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[NBtoaster]

Seems like I don't really like these types of games. Stealth is fine, but the level design is off putting. I like to explore everywhere, but the different routes the game offers aren't very exciting after you've cleared an area. It's irritating because this and Deus Ex seem like games I should like.

Other things I don't like in this game:

Interactive things in the environment are big, obvious, and unnatural, similar to Skyrim, which I really didn't like.
Attempts at establishing lore seem kind of hamfisted. Very loud conversations, convenient books..eh.
The game doesn't seem to account for the number of ways you can complete a scenario. Target behaviour seems kind of weird if you don't try to kill them through scripted measures.

I do like: killing people is satisfying (but discouraged), blink is great, I like the way doggies look.

 

[Coconut]

The ability to see through walls is so... I can't quite think of the word. It's a lazy mechanic for stealth playthroughs - if they replaced the vision with JUST the ability to hear sounds then that might be good. As it stands the ability to see through walls makes it too easy for cautious players to remain completely invisible throughout most of the game.

They would need to focus in on better sound design to do that.

 

[rosaceadude2112]

Killing people is not discouraged. It just gives you a different ending.

 

[NBtoaster]

Killing people is not discouraged. It just gives you a different ending.

It makes the game harder, and there are sidequests that are focused on nonlethal measures. Are there sidequests for lethal measures? I'm only on mission 3 or 4.

 

[rosaceadude2112]

It makes the game harder, and there are sidequests that are focused on nonlethal measures. Are there sidequests for lethal measures? I'm only on mission 3 or 4.

I wouldn't say it makes the game harder. If you're murdering dudes you're bound to get pretty good at it. You can handle a few more. And there don't need to be sidequests to kill targets, because you have a knife that kills them.

 

[NBtoaster]

I wouldn't say it makes the game harder. If you're murdering dudes you're bound to get pretty good at it. You can handle a few more. And there don't need to be sidequests to kill targets, because you have a knife that kills them.

The point is I'm missing content by going lethal. And rats and weepers haven't got less annoying.

 

[Jackpot]

Play Alpha Protocol if you want to see true player reactivity. Puts all other games to shame, Witcher series included.

Don't listen to this man, he's crazy.

Killing people is not discouraged. It just gives you a different ending.

It's very discouraged, even in the loading screens.

 

[rosaceadude2112]

What did the loading screen say to veer you away from slicing dudes?

 

[Dresden]

It makes the game harder, and there are sidequests that are focused on nonlethal measures. Are there sidequests for lethal measures? I'm only on mission 3 or 4.

Corvo is so capable that killing people is... well, pretty easy.

Even without using any powers you have 20 shots each (upgraded) for your crossbow and pistol, and those will wipe out almost anything you encounter. Shadow Kill means you can chain-throatslit just about everything in the game without worrying about body disposal, and it's pretty ridiculous if you combine it with blink. And that's before mentioning all the hilariously creative ways you can gib dudes in the game.

And even on the hardest difficult a parry -> riposte will usually murder fools left and right.

 

[Zeliard]

Don't listen to this man, he's crazy.

Refute it.

 

[TheVampire]

So I've only just started playing this and I need to know - does stealth REALLY matter?

I mean I try to be stealthy but I might alert all the guards in an area by some dumb mistake. Is there any downside to just going rambo on them all there an then and going back to stealth afterwards?

 

[Nome]

So I've only just started playing this and I need to know - does stealth REALLY matter?

I mean I try to be stealthy but I might alert all the guards in an area by some dumb mistake. Is there any downside to just going rambo on them all there an then and going back to stealth afterwards?

Low/high chaos.

 

[Zeliard]

Corvo is so capable that killing people is... well, pretty easy.

Even without using any powers you have 20 shots each (upgraded) for your crossbow and pistol, and those will wipe out almost anything you encounter. Shadow Kill means you can chain-throatslit just about everything in the game without worrying about body disposal, and it's pretty ridiculous if you combine it with blink. And that's before mentioning all the hilariously creative ways you can gib dudes in the game.

