin plot make the game's brilliant moments seem way too infrequent. The biggest inherent problem with Dark Messiah's multiplayer is that all the cool Source physics elements have been gutted from it." See also: Metareview - Heroes of Might and Magic V
Dark Messiah screen contest announced
Ubisoft's community manager for Dark Messiah of Might and Magic has announced a new promotional contest on the game's forum. The French publisher is soliciting humorous screenshots and pictures that can be taken from the single player demo, multiplayer beta, or by simply playing medieval dress-up with your friends. At stake are 20 Dark Messiah bonus discs, and a t-shirt for the top entry. Not many guidelines are offered, but considering the French have such deep affection for Jerry Lewis, you might want to try reenacting a scene from The Errand Boy while dressed in your best Orc outfit.You only have until October 1, so get snappin' (or grabbin')!
