Why I am worried about Tom Clancy's Division and you should be too (if you're a gamer)

Lately I've been on a huge first-person shooter binge, sinking a lot of time into Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (which I am enjoying immensely much to my surprise, but maybe that's another blog post) as well as a few old-school shooters (like Republic Commandos, Counterstrike 1.6 and the first Jedi Knight), and a bit of time with Star Wars Battlefront (which - thank God - I didn't buy, but borrowed from a friend instead). This coincided with a huge amount of information dropped about one of the most anticipated AAA games of 2016 - Ubisoft's Tom Clancy's The Division (and you can see a bunch of collected game media impressions here on Kotaku). You might also enjoy this impression by a very popular YouTuber AngryJoe.

I was tentatively excited about The Division when it was first announced. It looked like a blend of persistent world MMO, with heavy shooter elements, some MMORPG-style abilities, and a bleak near-future apocalyptic story, all set in a 1 for 1 recreation of New York. Since then the game received its share of controversies, suffering form delay after delay, clear visual performance downgrades (at least on consoles - there has been no footage of the game running on PC in an unscripted setting) and confusion regarding what this game is supposed to be. However, with the media embargo regarding hands-on impressions lifted (as witnessed by the links above) a lot of that confusion has been clarified. On the other hand it also got me worried about the game quite a bit.

The first thing that's got me worried is how hard most game media journalists who have played The Division are trying to both make The Division sound like Destiny ('it's just like Destiny you guys! But you're fighting hobos and looters with realistic guns, instead of fighting aliens with sci-fi magical guns!') and NOT make The Division sound like Destiny ('it's nothing like Destiny other than both are shooters with RPG stats and damage numbers!'). So that's a first warning sign as they (game media and Ubisoft) are trying very hard to sell the game to both fans of Destiny and those who either hated it or never tried it (for the record, I still haven't played a single minute of Destiny and doubt I ever will). Granted, The Division was announced before Destiny actually came out, but it's still weird to see how much effort is spent on fitting The Division into the meta-narrative of the evolution of shooters and RPGs on consoles.

The second thing that makes me doubt the game's staying power is that there doesn't appear to be a huge variety of enemies or environments. You're shooting hobos, looters, criminals, what looks to be rogue cops and army dudes, some weird hazmat-wearing flamethrowing guys and so on. You're shooting them with real-world guns and using near-future but perfectly plausible tech (rolling micro-drones, personal radar systems, etc.) but you are essentially just shooting people with your gun. In games like Call of Duty that's totally fine because: a) the single-player campaign is usually quite short and ends before it gets too repetitive, and b) when playing matches where you shoot other people with your guns, personal skill, map awareness and knowledge of the game count for far more than the stats on your gear and the DPS of your gun. So there needs to be some kind of a greater incentive (both in terms of loot and in terms of narrative) when 'shoot people with guns' is dropped into an MMO-esque RPG. Destiny achieves it (to my knowledge) with having many different-looking worlds, big variety of instanced missions or dungeons (so that you're not just shooting people or the same race of aliens all the time), big variety of enemies and just big visual shifts between areas. The Division appears to have none of that at this moment. You're fighting in urban areas and you are shooting people all day long. It's kind of weird to see that a boss in a mission is some guy named Rudy (or Joe or whatever) but he still looks like the rest of the hobos around him while acting like a giant bullet sponge as if he was a raid boss from World of Warcraft or Destiny. It just doesn't seem like the Division would be able to sustain my interest for too long. Now, maybe the developers are a lot smarter than this, and maybe New York is just the FIRST stage and there are other cities or locations you travel to later on in the game, and maybe later on some weirder enemy types get introduce (robots, or infected or something) and they are just keeping this under wraps. However, given Ubisoft's previous track record with story telling and keeping surprises under wraps I find this difficult to believe.

Then there's the whole loot gathering and crafting progression. Basically I have no time or willpower to play another MMO. Even if, as the developers claim, most missions in The Division can be completed in under an hour. The point is that all of the gameplay videos released recently (see links above) show that the game progression is hugely dependent on gathering or crafting increasingly better loot. It's the same grind as in WoW, FFXIV or (as I am told by hardcore Destiny players) in Destiny and I have no time or patience for that. Especially if, as the developers and game journalists are constantly stressing, The Division will be a kind of game you'll want to play with friends. If my friends outpace me in terms of gear and levels, what am I supposed to do then? Also, I just find gear grinding to be very boring.

