New Releases 10/09/12

"Death before dis- Well, uh, maybe we won't use that as the tagline."

Dishonored, a title developed by Arkane Studios, comes out today. Although not a RPG in strict terms of the word, (and maybe not even in loose-terms of the word - and technically, it's three words) publisher Bethesda's credits include developing and publishing some of the most well-known RPGs, including the Elder Scrolls franchise (last year's Skyrim, in particular) as well as the Fallout franchise. Despite Dishonored being billed as a stealth first person action/adventure shooter, I'm sure more than a few RPG elements will be included, but here are some I managed to tease out after researching the title for a bit.

First, there will be a character upgrade system. It seems like even sports games and first-person shooters are hopping on the RPG stats bandwagon, so it should come as no surprise that action adventure games are also including them, since they are more similar in gameplay than the formerly mentioned genres. There are also health and mana potions, as well as a magic system, which gives the player a choice of spells to choose from. In addition to these familiar fantasy elements, Dishonored also has multiple ways of achieving a goal, hearkening back to earlier Elder Scrolls titles, or perhaps, Planescape: Torment. 

Of course, one of the most important elements of a game is the plot, and Dishonored's sounds like one you would find in a RPG. The story sounds like it is full of political conflict, with the main character, Corvo Attano getting accused of killing the empress he was supposed to be protecting.  The game is set in a city similar to industrial London of the late 1800s, and we can expect to see a similar level of technology throughout the city of Dunwall, where our story takes place. Players can make choices in the dialogue that affect how others see and interact with them, not unlike the Mass Effect or Fable series. However, unlike those respective games, players will not be limited to choices that are ultimately black or white, but rather varying shades of gray. (Maybe fifty? Who knows).

The reviews have mostly been favorable so far, with the game carrying an average score of 89 on metacritic, across the 3 platforms it was released for (Xbox 360, PS3, and PC), with the PC version carrying the highest rating at 91. The game retails for $60, so unfortunately, despite the good press, I think I'll be waiting for a Steam sale. After all, winter is coming...