Dishonored

       Unlike most games that rush the gamers through with tons cinematic scenes that make them feel as if they’re watching a movie, Dishonored focuses more on gameplay and freedom of choice with a bare minimum of enough cinematic scenes to hold the story together.

          The main gaming focus of Dishonored is freedom of choice. Unlike most games, Dishonored gives the gamer the opportunity to play the game how he feels is best. The main storyline is fixed, but everything else is changeable. The other characters reactions, the side stories, the state of the game world and the ending are all changeable based on your actions.

          You can use the bare minimum force to get through missions, only aiming for your objective and killing nearly no one, or brutally kill all in your path. You can sneak around or walk around with guns a blazing. You can kill anyone in your path or simply knock them unconscious.

          The world is literally your playground in this game. If you’re feeling gentle about it, there are other ways to deal with assassination targets than killing them outright. You can act a hero seeking justice, or a blood thirsty villain seeking nothing but revenge. The choice is yours in Dishonored.

          You start of as Connors, the queen’s personal guard returning from a mission to ask other countries for help treating a plague that ravages your city. You are reunited with your queen only to bear witness to her being murdered and the princess being kidnapped. To make things worse, you are accused of the crime and sent to prison. How will you take things into your own hands and protect your honor?

          The wide array of weapons and abilities available make the game have a high replay value. There are several abilities. 'Blink' teleports you in the direction you are pointing and is helpful in switching from hiding spot to hiding spot without being discovered. 'Dark vision' enables you to see enemies and traps through walls or in the dark. 'Devouring swarm' summons a pack of rats that attacks enemies or devours dead bodies. 'Possession' lets you take control of an enemy or an animal for a short duration, using them to bypass security or sneak past enemies. 'Bend time' slows time for a short duration or completely freezes it for a shorter duration. 'Windblast' creates a strong wind that knocks back enemies and breaks open doors.

          There are also some passive abilities that are always active. 'Vitality' increases your maximum health and regeneration. 'Blood thirsty' causes adrenaline to build up as you kill enemies, increasing your attack strength. 'Agility' increases your overall movement speed and jumping height. And finally 'Shadow Kill' causes all the enemies you kill to turn to ash.

          Another plus point about the game is the fact that it doesn't require a beast computer to be played. It can work even on a low end system with decent graphics and no lagging.

          One minor disappointment comes when you use a tool called the heart. The heart is, a you would have guessed, a heart. It has a machine built into it and a light glows whenever you are looking in the direction of a rune or a bone-charm. The heart beats quicker when you're closer to the bone-charm or rune. This gameplay mechanic would be ideal as a treasure hunting mini-game. However, the fun is spoiled by the fact that the locations of runes and bone-charms appear on the mini map whenever the heart is equipped.