The other big concern for me is the tone. The cut scenes, the environment, the music and the ambient dialogue all paint this grim Tom Clancy-ish setting which is utterly at odds with the focus of the game on loot, DPS and shooting a bunch of people. So you're supposed to be restoring law and order in New York in the wake of a deadly epidemic and breakdown of society, but it seems that the primary motivation of the players is to get better guns and gear. Woo! I got a better scope/backpack/gun holster/laser sight! In other words, I feel like there's a big disconnect between what the game is about and the actual gameplay. Also, this disconnect between the narrative and the gameplay coupled with modern day realistic setting raise some rather ugly questions. The looters you shoot in the early stages of the game all wear "urban" clothing (read: African American hiphop influenced fashion), the National Guard elements helping you seem uniformly heroic, the US government (in a typical Tom Clancy military fiction fashion) generally means well and is prepared in some fashion and that society in the absence of the long arm of the government will inevitably break down. But you know, all of it is just an excuse to shoot a whole bunch of people with realistic guns.

Finally, Ubisoft is rather notorious for dropping post-launch support for titles that have no sold so well or that have lost a lot of player base post-launch due to various issues (poor story, buggy gameplay, poor performance). For example Watch_Dogs or Assassin's Creed: Unity. I pity anyone who had bought a season pass for those games because both games have received very little support post-launch. Ubisoft seemed to have dropped both like a hot potato and resolved to never ever speak of them again. Heck, I seem to recall even some sort of apology for Assassin's Creed Unity (and the excellent Assassin's Creed Syndicate seems to have swept Unity aside as a true next-gen Assassin's Creed). Basically, if
a) The Division fails to sell the number of copies that Ubisoft is hoping for, and/or
b) The Division fails to sell the number of season passes that Ubisoft is hoping for, and/or
c) The Division fails to retain the number of players post-launch that Ubisoft is hoping for
Then I am not holding out much hope for the post-launch support or Ubisoft's willingness to invest into the future of the game. Ubisoft needs to realize that MMOs and MMO-style games need constant post-launch support and that no online games come out of the game perfect. WoW didn't start out with 10 million subscribers, FFXIV has not become the huge commercial and critical success until Sony made the gutsy move to first shut down the game, then completely rebuild it, and then provide big monthly updates and an enormous expansion.

So what would make me pick up The Division after it launches (because I sure as shit ain't pre-ordering it or picking it up on day 1)? One, the launch has to be smooth - some server issues are expected, but it better not be a complete shit show. Two, the game needs to feature more than just New York - other cities or at least non-urban environments are a must for me to avoid the tedium. Three, the grind for decent gear should not take as long a time as FFXIV or Destiny. Four, Ubisoft needs to be very clear upfront as to what future additions (via season pass) will hold and approximate dates when they will come out. Five, they seriously need to add a persistent clan option and more social support. For a game that's supposed to be enjoyed with other people it's surprising to me that it has such limited emotes, no clan support, and awkward grouping.

Then again, maybe it'll be an amazing game from day 1. :P

My favourite games of 2015 and the rest

2015 was a great year for games. The different "Top 10 games of 2015" by big-time Youtubers and games media showed just how amazingly diverse the good games of 2015 have been. Sadly, I haven't had the time to play all of the best games of 2015. Partly because of lack of time, partly because I moved to a country with a rather spotty Internet connection, and partly because League of Legends took up so much of my time (although that is no longer a case, LoL and I have had a falling out, but more on that later). So this is the list of games that I played this year and enjoyed most of all. It is in no particular order although one game in particular stood out among the rest for me this year.

Starcraft: Legacy of the Void
The final episode of Starcraft 2 and the game that brought the huge Starcraft story to a close, Legacy of the Void was not a perfect game, primarily because of its story. It simply was not a good story or a great ending to one of my favourite sci-fi games. However, what it lacked in story it made up in amazing mission design (seriously, the missions in Legacy of the Void were some of the best-designed Starcraft missions ever), bringing back a lot of the older units from the first game as well as all the new units, the huge amount of customization in the campaign, and of course the changes to the multiplayer. In particular, Legacy of the Void introduced coop multiplayer missions and online character progression tied to those missions and I just can't get enough of them! They're an absolutely fantastic way to play Starcraft 2 with friends and not feel totally out of your depth.

