murry curry's Gaming blog

The demo build we were treated to was set during the clockwork mansion mission, as seen in much of the media coverage and in most trailers. Thankfully there were in fact two versions of the build available to play; one with returning protagonist Corvo Attano playable and the other with Emily Kaldwin, all grown up and making her much anticipated debut. I got immediately stuck in as Corvo, curious to see how his gameplay holds up in the sequel, and how kind the last 15 years have been to him. The first game's controls are still very much fresh in my memory, as in anticipation for this sequel's rapidly approaching release I have been working on a low chaos speedrun, so keep an eye out for that. I can honestly say I was not disappointed as the gameplay was at first instantly memorable, but with an unmistakable air of polish and refinement.

The mission starts with an automatically initiated electric cart ride up a short, steep incline to a courtyard entrance of the clockwork mansion. Your mission is to rescue Anton Sokolov and "deal" with the mansion's proprietor, Kirin Jindosh. Returning players will instantly recognize Sokolov, who plays a vital role in the events of Dishonored's story. The brilliant mind and natural philosopher, inventor of such devices as the wall of light and arc pylon, and who works alongside Piero Joplin to rid Dunwall of the plague that ravaged the city. He also seems to have a bad habit of being abducted.

Once Corvo alighted the carriage and control resumed, my first act was to bring up the inventory screen and was met by a large stock of familiar gadgets and supernatural abilities, which for the sake of exhibition had been upgraded. For example, it's possible to upgrade blink with the tweaks introduced in The Knife of Dunwall DLC from Dishonored. The Assassin Daud could freeze time when initiating a blink while either motionless or during mid jump, allowing breathing space for better judgment, or pulling off some neat jump to blink combos, like blinking back in the opposite direction you came from. I was anxious as to whether or not this upgrade would make its way into the sequel, so I was not disappointed. And talking of content from DLC returning, I noticed the stun mines are back. These non-lethal traps can even be attached to rats! As for the blink ability (which has to be my favorite in any video game) it's clear some work has been put into polishing and refining its execution. It's hard to describe, but in the first game it can be a little... ropey.

Emily may share the same basic tools and weaponry as Corvo, but her supernatural abilities are very different indeed. Her variation on Corvo's blink is a skill named far-reach, which works in a rather different way. With blink you are propelled through the air at speed and brought to an immediate stop on target, but far-reach looks and feels more like a large hand, "reaching" out and pulling you toward your target with brute force, so momentum comes into play and you don't come to an immediate stop. I can see this being something of a hindrance, or at least a learning curve, but I can also see a lot of potential with it. I had quite a bit of fun testing the waters with far-reach. Sprinting and jumping into a pull can practically catapult you from your target. I see fun to be had with speedrunning and crafty escapes. Far-reach also possesses a very special application; if you target an enemy, probably even a friend for that matter... so any human then, they are thrown through the air with great force towards you, leaving their fate in your questionable hands. Somehow I forgot about this ability and was thrown off guard when I attempted to pull myself in behind a sentry for a non-lethal take down when he was flung screaming through the air right at me. My reflexes kicked in just in time to choke the poor sod to sleep, at which point I let out a loud "whoa, that was cool!"

Another supernatural ability I became instantly obsessed with was Emily's domino power. With domino you mark a target, from then on each consecutive target marked will be linked to one other and will share the same fate, by your hands or even indirectly. The concept is simple enough, and in execution it's damn satisfying. My first attempt with domino was early into my mansion break in. Two guards were talking, discussing the large inactive clockwork soldier on display. Those bloody things! Sneaking through a small window I marked the two and concealed myself around a corner nearby. Sure enough the two parted ways after their conversation and one slowly wandered towards me. When the time was right a sprung from my hiding spot and choked the first guard to sleep. I turned to see where the other guy was and sure enough he was falling to the ground unconscious. This method proved incredibly useful on many occasions during my short time in the mansion. With far-reach and domino alone, I found myself forgetting all about Corvo. And during my 3 hours with Bethesda, in which I repeated the demo something like 4 or 5 times, Corvo only got a look in that first time while Emily took to the center stage. She's just a damn lot of fun.

The clockwork mansion is an impressive maze-like structure. Switches are found in every room that will radically change it's layout. These transitions are stunning. The entire room will shift piece by piece while clockwork machinery clanks and rumbles. All of this is done in real time and you can move freely about to admire, or get caught, ripped apart and crushed in the works! The sight and sounds of these transitions are equally mesmerizing and creepy. There's a real sense of the mansion being very much alive. As soon as you slip up and make your presence known Kirin Jindosh will communicate to you through the loud speaker system. His constant arrogant, snide remarks on your progress, or lack of it spurs on ever onward, if only to stick a piece of sharp metal in his eye!

