Dishonored
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Learning how to creep in Dishonored
Creeping up on your enemies and offing them is a crucial part of Arkane's Dishonored. Protip: Don't walk in through the front door.
Dishonored's Harvey Smith on the risk of letting players break your game
There are a lot of choices available to players in Dishonored. At every player's disposal is an impressive array of weapons, gadgets and abilities, each offering a different way to tackle a given situation. Take the simple assassination mission I played at Gamescom, which just so happened to be the same mission we detailed earlier this month at QuakeCon. Tasked with infiltrating a posh party at a lavish mansion, freelancer Britton Peele chose to walk right through the front door. Me, I possessed a fish, swam into the sewers and worked my way into the mansion via the cellar. That's only two of many possible choices.Allowing players that much freedom – the freedom to potentially break the game – must be a nightmare for quality assurance, I tell Arkane Studios' co-creative director Harvey Smith. "It's not just a nightmare for QA," he says, "it's a nightmare for us as well."%Gallery-161677%
Premeditated murder in Dishonored
Dishonored's "creative kills" footage features explosive rat swarms, temporal manipulation, and fun with electrical polarity. This stuff is even crazier than the "daring escapes" we'd seen before.
Dishonored's chaos, morality and potentially over-powered hero
Many elements of Dishonored – from its original setting and art style to the protagonist's arsenal of special powers – have made the game subject to a great deal of attention. But with great power comes a great fear: Will the game lack any sort of challenge? Where is the difficulty in being stealthy if you can teleport behind guards and stop time in order to get away?"It was a hard paradox for us to get right in the game design," co-creative director Raphael Colantonio told Joystiq during QuakeCon 2012, "because we wanted to give you very strong powers, to make you really a badass, but at the same time we didn't want the game to be too easy. So it took awhile to get it right, and some of it is just obvious tuning. Every power has a duration, cost of mana, and some other tunable properties ... So even if your power is incredibly strong, you can mitigate it by saying 'Well, it only lasts three seconds.'"Ricardo Bare, one of the leads behind Dishonored, echoed that sentiment. "We're always in a discussion about where the line is. Should we move it back a little bit toward constraining the player, or should we go ahead and let the player do this? And as much as possible we try to say 'yes' to the player and enable the cool combinations and powers that they put together."
A game of murder in Arkane's Dishonored
What I learned from playing Arkane Studios' anxiously awaited Dishonored is that playing it like a standard action game isn't the best course of action. You may succeed, but you're more likely to fail or stumble disappointingly to the end of a mission – a far cry from those playing with patience and a plan.The QuakeCon 2012 demo I played was from about halfway through Dishonored's campaign, a section taking place during a dinner party murder mystery. You are the murderer, tasked with assassinating a woman named Lady Boyle during a masquerade party taking place at her estate.The catch is that there are three women who go by the name "Lady Boyle," and you're not sure which one is your target. All are masked and wearing different colored dresses. Which Lady Boyle you are sent to kill is randomized every time you play, so unless you plan on killing all three women, you're going to have to do some detective work.%Gallery-161677%
Dishonored's voice cast full of honored Hollywood talent
Bethesda spent a lot of money on the voice cast for Dishonored – like, Susan Sarandon money. Her first video game role will be "Granny Rags," an "intriguing old blind woman now deranged after years of street life." We're sure an actress of Sarandon's caliber will be able to deliver on that "intriguing" character trait.Other talent revealed today includes Brad Dourif, who's appeared in literally every movie and television show ever produced; Carrie Fisher, who plays the voice of ubiquitous government propaganda; John Slattery (aka Roger Sterling from Mad Men) who plays a smarmy rich guy – actually the specific role is "Admiral Havelock," but we're calling it right now; Chloe Grace Moretz as the kidnapped daughter of the Empress; and Lena Headey as her guardian. Michael Madsen, who you probably don't remember from his performance in the first Yakuza game, appears in Dishonored as an assassin.Of all these names, we're most surprised with Fisher, mostly because she's not the Star Wars star we're used to seeing in games.