Hand of Fate
This little virtual deck-building game came out of nowhere and I've enjoyed it greatly. You play as an adventurer playing a card game of life and death against, well, death itself (personified as the mysterious dealer). The dungeon you progress through is a deck of cards, your gear is a deck of cards, as are different abilities, potions and so on. The story is surprisingly good, the hack-and-slash combat (into which the game transitions when you land on a combat encounter card) is quick and satisfying, the deck building elements are fantastic, and for a virtual card game Hand of Fate is a surprisingly atmospheric game. Can't get enough of it, and it can be played in very short sessions if pressed for time.

Assassins' Creed Syndicate
Could this be the game to unseat Black Flag as my favourite Assassin's Creed game? Quite possibly, because as cool as pirate ships are, having your own Victorian train might be just as cool, and instead of one lovable roguish protagonist you get two - the twins Jacob and Evie Frye who have fast become some of my favourite video game protagonists yet. The city of London and its outlying areas are absolutely gorgeous, navigating the very vertical city with the aid of Batman-style grappling hook is super fun, the missions and side activities are very varied, and I love all the Victorian literature references and running into famous Victorians (Darwin, Marx, Nightingale, the list goes on). In addition to this, the present-day meta story of Assassins infiltrating the Templar corporation of Abstergo is nowhere near as intrusive as in other games (even in Black Flag the present-day sequences could be quite tedious) and is presented mostly in short entertaining cutscenes. The vehicle combat and barge hopping are also just fantastically fun. The music in this game is stellar, I could just listen to it all day long. The combat can be rather wonky at times, but this game really redeemed the Assassin's Creed series after the Unity disaster.

Rocket League
This game. This. Fucking. Game. Rocket League is one of the reasons why I virtually quit League of Legends. It is incredibly fast. Each match lasts 5 minutes and doesn't outstay its welcome. I never really get mad at stupid plays by my teammaters because: a) the match is over very quickly, b) I can very easily drop the match and find another one in less than a minute, c) I'm just as terrible as they are. Moreover, it has a lot of customization including the ability to create your own team and season and play it with bots or with your friends. It's got a good variety of maps and vehicles. Vehicles, paintjobs and other cosmetic elements are unlocked very quickly. And it's a game about playing football (the non-American one) with cars that are rocket powered and go VROOM really well! What's not to like! I could spend 5 minutes playing it, or a few hours, it doesn't stop being fun either way and rewards flashy play and skill as well as occasional dumb luck. I have it on PS4 and on PC, so that no matter where I am I can play it!

Pillars of Eternity
I love Baldur's Gate. I love Baldur's Gate 2 even more. I love Icewind Dale almost as much. And I love Planescape Torment most of all. So when along comes Pillars of Eternity, a game made by the folks who worked on all the games above, featuring the same kind of gameplay but with a better UI and smoother graphics, set in an intriguing completely original setting I knew I was going to like it. But Pillars of Eternity blew me away. Sure, the combat did start to feel repetitive and more than a little frustrating towards the end, but the writing, the story, the amazing characters you meet, the setting and the music just knock it out of the park! Add to it a pretty great huge expansion that came out the same year as the game, with another expansion on the way, and Pillars of Eternity is a huge and rewarding RPG.

Dying Light
I don't like zombie games. I don't enjoy shooter games as much as I did. I'm not a huge fan of Far Cry style games. But man, take all these things together, throw in the BEST first-person parkour ever (yes it's better than Mirror's Edge - get over it!), awesome day-night cycle mechanic and a huge sprawling city to explore and somehow Dying Light had me hooked. The story and most of its characters were cliche and the twists could be seen a mile away, but the gameplay and attention to detail more than made up for it. During the day, Dying Light is a fun open-world shooter and free-running simulator. But during the night, Dying Light turns into a terrifying and slow survival horror experience - it's so so so great! Plus, the developers have been releasing a steady stream of updates, free and paid DLCs, new levels, expansions, challenges and so on. My favourite zombie game of all time.