It's not difficult but it's *so much fun*. I find it a joy to look for various ways of violently taking people out. Corvo makes Ezio seem clumsy and ill-equipped. Guy's just a total killing machine.

 

[Deleted member 102362]

Spoiler

He talks to you if you just walk up to him and let yourself be known. If you do that he says that you may take Emily's room key and how it doesn't matter to him if you kill him or take him to Coldridge prison, because he has realized it has all been for nothing. However, this seems to be glitched (at least in my game), because as soon as I picked up the key he still attacked me even though he just basically gave himself up.

Spoiler

That's not a glitch.

 

[Jackpot]

What did the loading screen say to veer you away from slicing dudes?

You get the bad ending. And lord help you if you try and go on a semantics binge about how the game calling it the "dark" ending doesn't imply it's not something to avoid.

Refute it.

The gameplay is the worst part of it by far but in terms of reactive story the much-hyped pick a 1-word summary of what your response will be leads to your character saying things that have no relation to what you selected. even Yahtzee mentioned it.

 

[SJRB]

Reading through the last couple of pages I have to admit I am pretty disappointed with the amount of randomized events in this game.

I honestly thought that certain situations happened because of my actions - dialogue, mission rewards, location of targets. You know, the three soldiers dialogue, the note from

Spoiler

the remaining Boyle sisters

, the location of the Twins, etc.

But it seems it's more or less a diceroll and my actions in the game world have nothing to do with them. The facade of me having an influence is pretty well crafted though, I'll give them that.

 

[Carcetti]

You get the bad ending. And lord help you if you try and go on a semantics binge about how the game calling it the "dark" ending doesn't imply it's not something to avoid.

I played through a high chaos game slicing up folks left and right because I wanted to see a crumbling empire. The ending I got was even a bit more upbeat than I expected. I had no problem with it.

For maybe half of the missions I even did the nonlethals but in the end ended up loading and killing them because that was the story I wanted. And still had no problem with.

The whole of the game rams home the fact that it's a take on setting of the British sun. I don't really see any problem here.

 

[Nome]

It makes the game harder, and there are sidequests that are focused on nonlethal measures. Are there sidequests for lethal measures? I'm only on mission 3 or 4.

Early mission spoilers (you've probably already seen them)...

Spoiler

IIRC, the prominent sidequests suited for nonlethal playthroughs don't even force you to truly go nonlethal. For example, you have an option to kill both people with the wine. The sidequest that spares the Pendletons actually REPLACES the primary mission, so it's more like it gives you two primary missions that you can complete exclusively.

 

[Hindle]

Chapter 7 is full of weepers if you kill people, which makes it harder to progress. The areas empty if you avoide combat, it's a really cool touch.

 

[NBtoaster]

Corvo is so capable that killing people is... well, pretty easy.

Even without using any powers you have 20 shots each (upgraded) for your crossbow and pistol, and those will wipe out almost anything you encounter. Shadow Kill means you can chain-throatslit just about everything in the game without worrying about body disposal, and it's pretty ridiculous if you combine it with blink. And that's before mentioning all the hilariously creative ways you can gib dudes in the game.

And even on the hardest difficult a parry -> riposte will usually murder fools left and right.

If I use the pistol it usually makes everyone run towards you which afterwards makes the area empty and boring to explore. And using the crossbow from far away isn't really exciting, the funnest way to kill is sword fights which the game doesn't want me to do in spite of being really satisfying.

Early mission spoilers (you've probably already seen them)...

Spoiler

IIRC, the prominent sidequests suited for nonlethal playthroughs don't even force you to truly go nonlethal. For example, you have an option to kill both people with the wine. The sidequest that spares the Pendletons actually REPLACES the primary mission, so it's more like it gives you two primary missions that you can complete exclusively.

But there should be three, one to take care of them through regular means (both lethal and non lethal), one nonlethal sidequest, and one to really take care of them.

Spoiler

I am aware the Pendleton mission has the steam thing you can use to kill one lethally but that's not really the level of a sidequest..

