title: Bloody Mary (cocktail)

text: Another notable variation is the "bull shot", popular in the late '50s and '60s, which replaces tomato juice with beef bouillon or consommé.


title: Bloody Mary (cocktail)

text: A "Virgin Mary", also known as a "bloody virgin", a "virgin bloody Mary", or "bloody shame" is a non-alcoholic cocktail, generally using the same ingredients and garnish as a Bloody Mary (according to local custom), but with the spirits replaced by additional tomato juice or prepared mix.


title: Alex Telles

text: Alex Nicolao Telles (; born 15 December 1992) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for La Liga club Sevilla, on loan from Premier League club Manchester United, and the Brazil national team.


title: Alex Telles

text: Telles started his career at Brazilian Série D side Juventude, before being sold to Série A side Grêmio in 2013. That year, he was voted the best left-back in the league. In January 2014, Telles signed with Turkish Süper Lig club Galatasaray, winning various trophies including a league title, two Turkish Cups and the Turkish Super Cup, only to be loaned to Serie A team Inter Milan during the 2015–16 season.


title: Alex Telles

text: In July 2016, Telles was sold to Primeira Liga side FC Porto, where he established himself as one of the best left-backs in the league. He made almost 200 appearances for Porto and won four trophies, including two league titles, one Taça de Portugal and one Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, as well as being named in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year for three consecutive seasons. Telles' performances sparked the interest of several European clubs, and in October 2020, he signed for Manchester United for an initial €18 million (£15.4 million).


title: Alex Telles

text: Born in Brazil, Telles also holds Italian citizenship, but ended up representing Brazil at international level. He made his senior international debut in 2019.


title: Alex Telles

text: Telles was born in Caxias do Sul, a city in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. At the age of eight, he began playing football with the neighbouring kids and was later enrolled to a youth academy of Esporte Clube Juventude.


title: Alex Telles

text: Telles began his professional career with Juventude, making his debut on 24 January 2011 against São José-PA. He scored his first goal on 20 August in a 1–1 home draw against Cruzeiro.


title: Alex Telles

text: In December, Telles was transferred to Grêmio after a partnership was established with Juventude. He made his Grêmio debut on 3 February 2013 against Internacional. On 26 May, Telles made his Série A debut, starting in a 2–0 home win against Náutico.


title: Alex Telles

text: On 22 January 2014, after long negotiations, Telles completed a move to Turkish club Galatasaray for €6 million, signing a contract that will keep him with the club until 2018. He made his debut two weeks later, starting in a 3–0 win against Tokatspor for the campaign's Turkish Cup, and made his maiden Süper Lig debut in a 3–0 home victory against Eskişehirspor on 8 February 2014. Telles made his first assist for the club against Antalyaspor in a 2–2 away game on 17 February. He also scored his first goal for Galatasaray against Akhisar Belediyespor on 8 March in a 6–1 home win.


title: Alex Telles

text: In August 2015, there were rumours mentioning Telles as a good choice to fill the place made by the departure of left-back Filipe Luís at Chelsea. In response to the rumour, Galatasaray manager Hamza Hamzaoğlu said the club would only be tempted by an acceptable offer.


title: Alex Telles

text: On 31 August 2015, Galatasaray agreed to let Telles join Italian club Internazionale of Serie A on a one-year loan for a €1.3 million fee, in addition to €250,000 if Inter qualify for the group stage of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League. The deal included a buyout option for €8.5 million, letting Internazionale make the move permanent when the loan deal is finished. Telles reunited with Internazionale manager Roberto Mancini in Italy, who previously coached him at Galatasaray.


title: Alex Telles

text: He made his debut for the club on 13 September in the 2015–16 Serie A matchday 3 against city rivals Milan, playing the entirety of the match as Inter won 1–0.


title: Alex Telles

text: On 12 July 2016, Portuguese side FC Porto announced the signing of Telles for a €6.5 million fee. According to a Galatasaray press release, the Istanbul club reserved a further 10% of any added value in a future transfer deal. The following day, after signing a five-year contract, he stated: ""I ambition titles, I ambition a very beautiful story. I have recently commented with my relatives that I do not want to come here in passing, I want to leave a legacy."" On 12 August, in a 3–1 away win against Rio Ave, he marked his league debut and first competitive match with a poor performance and subsequent expulsion. Despite the rough start, Telles gradually cemented himself in the team's starting eleven, scoring his first goal when facing rivals Boavista in a 3–1 home victory at Estádio do Dragão.


