SubJeff on 18/4/2013 at 09:59
It's here, installed and ready and I just need a bit of time before I can play :(
SubJeff on 18/4/2013 at 12:59
I've only had half an hour with this but I'll tell you what - its nice to be back in Dunwall.
The mechanics remain the same, so far (although there are upgrades which are obviously geared to combat like Summon Assassins) but because I'm playing AS an assassin I feel more like an assassin. In Dishonored I went for stealth takedowns whereas here I've been going for evasion of overwhelming odds and no qualms about using the knife all the time, and wristbow snipes are making my life a little easier.
I'm playing on the hardest difficulty, natch, and I've died a lot. The guys in the trailer with the saws are, errr, tough.
I love the art and I love the map layouts. Already I've has lots of choice and some interesting exploration and I've only just got into the target building. The whole oil and whale and fish thing is great; the inspirations for the setting really work for me.
Obviously I'll have to finish it to give a real verdict but if you enjoyed Dishonored firing this up will bring a smile to your face.
retractingblinds on 18/4/2013 at 13:31
It looks like some of the content they used in previews that was cut for some unknown reason from the final product got repackaged into the DLC.
Malleus on 18/4/2013 at 20:28
Only in the earlier part of the first mission so far, but that woman Whaler who helps you in the first mission always scares the hell out of me, appearing out of nowhere when I least expect it. :D Anyway, it's great so far. As SE said, it's good to be back in Dunwall (I'm playing as stealthy and nonlethal as possible though).
Phatose on 19/4/2013 at 02:18
OK, so, finished it.
Not bad overall. The last mission being a retread of Daud's based sucked royally though. 3 Missions, but 1 of them is just "Remember this place where you choked everybody? Do it again."
And it doesn't so much end as just stops.
jdv on 20/4/2013 at 18:09
Just finished it now.. the second level was a blast... wish it was at night though. Would have felt even more thiefy. Trying it again on Master Assassin (+ my difficulty mod) and the same seems wicked hard now... very tasty. I really hope they patch in this extra-hard difficulty level into the original game.
Malleus on 20/4/2013 at 19:39
Am I the only one who think this one was a bit more difficult than the base game? Somehow it felt like the guard placement and level design made it harder to be stealthy. Which was good. :)
Aside from the last level being what it is this was good, I enjoyed it. I wonder if the unlocked difficulty level affects idle AI, vision cones or anything, or it's just something combat balance related.
Also, I lol'd at "Whiskey and cigars. Do you ever think about anything else?" :D
SubJeff on 20/4/2013 at 21:00
All done and very satisfying. Its a shame it doesn't have a proper end cutscene like the full game but its certainly set up stuff for DLC 2.
I really enjoyed this. Perhaps it was the lack of brakes I put on myself - I was turning the unaware to ash all over the place in the final level. And I didn't mind the location re-use at all.
It is definitely harder to stealth than the original but it also reminded me that the stealth mechanic is nowhere near as developed as it is in Thief. You may know an enemy is near but sometimes I'd get seen because I couldn't see or hear a guard. They need to make more noise is its to match Thief.
The only silly thing about it was the upgrade system. Yeah, you might hunt out all the runes and all the blueprints but for such a short game there are far too many. I got Blink 2, higher jumping (which seemed really, really high!), ash kills of unawares and summon assassin 1. Why would I need more, and when would I get them?
Phatose on 21/4/2013 at 04:22
Well, Dark Sight 2 is really useful. Especially without the heart to locate runes and such.
I'm really, really gonna miss stun mines if I ever replay the main game.
Neb on 21/4/2013 at 10:56
Was the text The Deep Watchers (I think that's the name) from the base game? My favorite readable so far.
On the whole I enjoyed it a lot - especially mission 1 - but the ending was awful. We got a monologue full of generic villain cliches for the camera, and Billie's betrayal might make sense in any other story, but it's loosely established that Daud shares his powers with the other assassins using Arcane Bond. I guess you could think up rationalizations and rule systems that make it work, but it's still a clumsily rushed ending.
Another small criticism about the last level: I play with no objective markers, and one of the last objectives is an invisible spot you have to stand in with no context or clue.
Looking forward to more. Hope they tighten it up, though.
