Gaming

For me, Dishonored 2 was highly anticipated title as I loved the original Dishonored that came out back in 2012. I personally feel that Dishonored 2 does a fantastic job at continuing what made that original so great. Dishonored was all about having different ways of tackling every mission and scenario, and Dishonored 2 runs with that idea. It expands the player’s tool set and options to the point where every single person that plays this game is going to have a different experience. There were a few issues with the game, but a lot of the problems are pretty minor when compared to what makes the game so fun.

In Dishonored 2, you have the option to choose between two different characters to play as. Each character as a unique set of supernatural abilities that you can play with and upgrade by collecting Runes. The player also has access to a very wide variety of tools and weapons at their disposal such as sleep darts, stun mines, a pistol, explosives, and so on. These tools are also upgrade-able through black market shops hidden across the world. On top of all of that, you have the option of being stealthy or chaotic in your methods. You can go into any scenario guns blazing as long as you are prepared for a fight, but you can also sneak past any unsuspecting foes and complete the mission in a more stealthy manner. Also, you have the option of using non-lethal methods to dispose of enemies, or you can kill enemies if you so choose. The combination of all these different aspects makes the game feel like a sandbox. Every scenario you walk into, there are dozens of different ways to tackle it. I personally played using non-lethal tactics and all the while never once being even detected by an enemy. I viewed every room as almost like a puzzle of how to use my limited resources to never be seen and to never kill anybody. Of course, this variety in options is only possible if the level design matches in the amount of paths you can take. There would be no use for all these fun new toys without a playground to use them in, luckily Dishonored 2 delivers just that.

Every level in Dishonored 2 is giant. There are numerous routes and paths that is available to the player to get to any desired point. In every room there are cleverly placed objects to hide behind. There are numerous walkways and surfaces to get on top of or even under to perhaps tackle a challenge from a different angle. Catwalks and back-alleys are scattered through every mission if the player wants to take a more stealthy and less direct approach. Due to these level design choices and the amount of tools and options at the players disposal, Dishonored 2 has a ton of variety and replay-ability. On top of just cleverly designed levels, every mission was extremely unique in both concept and execution. From run down research institutes, to lively palaces, to witches hideouts, Dishonored 2 has it all. My two personal favorite levels were both brilliant in design and execution. The Clockwork Mansion is a mansion filled with gears and mechanisms that at the flip of the switch can turn any room into something completely different. Hitting the switches throughout the mansion was very fun as I watched the level transform. It is also possible to get inside the inner workings of the house and sneak through it in that manner. My favorite level however was Stilton’s Manor, as it very cleverly implemented time travel to change the level from an overgrown mess to a well-guarded and pristine estate. Switching back and forth between these two versions of the manor was necessary to progress through the level. These ever changing and evolving level designs were among my personal favorites, but all the other missions were extremely fun as well.

Despite everything that Dishonored 2 does right, it does have its set of flaws. Most importantly, for many PC users the game does not run properly. Hopefully the developers can get this issue sorted out as soon as possible, but two months after the release I am still hearing of issues concerning the poor performance on PC. Luckily I did not have any performance related problems, but there were also a few other issues that I had with the game. The overall story was just mediocre. It plays out similarly to the original Dishonored: the queen is overthrown and you must retake the throne by eliminating the usurper’s associates in one way or another. The usurper and her associates are the main enemies and villains of the story but you rarely ever see them or hear of them outside of their particular missions. I never really cared about any of the characters as you so rarely interact with any of them. Overall the whole story just felt loosely stringed together and it seemed like it was just the vehicle to connect all the unique and interesting level designs together. The cool thing about the story is that there is a large set of different endings depending on who you leave alive and who you kill and how much overall chaos you have caused. My only other complaint with the game is at times there was a bit of backtracking. There were many levels that required you to walk all the way back to the starting point just to complete the level. It just feels like every level should have an exit point near the end, instead of having to walk all the way back to the start after completing the main objective.

All in all, Dishonored 2 was pretty great game. Just the sheer amount of options and tools available to the player is a breath of fresh air when so many games play so linearly. The amount of creativity and thought that went into every mission is remarkable. Many of the levels were extremely memorable and jaw-dropping. Unfortunately the PC performance issue exist so just be weary if you are thinking of purchasing this game on PC right now. Other than that there were only some minor issues with the game overall. Due to all of these aspects I give Dishonored 2 a 8.5/10. Just think of Dishonored 2 as a giant playground, and you can do whatever you want, that is what makes it so fun.