title: Alex Telles

text: On 5 October 2020, Manchester United had agreed a deal in principle to sign Telles for a fee believed to be £15.4 million. The transfer was completed and Telles was announced as a United player that day. He made his debut playing as a left wing-back on 20 October in a 2–1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League group stage. On 29 September 2021, Telles scored his first goal for Manchester United with a left-footed volley from outside the penalty area in a 2–1 home win against Villarreal CF in the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage.


title: Alex Telles

text: Although he was born in Brazil, Telles also has an Italian passport, making him in the past eligible to represent Italy national team. In October 2016, Telles said that he would "welcome" a call-up from the ""Azzurri"", adding that his great-grandparents are Italian and he feels Italian. In March 2019, however, he received his first call-up to the Brazil national team. He made his debut for Brazil on 23 March 2019 in a friendly against Panama, as a starter.


title: Alex Telles

text: On 7 November 2022, Telles was named in the squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He was ruled out for the rest of the competition after picking up a right knee injury in the final group stage match against Cameroon.


title: Aakanksha Singh

text: Aakanksha Singh (born 30 July 1990) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Telugu and Hindi films and television. She started her career with theatre and made her acting debut with the television series "Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha" (2012–2014). She made her film debut with "Badrinath Ki Dulhania" (2017).


title: Aakanksha Singh

text: Singh made her Telugu film debut with "Malli Raava" (2017), for which she received SIIMA Award for Best Female Debut – Telugu nomination. Post this, she earned success with the Telugu film "Devadas" (2018), Kannada film "Pailwaan" (2019) and Hindi film "Runway 34" (2022). She has been part of web series including, "Rangbaaz: Darr Ki Rajneeti" and "Meet Cute" (both 2022).


title: Aakanksha Singh

text: Singh is a recipient of an Indian Telly Award. In addition to her acting career, Singh is a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products.


title: Aakanksha Singh

text: Singh was born on 30 July 1990 in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Her mother is a theatre artist. She completed her schooling from Ryan International School and is a physiotherapist by education.


title: Aakanksha Singh

text: Singh made her acting debut in 2012 with the television show "Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha". She portrayed Megha Vyas Bhatnagar, a widow with two children opposite Kunal Karan Kapoor. She won Indian Telly Award for Fresh New Face - Female for her performance. The show ended in 2013, with two seasons.


title: Aakanksha Singh

text: She next appeared in the finite series, "Gulmohar Grand" in 2015. The show based on the hotel industry saw her portraying Anahita "Annie" Mehta Fernandez. Singh has also been part of "Box Cricket League" for the team Ahmedabad Express in 2016. In 2017, she played a lawyer in an episode of "Aye Zindagi".


title: Aakanksha Singh

text: Singh made her film debut with the Hindi film "Badrinath Ki Dulhania" in 2017. In the same year she made her Telugu debut with "Malli Raava" opposite Sumanth. It received mixed to positive reviews and she got nominated with SIIMA Award for Best Female Debut – Telugu for her performance.


title: Aakanksha Singh

text: In 2018, she appeared in her second Telugu film "Devadas" opposite Nagarjuna. It received positive reviews and was a commercial success. The same year, she appeared in two short films "Methi Ke Laddoo" and "Qaid".


title: Aakanksha Singh

text: Singh marked her Kannada film debut with the 2019 film "Pailwaan" opposite Sudeep. It was released in 5 languages and was an average hit at the box office.


title: Aakanksha Singh

text: In 2021, she made her web debut with the Telugu web series "Parampara". It premiered on Disney+ Hotstar.


title: Aakanksha Singh

text: Singh made her Tamil debut in 2022 with the Tamil-Telugu bilingual film, "Clap" opposite Aadhi Pinisetty. It released on SonyLIV platform. She next appeared in the Tamil film "Veerapandiyapuram" which received negative reviews.


title: Aakanksha Singh

text: She next played Ajay Devgn's wife in the Hindi film "Runway 34", which marks her second Hindi project. It received mixed to positive reviews. She portrayed a cop in her first Hindi web series "Escaype Live" on Disney+ Hotstar.


title: Aakanksha Singh

text: Singh will next appeared in the Hindi web series "Rangbaaz: Darr Ki Rajneeti" opposite Viineet Kumar. She has also appeared in the Telugu film "Meet Cute", an anthology produced by Nani.


title: Dill

text: Dill (Anethum graveolens) is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is the only species in the genus "Anethum". Dill is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food.


title: Dill

text: Dill grows up to , with slender hollow stems and alternate, finely divided, softly delicate leaves long. The ultimate leaf divisions are broad, slightly broader than the similar leaves of fennel, which are threadlike, less than broad, but harder in texture. The flowers are white to yellow, in small umbels diameter. The seeds are long and thick, and straight to slightly curved with a longitudinally ridged surface.


