Dishonored (Or Dishonoured to any civilised country with running water.) is a game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. Everyone involved in the production appears to be French but don't worry 'cuz it's still playable.
The game puts you in the shoes (And face) of Corvo Attano, bodyguard to the Empress of the Isle of Dunwall, a sort of nineteenth century London/Edinburgh mashup run on whale oil and governed by overseers who oversee technocrats who make plague-warding elixirs because a whole portion of society have the plague. Only instead of dying they turn into zombies that weep black.
Basically, the empress gets stabbled in the backle (That's stabbed in the back for anyone who doesn't speak like a retard like me.) and you're dishonoured.
GET IT.
So anyway, you're framed as the assassin and then arrested, only to break out of jail and go after the people who framed you, the dude who killed the empress, the corrupt political leader and that man at the cornershop who gave you 79p instead of 80p change.
Jesus, Corvo, learn to let shit go.
Originally the game was set to take place in medieval Japan and seventeenth-century London. During development, test players discovered methods of exploiting the available powers and abilities to achieve unexpected outcomes; instead of restricting these techniques, the designers attempted to redesign levels to accommodate them.
It worked, because Dunwall really is a great city to get about in and you'll find yourself retracing similar parts of the connecting city in various ways.
The missions themselves are completely like Burger King. You genuinely can have it your way.
After Corvo receives his magical powers and upgrades them with runes, it's incredibly fun to think of the given potential in each map area.
For example, you could reach the target you wish to assassinate by "blinking" short distances across the rooftops, or you could turn in to a rat and crawl through the guttering into a building, or possess a guard to unlock the main door, or just spam grenades, swarms of wind and rats and shoot your way in.
You can even stop time entirely and walk through the front door, kicking enemies in the nutsack as you go.
But the stealthy approach is much more satisfying. In one section, I possessed a fish, swam through a drainpipe and flopped out into the bathroom of a manor I'd been trying to get into for half an hour. I used my crossbow to pick out half the guards in the head and dragged them into dumpsters.
This game is very much an adventure as much as it is action.
The length of the game might be considered a problem by some who rush through, as it has only nine missions. That said, a collectible hunter can happily spend about two-three hours on each one so it's all relative to your playstyle.
The graphics are also very nice and offer a rather grim, dark and realistic game with a somehow cartoonish edge.
Ending? A bit of a letdown. Stupid binary moral choices, so don't ask.
All in all, I would heartily recommend Dishonored for the eight British pounds sterling you can get it for at your local CEX. It'll help you get over the bitter disappointment of Thief 4 (You know, the one marketed as Thief for next-gen.) and is a bonus if you're looking for something that plays a bit like Deus Ex.