The clockwork soldiers are as deadly as they look. Having the senses of, you know, a machine, it's tough to stay out of range of detection and if a fight does break out their armored bodies can take a hell of a pounding. But from what I've noticed the activation of these machine monstrosities acts as something of a punishment for getting caught in the first place. Before any detection the mansion is in a state of standby. It is possible to achieve that elusive non-lethal ghost playthrough by navigating the bowls of mansion's machinery, "the space between the walls" but sadly, though I got close, I never quite managed to pull it off. I consider myself something of a pro at the first installment of the series, and I kind of expected the sequel to humble me.

I wanted very much to stay as non-lethal as possible, as low chaos is how I roll. Something I always found pretty cool about the first Dishonored is how the non-lethal option of taking down key targets are often in themselves pretty brutal. A fate worse than death in some cases! That tradition seems very much alive and well as the non-lethal option for the mad inventor Jindosh has you using his own inventions on him to electronically scramble his brain. A kind of shock-induced lobotomy perhaps? Whatever it may be, I found the act of rendering the little cretin unconscious, sitting him in his little chair and cranking the power after his incessant smack talk incredibly satisfying, and taking out my frustrations for sloppy mistakes was an added bonus. Before I could administer the shock however I had to rearrange Jindosh's lab to optimize power. This took me some time as I had to find the right combination of layout for the room via two control panels, and each time a change is made there is a long wait while the room shifts into place. I probably spent a good 20 minutes in total in this one room during multiple attempts. Time that could have been better spent playing man dominoes. It's like dominoes, but with men, and knives... and is nothing like dominoes.

While others in the session were happy to play through the demo maybe once or twice. I stayed for the full 3 hours and just couldn't get enough. I enjoyed every minute of Dishonored 2, With its gameplay both instantly memorable from its predecessor yet plenty different enough through the clever use of old and new protagonists. A slew of new abilities opening up so many choices, Dishonored 2 does what a great sequel should do; build upon and push forward a great idea. Treading that fine line between familiarity and bold new direction is a tricky one, but I feel that from what I've experienced, though only a mere taste, is likely to be my game of the year... But let’s face it; I kind of knew that was going to be the case already!

I'd just like to give a massive thank you to Bethesda for your hospitality and for this fantastic opportunity. Whether you knew it or not, you made one of the biggest Dishonored fans out there very happy indeed! Good luck to Arkane Studios for Dishonored 2's November the 11th release. Lucky Hit will be all over it like plague rats!

Moving onwards and upwards I still want to focus the rest of 2016 on a personal challenge I set with my first blog. This challenge was to beat 50 games within the year, and 20 of these need to be a specific genre that I feel my gaming "curriculum vitae" was lacking. After giving it some thought I realised that though I have played a good deal of JRPG titles in my time, I rarely have the staying power to see them through to completion. This challenge has been firmly playing on my mind throughout the year, even when I felt overburdened with all that real life... stuff. As anyone who knows me would likely agree, I do love a good challenge! However I've made this goal so much harder for myself by procrastinating from the task at hand and focusing instead on a genre that equals, if not surpasses JRPG's in time spongery. You see, I've spent the best part of the entire year immersed in

Big, fat open worlds!

From the top of my head I can recall beating somewhere around 15 games so far, and only 2 of those have been JRPG's. So with less then 3 months before the year is out and I reach my deadline, how the hell am I going to beat another 35 games? 18 of which need to be those time eaters! Not to mention catching up with a huge backlog of work with Lucky Hit, and the possibility of relaunching an older Youtube channel of mine, but that's a subject for another article. It's safe to say that the rest of this year is going to be pretty intense, but I also feel pretty motivated. Well that enthusiasm remain this time? I hope you'll join me to find out. So time to get some coffee on and get me a re-education on a genre a love too much to continue to neglect!

Here’s some of the many games I’ve yet to finish, and certainly hope to do so

At first glance you may well mistake this title as a casual gem matcher attempting to look the part of a far more complex game. In reality however it's very much the other way around. The puzzle gameplay is surprisingly simple and plays second fiddle to the combat and resource management gameplay elements. Matching three or more "nodes" will begin to fill bars of resources. Purple ammo, used for weapons dispersal. Orange power used for firing up defensive and evasive systems. Blue coolant used to prevent overheating from all systems, and green repair nodes for all round system upkeep. Each turn you are given the opportunity to match node combos three times and perform as many actions with these resources as you can.

