Its the end of the week, you have around £40 burning a hole in your pocket and to all gamers in the UK that can only mean one thing... a new release game. This Friday saw the release of, among other titles, Dishonored (spelt incorrectly if you are from the UK); a first person assassin style game by Bethesda and Arkane Studios. Though Bethesda are well renowned for the Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises they are not so well renowned for leaving their comfort zone and branching out into other games, but this is one time where the risk of trying something different has, in my opinion, paid off dividends. So sit back, lace up your running boots and hone your best Dick Van Dyke cockney impersonation as I tell you why you need to take a trip into this Steam-Punk Victorian styled little gem.
1. The Studios
As previously stated, Bethesda are not the most successful franchise when trying something different from the First Person RPG, however when you look at the credentials of Arkane you realise that there are a few games in their back catalogue that are worth a pop at in the least; i.e. they had a hand in Bioshock 2s art direction, which comes across in Dishonored for those who look close enough, as well as being responsible for Dark Messiah (of Might and Magic) which has its own little cult following. Deviating away to look at the sister studios of Arkane, you have ID Software; the guys responsible for Doom, Wolfstein and Rage, all games in my opinion that you can easily lose a day to playing. So even though it may not be an Infinity Ward or DICE production, the developers and producers have the credentials to pull off this kind of game.