title: Dill

text: The word "dill" and its close relatives are found in most of the Germanic languages; its ultimate origin is unknown. The generic name "Anethum" is the Latin form of Greek ἄνῑσον / ἄνησον / ἄνηθον / ἄνητον, which meant both 'dill' and 'anise'. The form "anīsum" came to be used for anise, and "anēthum" for dill. The Latin word is the origin of dill's names in the Western Romance languages ("anet", "aneldo", etc.), and also of the obsolete English "anet". Most Slavic language names come from Proto-Slavic "*koprъ", which developed from the PIE root *"ku̯əpo-" 'aroma, odor'.


title: Dill

text: Dill has been found in the tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep II, dating to around 1400 BC. It was also later found in the Greek city of Samos, around the 7th century BC, and mentioned in the writings of Theophrastus (371–287 BC).


title: Dill

text: Fresh and dried dill leaves (sometimes called "dill weed" or "dillweed" to distinguish it from dill seed) are widely used as herbs in Europe and central Asia.


title: Dill

text: Like caraway, the fern-like leaves of dill are aromatic and are used to flavour many foods such as gravlax (cured salmon) and other fish dishes, borscht, and other soups, as well as pickles (where the dill flower is sometimes used). Dill is best when used fresh, as it loses its flavor rapidly if dried. However, freeze-dried dill leaves retain their flavour relatively well for a few months.


title: Dill

text: Dill oil is extracted from the leaves, stems, and seeds of the plant. The oil from the seeds is distilled and used in the manufacturing of soaps.


title: Dill

text: In central and eastern Europe, Scandinavia, the Baltic states, Ukraine, and Russia, dill is a staple culinary herb along with chives and parsley. Fresh, finely cut dill leaves are used as a topping in soups, especially the hot red borsht and the cold borsht mixed with curds, kefir, yogurt, or sour cream, which is served during hot summer weather and is called "okroshka". It also is popular in summer to drink fermented milk (curds, kefir, yogurt, or buttermilk) mixed with dill (and sometimes other herbs).


title: Dill

text: In the same way, dill is used as a topping for boiled potatoes covered with fresh butter – especially in summer when there are so-called "new", or young, potatoes. The dill leaves may be mixed with butter, making a dill butter, to serve the same purpose. Dill leaves mixed with tvorog form one of the traditional cheese spreads used for sandwiches. Fresh dill leaves are used throughout the year as an ingredient in salads, "e.g.", one made of lettuce, fresh cucumbers, and tomatoes, as basil leaves are used in Italy and Greece.


title: Dill

text: Russian cuisine is noted for liberal use of dill, where it is known as . Its supposed antiflatulent activity caused some Russian cosmonauts to recommend its use in human spaceflight due to the confined quarters and closed air supply.


title: Dill

text: In Polish cuisine, fresh dill leaves mixed with sour cream are the basis for dressings. It is especially popular to use this kind of sauce with freshly cut cucumbers, which are almost wholly immersed in the sauce, making a salad called "mizeria". Dill sauce is used hot for baked freshwater fish and for chicken or turkey breast, or used hot or cold for hard-boiled eggs. A dill-based soup, ("zupa koperkowa"), served with potatoes and hard-boiled eggs, is popular in Poland. Whole stems including roots and flower buds are used traditionally to prepare Polish-style pickled cucumbers ("ogórki kiszone"), especially the so-called low-salt cucumbers ("ogórki małosolne"). Whole stems of dill (often including the roots) also are cooked with potatoes, especially the potatoes of autumn and winter, so they resemble the flavour of the newer potatoes found in summer. Some kinds of fish, especially trout and salmon, traditionally are baked with the stems and leaves of dill.


title: Dill

text: In the Czech Republic, white dill sauce made of cream (or milk), butter, flour, vinegar, and dill is called "koprová omáčka" (also "koprovka" or "kopračka") and is served either with boiled eggs and potatoes, or with dumplings and boiled beef. Another Czech dish with dill is a soup called "kulajda" that contains mushrooms (traditionally wild ones).


title: Dill

text: In Germany, dill is popular as a seasoning for fish and many other dishes, chopped as a garnish on potatoes, and as a flavouring in pickles.


title: Dill

text: In Bulgaria dill is widely used in traditional vegetable salads, and most notably the yogurt-based cold soup "Tarator". It is also used in the preparation of sour pickles, cabbage, and other dishes.


title: Dill

text: In Romania dill ("mărar") is widely used as an ingredient for soups such as "borş" (pronounced "borsh"), pickles, and other dishes, especially those based on peas, beans, and cabbage. It is popular for dishes based on potatoes and mushrooms and may be found in many summer salads (especially cucumber salad, cabbage salad and lettuce salad). During springtime, it is used in omelets with spring onions. It often complements sauces based on sour cream or yogurt and is mixed with salted cheese and used as a filling. Another popular dish with dill as a main ingredient is dill sauce, which is served with eggs and fried sausages.