My first concern when presented by the barrage of stats was the possibility of a steep learning curve. Fortunately however the tutorial mission does a good job of explaining everything without excessive time spongery. In a matter of minutes I was able to understand each resource function and Ironcast system and conclude my first battle all at a good pace. I Then jumped straight into the full campaign experience without hesitation. In fact it's this impressive balancing act of instantly accessible gameplay and deeper tactical execution that is Ironcast's greatest strength. The real learning curve comes from mastering the random number generated roguelike elements. Level ups provide perks from a large randomised pool and mission drops provide blueprints for Ironcast systems and weapons. This pot luck draw can result in the need to drastically change your playing style on the fly.

Now I have a great fondness for Roguelike titles, and Ironcast is a particularly good example of this genre. Despite any previous experience or prior preparation you never truly have the upper hand. And this is not entirely the doing of the random number generator, Ironcast is a very tough game indeed. Even a potentially simple confrontation or mission objective can turn on a dime for the worse. To make this struggle all the more significant, defeat will lead to permadeath. That's right it's back to the very beginning of the campaign at level 1! The feeling of losing over an hour and a half of successful campaign progress just before meeting with the final boss was a crushing blow I haven't felt since making it to the city of gold, then instantly meeting my death in Spelunky. This tension and feeling of utmost urgency that is war is truly captured in battles that often conclude so intensely that a missed attack or lack of much needed resource can spell disaster for either side.

After each campaign attempt you are awarded a number of commendation medals, based on experience points gained and bonus medals that may spawn on the puzzle grid during battle. These medals are used to purchase additional commanders and Ironcast models, as well as abilities and weapon/shield augmentations that are added to the level up pool. Also purchasable are health and experience boosters which if purchased early can make progression seem a little less like a grind. This feeling of growth can help to make crushing defeat feel just a tad less bitter as you push onwards, you’ll get ‘em next time.

My one real gripe with Ironcast is the lack of any other game mode. With only a campaign mode to keep (in my case) failing at. I'm stunned to see a game with such an impressive combat system go without a multiplayer verses mode that would make so much sense. A few other modes, for instance time attack, challenge, survival or practice with leaderboards for each would go a long way to provide a greater level of accessibility and replay value.

Without a doubt one of the most refreshingly unique titles I've played in recent years, Ironcast is an addictive and relentlessly challenging gaming experience. Accessible from the get go, yet fiendishly difficult to master. you may have just found your new obsession with this puzzle fighter that packs a hell of a punch.

Resolutions I'm proud to think I had seen through included the usual "get fit" and "eat well" traditions. I have a long way to go to declare myself even remotely in shape but 2015 saw a huge reduction in takeaway consumption and lazy days. A decent fitness routine and drastic change in my diet took some going but it's still in effect, my weight is in a paced decline and I'm feeling all the better for it. In fact it was during this time I started a video blog series, "#murrymonday" in which I set myself fun video game themed fitness challenges. Though I'm ashamed to admit I failed to keep it going after only 2 episodes. I have made a resolution this year to re launch murry mondays, and this time to stick it out!

One more resolution of note was a vow to do away with my social media negativity. Friends and family will know that throughout the entirety of 2014 I went through what I can only describe as a social media breakdown. Practically not a day went by without a rant, a moan and in some cases an outright personal attack on peers. The pressures of becoming a father, moving home then full time house husband weighed heavily. And my response seemed to involve some heavy duty venting via the keyboard. A dark time indeed. Well I'm happy to report that in 2015 I made quite the change in that regard and can recall the moments of relapse occurring so infrequently that they can be counted on one hand with reduced digits.

So, I decided to carve in metaphorical stone a similar set of resolutions as the festive season concluded and the year was moments from turning. I'd like to share those with you as I've had a fun idea to include my first gaming related new year resolutions. That's right, this piece is about gaming after all!

I've been entertaining the idea of setting an annual gaming goal for quite a few years now. The idea is to complete 50 games I've never beaten before, or at least versions or ports of games I’ve never beaten before over the course of the year, and 20 of those games are to be a specific genre based on what I feel my gaming "curriculum vitae" has lacked throughout the years. Giving it some thought I decided to pick JRPGs. A genre I seem to have the greatest difficulty finishing. I still have access to many files on titles including Final Fantasy VIII, Grandia, Wild Arms and Phantasy Star II with progress made to the very latter chapters of the story. I'm hoping that by setting this goal I can give my discipline a much needed kick up the arse, and get through a nice chunk of my backlog while I'm at it.

Grandia and Wild Arms 3 are amongst the list of JRPGs I'm looking forward to ticking off the list of gaming conquests

My resolutions for 2016 in full:

- Continue to lose weight via exercise and sensible diet

- Become far more active via Lucky Hit's social media

- Make music again

- Relaunch #murrymondays. The weekly video game vblog

- Keep up with murry's gaming blog. Every Friday from the 29th of Jan

- Complete 50 unique games. At least 20 of which are JRPGs