Rebel Galaxy
I love Firefly. I love big capital spaceship combat. I love grungy ZZ Top-style country rock (it's a guilty pleasure). So along comes a game that has a huge sprawling galaxy to explore, trade with, or blow up, that has a kickass soundtrack, pretty great capital ship combat, and some entertaining characters. And this ships you can buy and customize look great and handle very differently. It might not quite have the sprawl of Elite: Dangerous, but it has a better story, better trading mechanics, looks almost as good, and I enjoy its combat a lot more. Really didn't see this game coming, but it won me over.

Witcher 3
This is my game of the year. Plain and simple. I sunk more hours into it than almost any other game this year (or maybe ever). I love the Witcher novels, the first two games and I'm vested in the series but Witcher 3 surpasses any and all expectation. This is a game where many of the sidequests have a better story and more interesting characters than all of Fallout 4 (more on that game in a bit), nevermind the epic and supremely well-written main story. The characters, voice acting, music, crafting, combat, monster hunts, the ridiculously huge yet detailed world combine to create the best open-world RPG ever made. And I haven't even played the first expansion yet (which I have on good authority has a story just as awesome as the main game itself) because I just keep completing sidequests in the main game and constantly find something new! Oh and CD Projekt might be one of the best developers and publishers, giving away a ton of great free downloadable content, and making the season pass both very cheap and ridiculously packed with goodies if the size of the first expansion is any indication. Game of the year and a permanent spot as one of my favourite games of all time.

Games I wish I'd played in 2015 but will play in 2016!
I really want the new Tomb Raider but it is a delayed exclusive for X-Box One and since I don't have one of these I'll have to wait. I greatly enjoyed the previous Tomb Raider reboot game and this one looks even better.

Tales from the Borderlands. I'm one of those strange people who liked the setting and story of Borderlands series more than the actual gameplay. I don't know what it is, but I liked the off-beat humour, the characters and the colourful setting a lot more than just shooting thousands of dudes so I could pick up a better gun. Tales from the Borderlands strips away the gunplay and adds in more humour and characters and world-building. I just picked it up during the Steam holiday sale and would love to just sit and finish it in one day.

And speaking of interactive movie-like narrative games, Life is Strange is another game I want to sit down with and finish off in one day. The story sounds pretty interesting, I really dig the music choices, and I like the vibe this game exudes. Plus I actually really liked the game studio's last game Remember Me (even though a lot of people didn't) so I definitely want to throw money their way.

Mad Max. Vehicle combat?! Nuclear wasteland?! Vehicle customization?! MAD MOTHERFUCKING MAX?! The game caught a lot of flack of mainstream games media, but the player response has been overwhelming (my favourite Youtuber TotalBiscuit even put it on his Top 2015 Games list) and it just looks badass.

Soma. I've been doing my best to avoid spoilers about this game because a lot of people agree that its story is a total mindfuck and it does survival horror really really well. It is also supposed to be shorter than Alien: Isolation - a game I really enjoyed but could finish due to some interminable stretches towards the end. Soma has that intriguing mix of existential and body horror, science fiction and philosophy I like, so it's definitely on my list of games to finish.

Undertale. It's totally not my style of games, but supposedly it really subverts the genre and the story and characters are supposed to be unforgettable. I hope I'll enjoy it.

Warhammer End Times: Vermintide. I actually have this game. I played this game. I enjoyed this game. But with my terrible Internet connection and huge time zone difference between me and my friends I just can't play this game at the moment. I really hope 2016 will be different.

2015 Games That Disappointed Me
No bigger disappointment for me was Fallout 4. It was a brilliant game in many ways and I still played 100+ hours of it but in the end it left me drained, exhausted and not having much fun. Its main story started out really well only to take some predictable turns and peter out towards the end. Some of the companions were very interesting and awesome in their own right, while others were less so. The gunplay was much better than Fallout 3 or New Vegas. What made this game such a disappointment was that this game is not really Fallout. Let me be absolutely clear - this game is not an RPG, it may be set in the Fallout universe but it is not a real Fallout game. Where are the huge dialogue trees and non-combat options and huge variety of ways to solve encounters? Fallout 4 has basically two main ways of interacting with the world: shooting it up and occasionally pressing E (or whatever controller button you're using). In terms of its narrative and non-combat options it's actually a step back from Fallout 3 or New Vegas ans a massive leap back from the brilliant design of the first two Fallout games. Eventually I grew tired, frustrated and angry at the game, I just didn't want to shoot another super mutant or raider or mirelurk or whatnot so I could get some special named gun. I was done. Maybe with some mods to address the game's most glaring issues and some DLCs to inject more quests (and let's face it - Fallout 3 had some AMAZING expansions so I know Bethesda can deliver) I might come back to it.