Preorder Dishonored during QuakeCon, get Arx Fatalis for free
Dishonored is being shown off this weekend at QuakeCon 2012, and if you can't make it down to Texas, here's the next best thing: Load up the gallery below, and flick through the pictures really quickly. All right, that won't work, but at least you'll get to see some brand-new (and creepy) screens from the much-anticipated game.QuakeCon's also brought a pre-order bonus for Arkane Studios' latest - if you pre-purchase the game on Steam between now and the end of QuakeCon on August 5, you'll get access to Arkane's previous first-person RPG, Arx Fatalis, for no extra charge. Just take your time with that one: Dishonored won't be out until October 8.%Gallery-161677%
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.
QuakeCon 2012 to have playable Dishonored, Doom 3 BFG Edition
QuakeCon 2012 kicks off August 2 in Dallas, Texas, and details about its sweet gaming offerings are coming in. First, the Quake Live tournament will see professional and amateur players compete for a share of $30,000 in the Duel Invitational Masters Championship, Capture the Flag Open, Duel Open and Free For All, the last of which will be available to attendees at the Quake Live Free Play booth.Registration for the Quake Live tournament is open now through July 31 on the Quakecon site.The annual keynote address will be handled by id Software co-founder John Carmack. The full panel lineup is set to be announced in a few days, but it will include "Marty Stratton from id Software; Ted Price, President and CEO of Insomniac Games; Chet Faliszek and Tom Leonard from Valve Software; and Geoff Keighley, host of Spike's GameTrailers."Minecraft EDU and PVP will also have a presence at QuakeCon. At Bethesda's own booth, QuakeCon attendees can get their hands on both Dishonored and Doom 3 BFG Edition.
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 PC 'has its own different interface'
Good news for PC players looking forward to Dishonored, as the multiplatform game will have a separate interface on PC. "Our background is very PC for sure," Arkane Studios designer Raphaël Colantonio told PC Gamer. While Dishonored will be gracing consoles, he assured fans that, "yes, the PC has its own different interface."We don't yet know exactly how the interface will differ from its console counterparts, but its mere existence should be a relief to PC players.
Exploring the world of Dishonored with lead designer Ricardo Bare
Last week, Arkane Studios revealed the first gameplay footage of Dishonored, which showcased the game's unique Steampunk style. At its E3 2012 booth, Lead designer Ricardo Bare detailed the world of the October release, detailing the game's narrative and abilities.
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 trailer offers first look at gameplay
The first gameplay trailer for the upcoming Arkane Studios-developed title Dishonored has been revealed, courtesy of GTTV.It's hard to describe all of the condensed action found within the footage, but it's easy to parse one fact: if this is what they've been planning over the years, we can finally forgive Arkane for not following up its criminally underrated Arx Fatalis.Dishonored hits the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on October 9.
Dishonored exacts revenge on October 9
Bethesda's steampunk-ish assassin action game, Dishonored, will make its way to North American and European retailers on October 9 and 12, respectively.We'll find out more about Dishonored – this fall's other assassin game and best summed up as BioShock + Assassin's Creed + Dickens – and get some hands-on time with it at E3 in a few weeks.%Gallery-154130%
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.
QuakeCon 2012 pre-registration opens Wednesday, bonuses announced
Pre-registration for QuakeCon 2012 begins this Wednesday, April 25, with goodies for the early angry birds. General admission is still free, but those looking to lock a seat to bring their own computer or get a "fast pass" for the four-day event will want to plunk down a bit of dough.The three pre-order packages include: the "Swag Pack," which includes the official QuakeCon 2012 shirt (pictured), a Dishonored Tallboy T-shirt and a limited edition poster for $40; the "BYOC Select-a-Seat" is $30, with a limit of 1,500 packages, and includes the QuakeCon 2012 shirt and the ability to select and reserve a seat in the "bring your own computer" (BYOC) room.Finally, "QuakeCon done Quick" is $50, includes the "BYOC Select-a-Seat" package, along with a "fast pass" for BYOC registration and access to every speaker, panel and public event at the show. There is a limit of 350 packages available.QuakeCon 2012 will take place at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas, from August 2 – 5.
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."
Dishonored screens may light your fire, definitely light a guy on fire
Dishonored, the latest game from the crew at Arkane, and the first to be published by its new corporate overlords at Bethesda, still has that new game smell. Take this screenshot above, for example: Did you realize that this "retro-futuristic" world, based on 1666 London and powered by whale oil, had leggy robot flamethrowers? Strange, that new game smells kinda smells like burning.%Gallery-130183%
