A Call to Dunwall

When Dishonored was released in 2012, I paid almost no attention to Arkane Studios tale of betrayal and revenge in the plague ridden, steampunk city of Dunwall. Ive never been a huge fan of FPS (First Person Shooter) type games, and when I saw Dishonored is a stealth game (a first person sneaker?) I was even more doubtful. I love stealth games but until recently, they have been games like Tenchu, Hitman and Mefal Gear Solid, titles played in 'third person' (ie players can see the character the are controlling).
I really had no interest in Dishonored until a few months ago when I tried (and loved) a demo of another FPS stealth game, Thief on Playstation 4. (And being honest, I only tried Thief because of the lack of good titles that was on current gen at the time but I'm glad that desperation turned into a revelation).
When I saw Dishonored on a PS3 sale at the ridiculously low price of a touch over £6, I decided that a trip to Dunwall was in order. It was instant love. So much so that I barely leave the city during my gaming time simply because, apart from the beautiful oil painting type style of graphics, the replay factor (for me anyway) is enormous. Oh, and the games characters (voiced by some Hollywood names like Susan Sarandon) are all fantastic.
The story is simple: Corvo, the Lord Protector to the Empress, is framed for her murder but on the eve of his planned execution, escapes with help from loyalist conspirators and goes all out for sweet sweet revenge (wearing one of THE greatest looking masks of all time). But its not all about killing. In fact you can complete the game with 'Clean Hands' (zero kills) but this doesn't mean the baddies get a free pass for their wicked deeds. In fact, often sparing the life of your intended target/s, might grant them life but to be honest, its a fate worse than death.
And Arkane Studios have devised some very cool (and lethal) powers for Corvo and the murderous Daud to use. Both wear the mark of the Outsider, a kind of half angel, half devil spirit, and by the Void, these powers are so fricken cool! Blink (teleporting), Possession, Bend Time, hell you can even summon a plague of rats to dispatch your hapless victim.
Dishonored might be set in a very grim Dunwall, where plague is rife and corpses litter the streets, but its still so much darned FUN. Corvo is like a Victorian, steampunk version Batman who bounces around Dunwall dealing justice to the corrupt and wicked. Of which there are many. Indeed Dunwall doesn't suffer the good and as the legendary assassin Daud points out, "its a city that eats innocence".
Talking of Daud, you can play Daud's story (as Daud obviously) in the two DLC (Knife of Dunwall and The Brigmore Witches) to learn the full story of Dishonored, and they are both excellent added content (usually DLCs can be lazy extras).
Another refreshing thing about the game is there are no true boss battles. Corvo and Daud can both dish out fatal, one hit moves on targets owing to their supernatural powers and personally I find it a breath of fresh air (well as fresh as can be in a world inhabited by rats and plague victims, or 'Weepers' as they are known).

If you are like me and have initially been put off by FPS stealth games, then fret not. Dishonored is a great game where everything slots perfectly into place. And as its three years old, you can pick it up for peanuts.
Of course there have been rumours of a sequel but part of me hopes this never happens because if it turns out to be rubbish, it could take some polish off the original game. Sometimes less is more, there have been too many successful games/movies that have piled sequel upon sequel because it sells but its usually at the cost of the franchise. We can all name a series that have out stayed their welcome and gotten worse with every instalment. I'd hate this to happen with Dishonored. But we shall see.
All I do know is the first trip to Dunwall is a trip you soon won't forget in a hurry.

Styx: Master of Shadows

If you are looking for a Stealth 'em Up game in the style of Thief (and I enjoyed that game), then this isn't the game for you. You see, Styx Master of Shadows, is 100% pure stealth. In other words, if you get spotted lurking around, you can kiss your gobliny, green ass goodbye. Because you're not some muscle bound warrior who does a little sneaking on the side. Styx is a goblin, a quarter or enemies size and if you don't perform stealth kills and attempt a full on assault, you WILL be cut to pieces.
Battling gangs of bad guys simply isn't an option. Its sneaking all the way for Styx because anything else is suicide. Solid Snake or Agent 47 you are not. You play as a tiny goblin, and you'd do well to remember this. Of course, he isn't completely without tricks to lure the unsuspecting goon to his doom. For instance, Styx can unfasten heavy lighting (remember that classic scene in old British comedy Only Fools and Horses where they loosen the bolts to the wrong chandelier sending it crashing to the floor? Or the old poisoning food ruse? Both of these, along with more cunning tactics, are open to our goblin hero.
Proving you have enough Amber (the games 'skill juice'), you can even clone yourself and get to places inaccessible to Styx himself. Sure the clone has limited skills but he's a handy dude in a hostile city who look upon Styx as more demon than impish thief out to swipe the heart of the World Tree. Trouble is the tree is kept deep in the bowels of the impressive but maze like Tower of Akenash. (You can even hear some of the guards grumble about the complex nature of the Tower which can be comical).
That's another thing about Styx: Master of Shadows. The writing is quite brilliant at times, genuinely funny but it isn't above using swear words so perhaps remember this when playing with younger games. Indeed its the liberal amount of swearing that you need to watch out for when playing with children. In fact its wise to keep little hands away from Styx because foul language aside, you can use violence when reaching a difficult route (make sure you use stealth though because like previously said, going in daggers blazing will only result in hitting the restart button.
Developers Cyanide have had a good stab (pun intended)in making this prequel to the first game, Of Orcs and Men. Sure you'd probably find better looking games on PS3 but as we retroheads are fond of saying, gameplay wins over looks every time. You can create the most stunning looking game ever but if it plays like a dog then what is the point? That being said, its no walk in the park and you'll meet your demise many times. Certain areas can be balls hard and as Styx can be killed with one or two swipes from a sword, players would do well to never get spotted. Ever.
You have an orange tattoo that glows when unseen, and you'd do well to keep an eyes on it. Ignore at thy peril. I paid £15 for Styx: Master of Shadows on PlayStation 4 a few days ago, and as I enjoy a decent challenge which this game provides, ive not been disappointed. In a funny old way, it reminds me of Abe's Oddysee, a game that is a breath of air amongst the shooters and driving games clogging up the shelves.