Star Wars Battlefront. Almost as big a disappointment as Fallout 4 was Star Wars Battlefront. HOW COULD YOU FUCK THIS UP SO BADLY? I found myself asking the game. Look, it captures the feel of being in Star Wars really well - the sound, graphics, attention to minute details of the setting, that's all great. Where it completely falls apart is the gameplay. It's basically a squad-based shooter, but it's actually taking a step backwards from the shooter evolution. Its gameplay has NOTHING interesting to recommend itself. The guns don't feel very distinct from each other. It doesn't have a cover system. It barely has any vehicles - a Battlefield/Battlefront game with no vehicles?! What heresy is this?! The iconic heroes are either too weak or too powerful. The weapons and some of the upgrades are not balanced at all. The respawn system feels positively medieval and encourages spawn camping. The progression is a tedious grind. There aren't even that many maps or modes AND NO SPACE COMBAT! Such a fail. Glad I didn't actually buy it, I only borrowed it for a couple of weeks.

Total War: Attila. Hey, at least it's better than Total War: Rome 2, amirite? No, seriously, it is better, it's actually a pretty good game. The horde mode added quite a lot to the gunplay, while playing as the decaying remnants of the Roman Empire felt very distinct and interesting in its own way. The problem was that Total War: Attila did not fix the huge problems that players had with Rome 2. This was a golden opportunity to fix some of the big issues (wonky diplomacy, boring character progression, major AI issues, a world map that was far too big, etc.) and that opportunity was squandered. Plus it introduced a whole bunch of new units but most of them felt very bland or like a reskinning of older units. Total War: Charlemagne is supposed to be much better but I'm going to wait for a deep price cut before picking it up - fool me once, etc. etc. etc.

Civilization: Beyond Earth: Rising Tide. My disappointment with this game can be partly attributed to awful technical issues I've had with it. While my laptop can run Civilization V with no problems, Beyond Earth and Beyond Earth: Rising Tide have been very difficult to get going on my computer. Rising Tide introduced the ability to build and exploit sea tiles, four new factions, hybrid affinities, artifact gathering and a bunch of other stuff. The problem for me was that it didn't fix AI issues, the new ocean options (units, techs, wonders, etc.) are very overpowered, and the new diplomacy system - while much better than the crap we got in Beyond Earth - was still not that great. I feel like with must one more expansion or a couple of DLCs Cvilization: Beyond Earth will become really good, the game we know it can be. It's just not there yet.

League of Legends. This is a game I played more than any other game except maybe Civilization 2 and 5 and Baldur's Gate 2. I still like League. Or at least I still like the idea of League. But with massive changes introduce post-Season 5 it's just not a game I enjoy playing all that much. I don't like the new champions or the direction that Riot is taking with reworking the older champions. I really don't like the new vision system. I don't think the newly reworked Masteries are well balanced. But most of all, I think League of Legends lacks certain quality of life factors that I've gotten used to in other competitive multiplayer games. Where are the replays like in Rocket League or Starcraft 2? Where is a built-in streaming support? Goddammit, all joking about horrible human beings playing LoL, where's the built-in voice chat or at least a Smite-like quick voice commands to communicate with the team better? Stop putting out more and more skins and chroma packs and other bullshit like that and modernize the game! More than anything, the lack of these quality of life factors has driven me away from LoL.

Well that's that for 2015! I am cautiously looking forward to 2016! New Final Fantasy and FF7 Remastered! Tom Clancy's The Division (here's hoping it'll be better than Watch_Dogs)! A new Homeworld game (even if this one's not in space)! Hopefully Star Citizen will finally be out! I predict that some of these are going to be pretty disappointing, but there will be enough great games to make up for this. Happy New Year's everyone!