Pokémon Sun and Moon are the most recent addition to the famous franchise. Sun and Moon take the player to the tropical islands of Alola which was a refreshing experience. As a whole, these games make some big changes to the series that I believe were desperately needed. The past couple of years the series has been getting stale; Pokémon has recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary and in twenty years the games have remained the same. Of course there has been some nice changes over the years, but the basic formula has been the same. Sun and Moon do a great job of breaking the stagnation and in my opinion they are the best Pokémon games in awhile.

The innovation is apparent from the start of the game as the region of Alola is a chain of tropical islands, which is radically different than any of the other six regions. Instead of Pokémon gyms and collecting badges, the player must complete various trials. These trials can be anything from searching for hidden items, playing spot the difference, or listening for a specific sound. The only similarity in these trials are the Totem Pokémon which are exceptionally powerful Pokémon that the player must battle. There is also a Kahuna on every island, a trainer chosen by the guardian deities of the islands, that the player interacts with and eventually has to battle. Another big innovation was the addition of regional variants of different Pokémon. These are variations of classic Pokémon with changed types, abilities, and appearance. I believe this was a very clever idea as it allowed Game Freak to make some tweaks to some older Pokémon to make them stronger and more appealing to use. It also added some great variety and it was interesting to see how different Pokémon adapted to Alola. Outside of regional variants, most of the new Pokémon introduced were also well designed and had some new abilities to play around with. The change of format in the games was a huge step forward and it allowed for a lot more creativity and variety.

When it comes to variety, I believe that the Pokémon series is held back by its desire to keep using the same couple of Pokémon in every scenario and game. This is by far my biggest gripe with the series and this game as a whole. It is incredibly frustrating that there are over 800 Pokémon in total and yet every game is plagued by the same couple of species. Every ocean is overflowing with Magikarp, and every cave is filled with mostly Zubat. This has being going on for years and I would really appreciate seeing some other Pokémon. I am fine with the occasional appearance of Pokémon from Generation I, but as a long time player of the series it gets extremely tiring and boring to see the same couple of Pokémon all the time. I would just like to see more Pokémon from Generations II-VII. There are also a couple of minor issues that I had with this game. The first being that frame rate does tend to drop when in chaotic battles. There is also the issue of strange move-set and evolution complications that were probably unintended by the developers. For example Kadabra does not learn a damaging move until level 28. Or the fact that many species of Pokémon do not have the ability to evolve until right before the end of the game. There were also a couple of big level spikes at the end of the game, going straight from a level 45 Totem Pokémon to a trainer with five level 50 Pokémon is kind of strange. The tutorial was also a bit lengthy and could have been slimmed down a bit. Lastly, leveling up Pokémon in the post-game is a painful process. Overall I feel most of these issues were pretty small but they do add up and hurt the quality of the game a little bit.

I cannot talk about Sun and Moon without mentioning the story quality. The past couple of generations Pokémon has had a larger focus on the story than it has in the past. I was not a huge fan of this approach in Generations V and VI as I just did not care much about the stories being presented. In Sun and Moon I believe this narrative-heavy approach was executed much better than it was in the past. This is mostly due to the constant interaction with the games characters and their lively dialogue. Characters such as Kukui, Hau, and Lillie are actually memorable and likable. Even the supporting and side characters were great; the hilarity of Team Skull and their ridiculous antics were certainly a welcome addition to the game. While I did enjoy more interaction with the characters, it did have a drawback. I felt a little overwhelmed and occasionally frustrated with how often my adventure was put to a halt to read some dialogue. There just was not enough time in between these story interactions and it made the game just feel slow.

There were a number of small changes in Sun and Moon that improved the experience. The new Pokédex made it easy to use the map and see where to catch different Pokémon. The battle interface was also greatly improved as it allowed the player to see more detail for each move. Poké Pelago was nice addition that made it easier to grow berries, collect items, and hatch eggs. It also lets the player interact with Pokémon that they have caught but are not currently using. The game also had a fairly good difficulty level; I turned the Exp. Share off and the game provided a couple of decently challenging battles. The PC storage system was also streamlined and made a lot simpler to navigate. One of my favorite changes was the disposal of Hidden Machines and their obnoxious existence. Overall these small changes really improved the game and I hope they keep these features in future generations.

Pokémon Sun and Moon brought some desperately needed innovation to the otherwise stagnant series and it was really a refreshing experience. There were some issues like lack of generational variety, the overall slow pace, as well as a couple of minor issues, but it is much more important to me that the series finally took a step out of its comfort zone and attempted to create a new experience. I am going to give Pokémon Sun and Moon a 8.5/10 as it breathed new life into the series. The region of Alola was unique and enjoyable and it felt like a breath of fresh air after years of stale and repetitive games. Sun and Moon for me are the best Pokémon games in years.

stephensopinions

Dishonored 2 (2016)

Pokémon Sun and Moon (2016)