And for that (in my opinion) the game deserves a 4/5

Thieving Magpie

Thiefl by Square Enix has certainly stolen its shadowy tricks into my heart. I never once imagined that a FPS stealth'em up would ever grab my attention. In fact I dismissed it as (stupidly) just anther game  as one of those average titles we usually get thrown at in preparation for the real big hitters.
Lucky then that a generous sized demo was released on the PS Store, and I wisely downloaded it to see if Thief had the skills to nick my heart (okay no more bad puns) and pleased  was I. Last time I got this excited over a game demo was Spiderman on the PS1. I couldn't wait to get my mitts on the full game, so naturally when it was released, I was like a child  possessed  , grabbing it in Game. And the result? F**king epic! (Apologies for the F bomb but its the only way I can sum up the game in case of doubters).
I'm not going to go over the story here, you can read that on a hundred other websites, this blog simply exists to either praise  a game, or kill it dead if its a pile of shyte. Can't comment on how it looks on PS3 but on PlayStation 4 it looks absolutely lush. I can imagine some giving it a kicking because Thief can be quite challenging at times but stick with it and great things await.
The main character, Garrett, reminds me of an 18th century Batman. Gadgets? Garrett has them in spades.

CounterSpy review

There is little point beating around the bush, or shadowy enemy installation here: CounterSpy is bloody brilliant. Its stylish, cool, doesn't take itself too seriously, and most importantly its a jolly fine blast to play. Such a blast that after stopping the Doomsday Clock from going off (this time on the moon), you will be wanting more. And more. And being as players can complete CounterSpy in the 2 hour mark,  this is my only gripe towards it. I want more dammit, so much more.
True to its stealthy ways, CounterSpy (by Dynamighty games), appeared out of nowhere, popping up on my PlayStation 4 dashboard unannounced  like a fel shaded ninja. And with those looks I was hardly going to ignore IG, especially when  I clocked the trailer. If the gameplay doesn't hook you, that wonderful theme music will,  a bombastic little number made for movieland rogue agents everywhere.
Your guy is a matchstick type hero with white eyes and an arsenal of guns and sneaky moves at his disposal. He might look a bit weedy but don't be fooled, this dude from C.O.U.N.T.E.R spy agency is as much a master of weaponry /shadows as any Solid Snake. Hell even Snake can't steal the enemies national defence lunch money. Its little quirks like this this that give CounterSpy much added coolness. Did I tell you that I love this game?
Infiltrate Imperialists or infiltrate Socialists but get those all important launch plans soldier before those rockets fly, and the moon gets a new make over.
And how much for this slice of stealth pie? A mere ten of your earthling pounds sir! Worth every penny too in this humble gamers opinion. Believe you me, CounterSpy will get every much as plays as big hitters like The Last of Us and you can take that to the bank. Or secret bunker.

As I am so fond of saying, this game is f**king ACE. 5/5

Great Videogame Deaths

1. Sniper Wolf's death (Metal Gear Solid)



2. Lisa's death (Silent Hill)



3. Iwao Hazuki's death (Shenmue)

Razz Time: The Last Of Us

Downtown

Stand by for a fair bit of drooling and sickly praise because of having played The Last Of Us since its release, I am to add to the already bulging interwebs sack of praise. Honestly, Santa's sacks won't have anything on this one (ooer!) Ive even made a couple of videos for you dear readers, in the hope that you might hear some of the excitement in my voice. (Sorry about the quality, I still record vids the caveman way from television to phone.)



Fall



COMPLETED!