Thursday, October 11, 2012

Dishonored is a Disappointment

Hello again gamers. 

By the looks of my slow but steady incline of views, it looks like I have a following. Kudos to those of you who liked me on Google+. Now all I need to really get this blog going is some more recent post topics and a few comments from you the readers. 

I will address the later by simply saying how much I appreciate you guys taking just a few seconds each day to view my posts. I know there aren't many of you yet, but I want to let all of you who enjoy reading these post that I value your feedback and that there's a nice little comments section right at the bottom when your done. Don't be shy; lend me your ears!

As for more recent post topics, I decided to buy a brand new copy of a game that just came out and make a review as soon as possible. As promised from my previous post, it is the brand new game that is

You might have no doubt heard of Bethesda studio's brand spanking new stealth/action game. Many of you have no doubt seen it's dazzling debut trailer at E3; if not live, then certainly amongst gaming websites and youtube. For those of you who lock themselves in during the day and have no internet access or cable, let me give you the brief overview of what this game is about:

You are a royal bodyguard turned magic assassin framed for murdering the queen in a rat infested, steam-punk dystopia version of London.

Check out the debut trailer one more time for a taste.



         


                 Pretty impressive, huh? That what I thought when I saw it at E3. It looked like it had a solid story, a sufficiently mysterious backdrop, and several unique ways to get your blood pumping. I went so far as to pre-order it upon finishing my last review and was willing to spend that precious $60 that Naughty Dog seemed so content on making a movie ticket.
            Come the 9th when I came to pick it up, I noticed that there wasn't much of a line there. I wondered why but shrugged as the GameStop cashier rung up my card. I opted to play the game as soon as I could if only to review it faster. Thoughts of wondrous inventions, stunning new mechanics, dazzling visuals, and creepy special effects danced a merry jig in my cranium as I tenderly unwrapped the box like a gift on Christmas morning. I popped the CD in the tray and hit the y button on my Xbox. I remembered seeing in the advertisments on my favorite web videos how it managed to score 50 awards at the E3 showing. I played the game about half-way and the game was...disappointing.  
             To be blunt, I expected way more from a game with this kind of hype. The graphics looked outdated by about a decade. The AI of enemies are easy to fool. Almost all of the mechanics are borrowed from the games sitting on my shelf, the aesthetic of the environment is minimal at best, and the characters are uninteresting and bland. The slick intro that I showed you did not make it into the game in the slightest, and you don't meet "the outsider" until the resistance had helped you break out of prision. It seems all the dranatic tension and presentation of the trailer is lost on the game itself. What happened?
              Probably what usually happens to over-hyped video games; the design studio put too much emphasis towards the trailer and demo reels and not nearly enough of their time resources into the actual game. This often occurs when the publishers want to make a big splash and get overexcited about showing their game off at E3. They basically tell the whole team to drop everything, make a trailer/demo/video/you-get-the-idea that will leave the E3 audience breathless. To that end, Bethesda studios succeeded. Only thing is, they fouled up on the game itself.
              Can basically sum up the Dishonored Experience with the moral of an old Aesop Tale, in which a big mountain splits open only to reveal a mouse;

"Much outcry, little outcome."

That's it for now. 
But before I wrap things up here, Let me give you guys a crack at reviewing today's game via this handy dandy survey link. Just read the statements and tell me how much you agree with them. Come next review I will go over the survey results and see how many of you agree with me. Do it for science!

Until Next Time!

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