 

[xelios]

Chapter 7 is full of weepers if you kill people, which makes it harder to progress. The areas empty if you avoide combat, it's a really cool touch.

How does it make it harder to progress? If you're going through killing people, weepers in your way is just a nuisance.

 

[Midou]

The gameplay is the worst part of it by far but in terms of reactive story the much-hyped pick a 1-word summary of what your response will be leads to your character saying things that have no relation to what you selected. even Yahtzee mentioned it.

I believe the point was that your actions actually result in shit actually happening. For example, when you are attacked by person A from faction A, and choose to let them live, later on in a mission they may send a couple of their operatives to help you out, making a mission easier and giving you a new way to complete it.

In Dishonored, you can choose 3 separate options for one quest, but you'll get the same reward for a different reason. i.e

Spoiler

If you kill the person you are supposed to during the party, you get a rune for not killing everyone else, if you don't kill them, you get a rune for letting them live, etc

. Mass Effect is somewhat the same, characters bring up your choices in dialog, but it never effects the gameplay or changes anything.

 

[Derrick01]

How does it make it harder to progress? If you're going through killing people, weepers in your way is just a nuisance.

Yeah that's what I never got. Your punishment for slaughtering more people than Jason are more easily killable zombies. It doesn't add up.

 

[Hindle]

How does it make it harder to progress? If you're going through killing people, weepers in your way is just a nuisance.

Should have added for a stealth playthrough.

 

[derFeef]

Anyone else having problems with the saving/loading? It keeps crashing after loading quicksaves, and sometimes crashes during manual saves :/

 

[WiiredShawn]

Finished a third playthrough last night, trying to do Ghost/Clean Hands since there was an accidental death in the Prison during my first playthrough that I stupidly skimmed over. Weirdly enough, the achievements didn't unlock even though I started a new game and my mission stats all indicate that conditions were fulfilled. Has anything else encountered this issue? I wonder if it's a glitch. I did kill one dog in the game, and even though animals aren't supposed to count, maybe they are coded wrongly?

Anyway, I have a lot of positive feelings about Dishonored. The gameplay is overall enjoyable, it doesn't overstay its welcome, and it plays an interesting game with language and themes, particularly with regard to gender expression, voyeurism, man vs. nature, and persona. I think the game could merit a paper or two.

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

So after a busy two weeks I've got back to this game and I had a blast with level 6.

Two highlights;

The LUCKIEST guard ever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM5_uRnF4Nw

How to get the PERFECT escape: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWCQZfvnMEQ

The next level I'm on now is where I've read the quality starts to dip, so I hope I enjoy it more than most. This is definitely my second favourite game of the year after Borderlands 2.

 

[Minamu]

Great videos :lol

 

[Rufus]

Don't listen to this man, he's crazy.

No, do listen to him. Alpha Protocol is great (if you spec for stealth). The answers being abstractions is more consequential than Mass Effect, where you do pick a (supposed) summary. In AP, you pick tone. That may sound like a daft sidestep, but it worked for me. The reactivity is still staggering. How you approach missions, what info you gather and how you treat people influences your reputation with the various characters you meet. Good/bad reputation lets you tackle missions differently, bring them along for missions, reveal more info, they hide weapons for you in the level, or give you alternate ways to your objective, etc. It's great.

 

[H3xum]

Can someone who has completed the game help me out really quick?

I rented it from red box and i'm trying to figure out if I'm close enough to the end that I can beat it in a few hours or if I should quit and just rent it again the next free day I have (next friday)

I

Spoiler

was just poisoned by my buds and was saved by the assassins. I just retrieved my weapons back from them after escaping

So, if I buckle down can I finish it in a few hours? How much time is left?

Thanks

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Can someone who has completed the game help me out really quick?

I rented it from red box and i'm trying to figure out if I'm close enough to the end that I can beat it in a few hours or if I should quit and just rent it again the next free day I have (next friday)

I

Spoiler

was just poisoned by my buds and was saved by the assassins. I just retrieved my weapons back from them after escaping

So, if I buckle down can I finish it in a few hours? How much time is left?