The best thing about Dead Space 3 is that it's free.

To clarify - it's  not actually free, but because I bought the new Simcity and it had a rocky launch, EA gave the people who bought Simcity a free game to placate the customers. From a limited catalog I picked Dead Space 3 - in part because I really enjoyed the first game in the series, and in part because the alternatives were Battlefield 3 and Bejeweled. In hindsight Bejeweled might have been a better choice.

To clarify further, I haven't finished the game yet, according to the helpful percentage complete dial on my saved game I'm almost halfway through. Great. Can barely contain my enthusiasm. Let me dial down the difficulty to casual so I could finish it faster.

There we go, that's a little better. Of course I'll never get back an hour and a half of my time I lost when the game decided to randomly reset my save to a much earlier checkpoint. And I will not get back half a quotation mark key on my keyboard. The poor quotation mark didn't do anything to me, but I had to punch something in frustration and it was the closest thing. Rest assured gentle readers that despite being maimed the quotation mark still works. Watch, I'll demonstrate. ''''''''''' """""""""""

Where were we? Oh yes, how much this game sucks. Please understand that it's not EA hate. I never hated on EA before and never understood the hatred that some people felt for this company (enough to vote it the worst company in America). Oh sure, I was disappointed with Dragon Age 2, and The Old Republic was also a hit-and-miss experience. And I didn't hate the Mass Effect 3 ending as if it was puppy-killing/cancer-spreading Hitler like so many others; it left me shrugging rather than boiling in rage. But after spending 8 hours with Dead Space 3 I can now understand the EA hate.

How I hate Dead Space 3? Let me count the ways. Maybe it's the toxic carry-over from a console port also known as "save checkpoints." Maybe 15 years ago when consoles didn't have hard drives we needed save checkpoints. But in this day and age not only don't consoles need it, but we don't need to port them to PC either!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think I almost broke my exclamation mark key as well.

!!! No, still works. As I was saying, there are save checkpoints, and they're awful, and really spaced apart. Death will not set you back all that much, usually a room or two at most, but quitting the game in between the checkpoints could be (as I found out) nearly 20 minutes of gameplay lost. And then there are the aforementioned save game glitches that reset the savepoint I thought I was bound to, setting me back an hour and a half.

Then there are minigames and quicktime events that suffer from one cardinal sin or the other. The former is the lack of explanation as to what my goal is supposed to be or the controls required to navigate the minigame. The latter is how arbitrary some of the events feel. Sometimes I would pass it with laughable ease, and sometimes (after a checkpoint reload for instance) I would fail the same event with no explanation why.

The camera is a huge problem in Dead Space 3. A signature trademark of this game is that there is no HUD, instead it's projected from the character's body - in other words the character is seeing the same HUD as the player. Only because of awkward camera angles I literally can't see my HUD whenever I'm backed into a corner, or hanging from a cliff. Oh. A shuttle fell on me. I see. I had to press a key, but I couldn't see that I had to press a key because I couldn't see the HUD. Oh, I got killed because I ran out of ammo and couldn't see my ammo counter because of the camera. A neat, artistic, and immersive idea that at the same time fails the gameplay - that might describe much of this game.

The game's been out for nearly two months. During that time EA has released many abominable DLCs for Dead Space 3 that add very little actual substance to the game - different suit skins, more largely cosmetic weapon components. During that time EA and the developer have also failed to release patches to some rather glaring and obnoxious bugs. In one room a panel was supposed to light up after I dispatched all the baddies that would allow me to progress. Only it did not light up and I had to redo the fight 5 times before the stupid panel would light up. It happened in other rooms two more times. Or you know, the game might just decide to arbitrarily take your ammo away with no explanation why. If there was a decent melee mode it wouldn't be such a crime, but unfortunately there isn't. Hope you like using the Half-Life 2's gravity gun ripoff!

Then there is the mission design. To be sure there are spectacularly beautiful and intricate environments - the game is absolutely gorgeous even on my mid-range PC. But the mission design is utterly linear, and with the ability to customize and try out weapons however the players wants in a separate custom arena, I don't see why anyone would want to ever replay Dead Space 3 (except maybe for the coop missions). There is a series of rooms the player progresses through. When there is some big glowing objective you just know that monsters will burst through doors, windows, vents, floor, or thin air. Any horror quickly wears thin as the monsters appear right on cue and there are basically 5-6 monster types (plus human adversaries) using the same tactics in every encounter (except the human adversaries who take cover, throw grenades, and are actually more unpredictable and dangerous).

