Dishonored Xbox 360 Review

How will you take revenge ? You are Corvo Attano, a man hell bent on bringing those culpable of treacherous crimes to justice, one way or another.         
Dishonored's story is a tale of deception, betrayal, and the road to revenge. It is an interesting narrative, that is predictable in some areas, but this does not take anything away from the overall experience. The game has a dramatic opening. The Empress of Dunwall is punctured by an assassin's blade in front of her daughter's eyes, only for her loyal bodyguard and protagonist of Dishonored, Corvo, to be blamed for this malicious act of treason. It is at this point that you take charge of Corvo, and begin to act out your justified revenge on those who have incriminated you. After escaping from jail, the player must hunt down those behind this betrayal of Corvo, and see that justice is done.

Corvo is equipped just how a master assassin should be. He has a plethora of weapons and gadgets at his disposal, all of which can be used in whatever way the player sees fit. Weapons include the standard sword, crossbow and pistol, while gadgets range from spring razor traps to mines, and even tools to disable alarms.
While going about the various locales in the game, you are able to use Corvo's gear, combined with the super natural powers he acquires to play how you want. This is where Dishonored truly shines. It is not just another generic First Person action game, as Dishonored allows the player to adopt a variety of play styles. Of course, you can simply hack your way through, slaying all those who are foolish enough to fight back, but in truth, Dishonored is a far better game when you take the silent stealth path, sneaking around, taking out guards lethally or non-lethally, until your target has no one left to protect them. It must be said that, whatever play style you chose to do, whether it be the irrational killer, silent assassin or you take the merciful path, all styles of play require a good level of imagination.

You will visit a number of distinct locations, memorable for their own reasons whether it be, electrocuting an artist in The Golden Cat, or blending in to a masquerade party at a royal manor. The content here is always invigorating ,and each level has been designed as a sandbox for the player to roam freely around in, which provides fantastic emersion. On the whole, the places you will visit during your time in Dunwall have been beautifully crafted, and the art style used here works very well.

Dishonored also benefits from the fact that it is a highly replay able title, as how the story plays out, depends on what path of gameplay you choose to act on. For example, choosing to run and gun your way across Dunwall, will cause the plague that infests the city to infect more guards and civilians, as well as attract more swarms of rats that litter the streets. A single play through will probably only take the average gamer about four to five hours to complete, so it is good that these variations are in there to help extend the amount of time you will spend playing the game, and it is well worth spending the time on.

Dishonored gives the player an empowering experience, being able to run freely about this world is refreshing, and the game achieves its goal of making you feel like a master assassin. This was a game that went under the radar but was immensely popular, so much so that a sequel has been announced that looks very promising. Bored of games that funnel you down a narrow corridor ? Then this is a must buy.