Thanks

No judgement here but why in world would you want to just buckle down to finish a game? If you want to skip stuff and just go straight to the waypoints I'm sure you can beat it quickly

 

[Derrick01]

Can someone who has completed the game help me out really quick?

I rented it from red box and i'm trying to figure out if I'm close enough to the end that I can beat it in a few hours or if I should quit and just rent it again the next free day I have (next friday)

I

Spoiler

was just poisoned by my buds and was saved by the assassins. I just retrieved my weapons back from them after escaping

So, if I buckle down can I finish it in a few hours? How much time is left?

Thanks

You've got maybe 3 hours left depending on how you play.

 

[Rufus]

I

Spoiler

was just poisoned by my buds and was saved by the assassins. I just retrieved my weapons back from them after escaping

So, if I buckle down can I finish it in a few hours? How much time is left?

You're about to

Spoiler

confront their leader, then it's back to the pub, where you have some new dangers to navigate and then its off to the last level of the game.

How long that takes you depends on how you play the game, but I would cautiously say that a 'few hours' is within range, perhaps, sorta kinda?
None of the sections I've just mentioned are particularly large areas, but they can take long to complete if you stealth through them.

Spoiler

Free Piero and Sokholov if you want to get the pub over with quickly. They offer you a very quick way to either kill or incapacitate everyone. If you're shooty, stabby, rat-tacking and body-jacking your way through, I imagine it'd be over just as quickly.

 

[rosaceadude2112]

You get the bad ending. And lord help you if you try and go on a semantics binge about how the game calling it the "dark" ending doesn't imply it's not something to avoid.

What I'm saying is play how you want. Why let a 20-second cutscene get in the way of your fun? For some reason this whole thread is filled with people who care more about achievement points than enjoying themselves.

 

[H3xum]

No judgement here but why in world would you want to just buckle down to finish a game? If you want to skip stuff and just go straight to the waypoints I'm sure you can beat it quickly

Just don't have the schedule to play games as much as I'd like anymore, so for me to go out and rent it again just for a few more hours would kinda bum me out when I could get another game. I feel that, but don't get me wrong, I'm loving it

You've got maybe 3 hours left depending on how you play.

You're about to

Spoiler

confront their leader, then it's back to the pub, where you have some new dangers to navigate and then its off to the last level of the game.

How long that takes you depends on how you play the game, but I would cautiously say that a 'few hours' is within range, perhaps, sorta kinda?
None of the sections I've just mentioned are particularly large areas, but they can take long to complete if you stealth through them.

Spoiler

Free Piero and Sokholov if you want to get the pub over with quickly. They offer you a very quick way to either kill or incapacitate everyone. If you're shooty, stabby, rat-tacking and body-jacking your way through, I imagine it'd be over just as quickly.

Thank you

 

[Rickenslacker]

Spoiler

He talks to you if you just walk up to him and let yourself be known. If you do that he says that you may take Emily's room key and how it doesn't matter to him if you kill him or take him to Coldridge prison, because he has realized it has all been for nothing. However, this seems to be glitched (at least in my game), because as soon as I picked up the key he still attacked me even though he just basically gave himself up.

Spoiler

After all that's been done so far you think that's a glitch? He has proper fight music and everything, you don't even get a direct duel with him in the dark version. No, that was all part of a desperation gambit trying to catch you off guard. He wouldn't just up and give up at that point.

The point is I'm missing content by going lethal. And rats and weepers haven't got less annoying.

You miss content by going nonlethal as well, you don't get to experience everything based on one style of play; they're different approaches. The nonlethal sidequests aren't sidequests at all, but the alternative method of taking out the main target of the mission you're on.

 

[Messofanego]

SO happy about ghosting and not being detected for Golden Cat
Not using any powers brings a different level of challenge. Can't Blink as far for example.

The non-lethal solution is so cruel!

Any tips for knowing what's a Sokolov painting?