The story would be very enjoyable and the game is very atmospheric, if it wasn't for some very hackneyed elements. I'm wearing an awesome armored space suit, using it to walk and fly in zero-G and in space (easily my favourite parts of the game), but when I hit the planet's surface suddenly I'm losing body temperature while wearing a suit that could easily protect me from the cold heartless vacuum of space. OK, sure, whatever. My idiot team members will sit in safety and comfort, and not only yell at me to hurry the fuck up while I'm knee-deep in monsters and low on ammo and medpacks, but on the rare occasion when they have to accomplish the task they will predictably fail at it and often place my life in danger! Clearly the level and mission designers were on the same team that designed Doom 3 and Aliens vs. Predator. And the protagonist's girlfriend dumped him too. It's like the game forces both the protagonist Isaac Clark and the player into an abusive relationship and charges money for the experience.

The worst thing about Dead Space 3 is that you can see what could've been a masterpiece of sci-fi horror lurking under the surface. The combat is as strategic and enjoyable, the universe is interesting, the graphics are beautiful, and the atmosphere is terrific. The story is rife with cliches, but in an enjoyable way, and the protagonist is actually an interesting and sympathetic character (even if he is yet another dark-haired white dude). Too bad that everything else about it conspires to drown all the good things about Dead Space 3 in an acid bathtub of rage. Unless you get it for free or with a massive discount a year from now don't bother. 

Dishonored: a classic in the making

I was interested in Bethesda's and Arcane Studio's new game Dishonored ever since the first teaser and details were released. A first-person stealth shooter with RPG elements, set in a new and original steampunk setting with supernatural elements? How does this NOT sound like Thief games? Thief 3 is definitely in my top 10 PC games, but if the first Dishonored game is any indication, then its sequel (or sequels) will make its way on this list as well. This game is wickedly fun to play, with a well-crafted setting, where only the story falls somewhat short of expectations. Dishonored offers a tantalizing glimpse into Bethesda's and Arcane Studio's new original IP (that's intellectual property), that I look forward to exploring further in updates and hopefully sequels.

The game's setting of Dunwall city is strongly based on England undergoing the throes of Industrial Revolution of 19th century. Here, technological advancement, economic growth, and strange steampunk technology are made by the use of whale oil, which in this world has all sorts of strange applications. The references to whale hunting, whether through in-game books, whaling ships, in-game advertisements, and so on, have prompted many to refer to the setting as "whale punk". The city of Dunwall is suffering from a terrible plague, as well as political corruption, crime, and the effects of Industrial Revolution. The character whose actions the player controls is Corvo - a bodyguard and adviser to the Empress who rules Dunwall and the Isles Kingdom (not so-subtle Britain, down to its own version of rebellious Ireland - here known as Moray). Corvo is framed for the murder of the Empress and kidnapping of her daughter, and must work to regain his honor (hence the title). His work will involve much skulking about, slashing of throats, backstabbing, choking out the guards, and possessing people and animals. To accomplish his goals Corvo joins forces with a loyalist conspiracy which provides Corvo with weapons and tools he needs, and a strange god-like entity called the Outsider who gives Corvo supernatural powers to give him an edge.

The gameplay is that of a first-person shooter, combined with some elements of an RPG, and strongly resembles the Thief series, as well as Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and Bioshock games. The player has access to a number of weapons (sword, pistol, crossbow) with different ammo types, traps and grenades, and a host of supernatural powers. The powers are quite varied and very colourful, and can be combined in interesting ways to create mayhem. Corvo can "blink" to higher ledges or behind enemies (for assassination kills or choke-outs), slow down or even stop time, see in the dark and see through walls, and possess people and animals. The most imaginative power by far is that of the heart. Corvo carries a still-beating heart that not only displays the runes and bone charms (more on them in a bit) in the area, but also offers interesting and creepy facts about whichever objects, people or setting that Corvo is facing - occasionally I just went around pointing that heart at everything I could think of in a level. The mystery of the heart's identity is a neat one and is strongly hinted at throughout the game.

