First Look: Dishonored

Bethesda know how to make a good game, that’s a given. Skyrim, Fallout, RAGE, Doom. The list of top quality shoot-em-ups, open world RPGs and generally brilliant games they’ve made is not endless, but definitely vast.

It’s for this reason why we were expecting big things from their latest IP, Dishonored, prior to our first hands-on time with the game, and we weren’t to be disappointed.

Dishonored puts you in the shoes of Corvo Atano, a former royal bodyguard who is framed for the murder of the princess that spent his life protecting. That’s all we were told about the story, and we were pretty intrigued already.

Anyway after being dumped into one of the middle levels, here’s a couple of observations we made from Dishonored:

You can play a level however you like – Whether you want to scale the entire map completely untraced, bypassing soldiers, guards and Tallboys using sneak tactics, or fancy going gung-ho and blasting your way through the level, you’ve always got a chance of success. Having the option to take on a level with no set parameters of how to complete it is something we haven’t experienced before, and could add a lot of replay value to the title.

Super powers FTW – There’s around eight different, and extremely unique powers to call upon when you’re working your way through the game that you can purchase and upgrade as you go. They range from everything from ability to possess other living beings, which opens up a huge amount of extra ways to navigate levels and take on enemies, to seeing through walls in order to work your way around a level undetected, or to stealthily take out an opponent.

Weapons –AS WELL - There’s also another eight or so weapons, including sleep darts, revolvers and crossbows, which you can combine with your supernatural powers to take out enemies in a HUGE variety of ways. Possessing the body of a rat, running up behind a guard, taking on human form again and stealthily stabbing them in the neck really is an oddly satisfying feeling.

The environment is awesome – Imagine RAGE, but set in a steampunk-style, futuristic, neo-Victorian dystopia. Got that? Good, because we still haven't really got our head around it. However, It’s easily one of the most interesting and varied gaming environments we’ve explored, and we’ve only played one level. Take from that what you will.

Excitement Level: HIGH

Dishonored is out October 12 on Xbox 360 and PS3