 

[Rufus]

I think every painting that you can take is a Sokolov painting. You'll find them all if you explore everywhere and do every side quest. It's how I got them all on my first play through. Most of them you'll find just by looking for runes and bone charms.

 

[jaundicejuice]

It's very discouraged, even in the loading screens.

Killing is not in any way discouraged. Sure there's a screen which informs you that killing people makes the world a darker place in the form of more rats and weepers but those are hardly a deterrent if you're playing high chaos. The mechanics don't really discourage killing people, if anything most of them are geared towards just that. The only thing the game does to punish aggression is large groups of guards can take Corvo down if you don't have enough health potions, are just spamming the melee attack and not really making smart use of your powers and gadgets.

Virtually all of the acquirable gadgets are lethal and half of the acquirable supernatural skill set is geared towards combat/aggression. You don't have a non-lethal melee weapon or an option to never draw the lethal melee weapon to just use your power. Aside from knocking a person out with a choke hold, the only other non-lethal option is the tranq bolt. It's not like you have the equivalent of Thief's moss or water arrows to aid you in stealth. Not that extinguishable light sources play a huge role in the stealth mechanics in this game. You don't have a noise-maker bolt to mislead guards, I know there are usually throw-able objects aplenty but the point is, there isn't an equal amount of lethal and non-lethal gadgets to choose between.

Mechanically Dishonored does not discourage the player from killing people, it kind of encourages it when you look at the arsenal you can purchase. You always have a sword in your hand, you cannot choose to never draw a sword or use some non-lethal equivalent. The drawback of which could be the inability to transition from knock-out to stealthy pick-up, it's a quick knock out, that could cause a sound when the body hits the ground, potentially alerting other guards. The only choice is to not use the always-present sword in hand. You don't have a landmine that spews out a net or blast of sleeping gas, just one that expels razor wire that eviscerates the target. You don't have sleep, smoke or flash grenades, just the explosive variety. Imagine if the water bolt could not only extinguish candles and torches but also short out electrical light sources. Or even if standard bolts could be used to stealthily break light sources.

There's a missing spectrum of mechanics and abilities for non-lethal play.

 

[Struct09]

Was enjoying the game until I hit a game-breaking bug I'm doing Slackjaw's side mission during the Golden Cat mission, and every time I try to leave the Dr's office the game freezes. I see others have the same problem, and I'll likely have to wait for them to patch it. Oh well, back to XCOM.

 

[Rufus]

Killing is not in any way discouraged. Sure there's a screen which informs you that killing people makes the world a darker place in the form of more rats and weepers but those are hardly a deterrent if you're playing high chaos.

If you're determined to play high chaos they don't matter, naturally. But I think if you've yet to decide it's very much a push in a direction of being 'good'.

 

[Finalow]

so how's this game? Worth it?

 

[Labadal]

so how's this game? Worth it?

What's your definition of "worth it"?

I think the game is great, personally.

 

[RoboPlato]

so how's this game? Worth it?

Hell yes.

 

[CloudWolf]

Spoiler

After all that's been done so far you think that's a glitch? He has proper fight music and everything, you don't even get a direct duel with him in the dark version. No, that was all part of a desperation gambit trying to catch you off guard. He wouldn't just up and give up at that point.

Spoiler

I figured as much, but because the game has a tendency to shape every character to your playstyle (Samuel and Emily are good examples of this) , I honestly believed it was a glitch.

Should have added for a stealth playthrough.

Not really, weepers are extremely easy to outrun. And if you meant a ghost playthrough, why the fuck are you killing people in the first place? Seems kind of counterproductive.

 

[ii Stryker]

I just got the Shadow achievement but not Ghost or CLean Hands... I killed no one, I alerted no one. WTF?!?

There is one level that has 1 body found, would that count against me?

 

[Derrick01]

so how's this game? Worth it?

There's not a lot of replayability like they advertised but the first run is pretty solid. I'd recommend it at half price.

 

[jaundicejuice]

Completed my non-lethal/low chaos run, I think I would've gotten Ghost and Shadow but I got spotted three or four times by doing side events saving some people.