The fun comes from figuring out how to use these weapons, tools, and powers in creative ways to bypass obstacles and achieve goals. One of the most gruesomely hilarious ways I've found was to wait until a large group of enemies was clumped around me, freeze time, attach a razorwire mine to one of the enemies, then stand behind that enemy and unfreeze time - instant ground meat! Another worthwhile tactic was to re-wire arc pylons (electricity-powered doom cannon) to target enemies instead of me, and then lead the guards on a merry chase towards it (although after the first couple of guards got zapped, the enemy would then try to cut off the power supply - the AI in this game is quite good). Although Corvo is sent on missions, rather than exploring a sandbox world like Skyrim, within each mission there are many different ways to accomplish tasks. The more people Corvo kills, the more chaos spreads through the city, occasionally making progress more difficult, but it's also a lot easier to just hack and slash through the level rather than carefully sneaking around and exploring every different nook and cranny. The strategies the player chooses alter the game experience dramatically. Corvo can also choose to pay for different upgrades to his gear to suit the player's style, which is further added to by runes and bone charms. Runes can be used to purchase and upgrade supernatural powers, while bone charms provide small but persistent bonuses. The trick is that the player cannot gather enough runes to buy and upgrade every power in the game, and can only equip a maximum of 6 bone charms (while there are easily three times as many).

The setting is very atmospheric and begs to be explored. There is probably over a hundred in-game books, notes, audio recordings, and dozens of conversations that the NPCs have with each other (and can be eavesdropped on). The game takes place for the most part in an urban environment, from city ruins, to flooded and plague-ridden districts, sumptuous noble mansions and brothels, and various military installations. Unlike the setting of Thief which is strongly medieval despite primitive steam power technology, Dishonored feels 19th/20th century, with quasi-modern military fortresses and facilities, and even a nod to Half-Life 2 here and there (some of the building designs are very clearly influenced by HL2's City 17). Fully exploring each mission level is rewarded with information about the setting, money, gear, and is just worth it for the sake of fun. Running through each level doing the bare minimum would ignore probably 90% of the game. One minor quibble I have with the setting though is that it seems almost too bright. Most missions take place during the day, which just seems out of place. But maybe I'm used to Thief's perpetual gloom.

The story, unfortunately, falls rather short of the gameplay and the setting. It's very predictable, with few genuinely interesting characters, and all the twists can be seen coming a mile away. There are some limited dialogue choices, but the player is always presented with only two possible choices (precisely one dialogue in the game is an exception to this). Curiously Corvo is not himself voiced, so while he is clearly talking to NPCs (unlike Gordon Freeman or the protagonist of Bioshock), the player only hears the audio for the NPCs. Corvo really doesn't have that many lines that he couldn't be fully voiced, so I found that to be jarring and disappointing. The story also lacks an emotional punch that it could have - I didn't find myself caring much for any of the people I encountered or even the main character. There were a couple of interesting characters (a certain blind wizened woman and an honorable gang boss come to mind), but for the most part the characters were cliche-ridden stereotypes. What I did find gratifying about the story is that the choices Corvo makes throughout the game (even the innocuous ones) have a strong bearing on later levels and the end of the game. Help one character out when you didn't have to, and later s/he will help you right back. Finally, I quite enjoyed that the game could be played without killing anyone, even the supposed assassination targets. There is always a non-lethal way to take out or bypass a guard, and likewise assassination targets could be captured, blackmailed, or be dealt with in ways that do not involve sharp pointy objects.

What I really wish is for Dishonored to have pushed the envelope further, and I hope it sells well enough to warrant a sequel. It's not a long game - I explored each level as fully as possible and it took me 20 hours to complete, although I am planning on playing it again to get a different ending. It also hints at many mysteries in the setting that are not explained (the ruins of an older nameless city, a village of witches, the Deep Ones - a reference to Lovecraft's "A Shadow over Innsmouth" or simply another name for whales?), and locations outside of Dunwall that sound like they could be fun to explore. Dishonored is a great new original IP which pays homage to both classics like Thief, and newer hits like Bioshock and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I can't wait for the sequel, here's hoping it will be darker, more sprawling, and expand the setting further.