My
Dishonored 2 PC Review:
http://steamcommunity.com/id/mysterd/recommended/403640/MYSTERD''S VERDICT:VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED...provided you have a PC to handle this game + can tolerate random CTD's.
NOT RECOMMENDED yet...for those who have lower-end systems + those who don't want to deal with random CTD's.
INTRO:Dishonored 2 is an absolute fantastic sequel to the original outstanding Dishonored game, often trumping it in almost every way with superb, clever + interesting level design (most are excellent, but The Time Manipulation + Clockwork levels are absolutely mind-blowing + incredible); outstanding gameplay; numerous ways to finish your objectives (stealth-style of action-style, with some choices along the way); fantastic graphics (and that's even when running the game at Medium settings). I said "almost in every way" because...well, this game clearly has issues currently, unfrortunately. While the performance issues + technical issues might stop some cold with decent systems + from contining to play the game until Arkane fixes some things, it certainly did not stop me.
TECHNICAL + PERFORMANCE ISSUES:Let's get the "bad" out the way here first. I was running the game at 1440p on my desktop PC with an i7 950 Bloomfield; 16 GB RAM DDR3; "4GB" 970; and W7 64-bit PC at Medium settings w/ V Sync Off - well, it took a bit to get this game running at anything worthwhile for me. With an in-game 60FPS cap, the game was rising + dropping like crazy, with framerates floating anytime from 30 frames to 60 feames at any moment; especially when out-doors. With an in-game 45 FPS cap, the game often hovered somewhere b/t 30FPS to 45FPS, which is certainly more acceptable than what it was doing with the 60FPS cap. On my gaming laptop equipped with an i7 4720HQ; 16 GB RAM DDR3; 4GB 960M - well, I had to run the game at Medium settings on 900p with V-Sync Off at Medium settings also with the 45FPS cap, just to try to keep the game somewhat stable.
While it's great that an actual PC game has a bunch of different FPS cap options in-game - which range from 30FPS, 45FPS, 60FPS + even above that for those with high-end monitors with awesome refresh-rates, BTW - and IMHO, more games should do this + have these kind of framerate-cap options - some gamers just might even want to use something like MSI Afterburner to lock the framerates down to something more specific and suitable for them, if necessary. While I was fine w/ the 45FPS cap, those with systems similar to mine might want to use Afterburner to set the cap to maybe 35FPS or even 40FPS, just to stable the framerate out even more so.
In terms of poor performance, this is very reminiscent of performance of another game, Batman: Arkham Knight. Though, at least Batman: AK didn't have random crashes, here + there - Dishonored 2 sometimes would have CTD's (Crashes To the Desktop) for who knows what random reason. B/c this is a stealth game (if you choose it to play that way, and you probably should at least try to) & you can save at anytime, most people likely are going to be Quick-saving & Regular-saving a lot anyways - but it's also going to be a great idea to do this anyways b/c of the technical issues this game has with random CTD's.
THE GAME ITSELF:This game is running on the Void Engine, which is a very-heavily customized version of the highly unoptimized Id Tech 5 (which powered other games that had stiff reqauirements + technical issues upon release...such as RAGE; Wolfenstein: TNO + TOB; & The Evil Within). Dishonored 1 never-ever slouched on excellent art-design & this sequel here absolutely is no different - but the game's technical graphics + quality is outstanding here on this engine, provided you can actually get the game running + looking worthwhile to you. Tons of details, objects, and whatnot are loaded in this game-world, absolutely immersing the player into the fantastic game-world.
And what a game-world this is! With in-game Lore littered everywhere to find (whether it's in-game notes or audio-logs); an interesting plot with some twist + turns (especially early on & a lot later on); an absolutely great set-up; and making a fantastic villain take center stage here; and the option to be either Emily Kaldwin (who is now grown-up & about to take The Throne) or Corvo Attano (the assassin from the first game) - Dishonored 2 has plenty going for it. The world-building + the actual game-world is very easy to get immersed into, as every corner oozes with personality, details, information & intrigue.
After events from the first excellent game + its also excellent DLC's, Emily Kaldwin (who was a child in the first game) is about to take The Throne in Dunwall, with her father + protector (assassin Corvo Attano, from the first game) watching over her, by her side. Without spoiling things with specifics here, a certain person claims that he or she is an actual relative to the Kaldwins, takes The Throne by force & kicks Emily off the throne. From there, the player decides to either be Emily or Corvo (which each have their own special skills, BTW), leaves Dunwall & goes after those involved in this conspiracy to overthrow her. Also, not too far into the game, you will meet the Outsider & can even decide to accept his superpowers that he's offering you or reject them (and rejecting them will force you to play the game without them). It's up to the player on how to approach things, as the game's littered with options, both lethal & non-lethal for every mission.
Combat + stealth was great in the first and is even slicker + tweaked-up more so than the first - so if you enjoyed how combat played in that game, you'll be fine here & right at home. There are more options here, as you can even vault over walls + objects quickly & seemlessly & the player even can slide when running, making movement also more Kinetic and fluid than the first game. And yes, variations of the teleporting Superpower known as Blink are here from the first game, as Emily's can go further than Corvo's (it's called Far Reach) + Convo still has his Blink ability (specifically tailored for him) - which keeps the game's movement + combat for a stealth game at a much faster pace, keeping the stealth genre moving forward.
While the game's a fantastic stealth game if player that way, you can also approach it & dream up all kinds of combinations of attack from your Superpowers & make them come to life, which is very remisicant of Bioshock series. By finding Runes + Bone-Charms, you can also improve your Skills & enhance your in-game abilities, as well. Just keep in mind, playing Stealthy and not-killing will likely get you a better + happier ending than likely slaughtering everything in your path, even though playing with the Superpowers + chaining skills & attacks together is tons of fun!
FINAL WORDS / OUTRO:When it's all said + done, after my first Playthrough as Emily Kaldwin, after experimenting here + there, dying quite a bit, reloading saves a lot, & exploring a good deal of the game-world that this game has to offer, taking around 23 hours or so, Dishonored 2 is finished. Despite the issues of performance + technical stabiilty from random CTD's, it could not stop me from playing the fantastic sequel to the orignal. In many ways, this is a much better Dishonored with much more meat to it, but technical + performance issues could stop some in their tracks from playing until Arkane fixes things up. Provided one has a decent PC & can hopefully Blink their way past the assortment of technical + performance issues that this game unfortunately has, this is easily one of the best games released in 2016.