The final level was a fairly different experience on low chaos,

Spoiler

Samuel didn't try to fuck me over, the level took place during the daytime and the Admiral took care of Pendelton and Martin himself, so there wasn't that epic stand off in the lighthouse between the three loyalists and their forces.

That was a pleasant surprise.

Also finishing off a specific target non-lethal means expanded on story elements that were untouched in the high chaos run.

Spoiler

How the former spy master, now lord regent engineered the rat plague by importing plague rats and planting them in the poor quarters in an effort to cull out what he deemed the less than desirable elements of society. How the plague escape his control, how the Empress started to figure out that the plague itself was, to some degree, engineered and that's when it was decided she had to be eliminated.

Awesome game, can't wait for the story expansion.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Completed my non-lethal/low chaos run, I think I would've gotten Ghost and Shadow but I got spotted three or four times by doing side events saving some people.

The final level was a fairly different experience on low chaos,

Spoiler

Samuel didn't try to fuck me over, the level took place during the daytime and the Admiral took care of Pendelton and Martin himself, so there wasn't that epic stand off in the lighthouse between the three loyalists and their forces.

That was a pleasant surprise.

Also finishing off a specific target non-lethal means expanded on story elements that were untouched in the high chaos run.

Spoiler

How the former spy master, now lord regent engineered the rat plague by importing plague rats and planting them in the poor quarters in an effort to cull out what he deemed the less than desirable elements of society. How the plague escape his control, how the Empress started to figure out that the plague itself was, to some degree, engineered and that's when it was decided she had to be eliminated.

Awesome game, can't wait for the story expansion.

I was honestly just about to post the exact same thing.

I just finished my non-lethal, low chaos and it is so great how different the game is. Arkane has done everything they can to make you feel like you have been making the honorable choices and they have gone to great lengths to reward you. I especially love:

Spoiler

- Emilys Drawings(subtle but powerful)
- Calista surviving and being reunited with her Uncle
- Sparing Dauds life "You didn't choose revenge....Astonishing"
- Samuels farewell "Goodluck Corvo I count myself lucky to have known a man like you" awwwww
- Whole sections of the game where there were weepers are now familys trying to survive like in the sewers. There was a big section after you beat Granny where there was a lot of weepers. Not on this play-through just a bunch of family members trying to get smuggled out of the country.
- The whole end level as you described except and this is really cool Havelock didn't take care of Pendleton or Martin he said they had 'Fled' and proceeds to go on this long dialogue about all the wrong choices he has made and how he used to be a honorable man. You actually feel bad for him so bad I saved and decided to reveal myself to him. You jump down and he apologizes and tells you to take the key and free Emily but the second you do he turns on you. Now I decided to kill him just for the heck of it and what a satisfying death scene. He pulls his gun on you, you stab your blade through his elbow forcing his gun arm to turn back toward his face and he gives one last look of shock before he is blown away. I LOVE IT.

- The whole end w/ you by Emilys side, really really great stuff.

Most satisfying and rewarding two play-throughs I have had in a game. I have said this once already but Arkane has done the best job I have seen of giving you a reason to play this game.
note-only played 2 hours of alpha protocol and couldn't get past the dreadful ai and clunkiness.

- Fantastic atmosphere and world

Alright enough gushing. GOTY for me easily so far.

There's not a lot of replayability like they advertised but the first run is pretty solid. I'd recommend it at half price.

32 hours

 

[Rufus]

I just got the Shadow achievement but not Ghost or CLean Hands... I killed no one, I alerted no one. WTF?!?

There is one level that has 1 body found, would that count against me?

Found bodies don't matter. (Even though they perhaps should, but eh... Stealth game rules, I suppose.)
Dropped someone in a puddle or from too high up? They die from falls quite easily. Go through the mission select from the main menu and look for the mission that says you killed someone. Might jog your memory.

There's not a lot of replayability like they advertised but the first run is pretty solid. I'd recommend it at half price.

Given that you can play the game in two very different ways, I wouldn't say that there's no replayability.