title: Dill

text: In Hungary, dill is very widely used. It is popular as a sauce or filling, and mixed with a type of cottage cheese. Dill is also used for pickling and in salads. The Hungarian name for dill is "kapor".


title: Dill

text: In Serbia, dill is known as "mirodjija" and is used as an addition to soups, potato and cucumber salads, and French fries. It features in the Serbian proverb, "бити мирођија у свакој чорби" /biti mirodjija u svakoj čorbi/ (to be a dill in every soup), which corresponds to the English proverb "to have a finger in every pie".


title: Dill

text: In Greece, dill is known as "άνηθος" (anithos). In antiquity it was used as an ingredient in wines that were called "anithites oinos" (wine with anithos-dill). In modern days, dill is used in salads, soups, sauces, and fish and vegetable dishes.


title: Dill

text: In Santa Maria, Azores, dill ("endro") is the most important ingredient of the traditional Holy Ghost soup ("sopa do Espírito Santo"). Dill is found ubiquitously in Santa Maria, yet, is rare in the other Azorean Islands.


title: Dill

text: In Sweden, dill is a common spice or herb. The top of fully grown dill is called "krondill" (crown dill); this is used when cooking crayfish. The "krondill" is put into the water after the crayfish is boiled, but still in hot and salt water. Then the entire dish is refrigerated for at least 24 hours before being served (with toasted bread and butter). "Krondill" also is used for pickles, vodka, not wine, sugar, and "krondill". After a month or two of fermentation, the cucumber pickles are ready to eat, for instance, with pork, brown sauce, and potatoes, as a "sweetener". The thinner part of dill and young plants may be used with boiled fresh potatoes (especially the first potatoes of the year, "new potatoes", which usually are small and have a very thin skin). In salads it is used together with, or instead, of other green herbs, such as parsley, chives, and basil. It often is paired up with chives when used in food. Dill often is used to flavour fish and seafood in Sweden, for example, gravlax and various herring pickles, among them the traditional, "sill i dill" (literally "herring in dill"). In contrast to the various fish dishes flavoured with dill, there is also a traditional Swedish dish called, "dillkött", which is a meaty stew flavoured with dill. The dish commonly contains pieces of veal or lamb that are boiled until tender and then served together with a vinegary dill sauce. Dill seeds may be used in breads or "akvavit". A newer, non-traditional use of dill is to pair it with chives as a flavouring for potato chips. These are called "dillchips" and are quite popular in Sweden.


title: Dill

text: In Iran, dill is known as "shevid" and sometimes, is used with rice and called "shevid-polo". It also is used in Iranian "aash" recipes, and similarly, is called in Persian.


title: Dill

text: In India, dill is known as ""Sholpa"" in Bengali, (शेपू) in Marathi and Konkani, in Hindi, or in Punjabi. In Telugu, it is called "Soa-kura" (herb greens). It also is called (ಸಬ್ಬಸಿಗೆ ಸೊಪ್ಪು) in Kannada. In Tamil it is known as (சதகுப்பி). In Malayalam, it is ചതകുപ്പ () or (). In Sanskrit, this herb is called . In Gujarati, it is known as (સૂવા). In India, dill is prepared in the manner of yellow "moong dal", as a main-course dish. It is considered to have very good antiflatulent properties, so it is used as "mukhwas", or an after-meal digestive. Traditionally, it is given to mothers immediately after childbirth. In the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, a small amount of fresh dill is cooked along with cut potatoes and fresh fenugreek leaves (Hindi आलू-मेथी-सोया).


title: Dill

text: In Manipur, dill, locally known as , is an essential ingredient of – a traditional Manipuri dish made with fermented soybean and rice.


title: Dill

text: In Laos and parts of northern Thailand, dill is known in English as Lao coriander ( or ), and served as a side with salad yum or papaya salad. In the Lao language, it is called "phak see", and in Thai, it is known as "phak chee Lao". In Lao cuisine, Lao coriander is used extensively in traditional Lao dishes such as "mok pa" (steamed fish in banana leaf) and several coconut milk curries that contain fish or prawns.


title: Dill

text: In China dill is called colloquially, "huíxiāng" (, perfume of Hui people), or more properly "shíluó" (). It is a common filling in "baozi" and "xianbing" and may be used as vegetarian with rice vermicelli, or combined with either meat or eggs. Vegetarian dill "baozi" are a common part of a Beijing breakfast. In "baozi" and "xianbing", it often is interchangeable with non-bulbing fennel and the term also may refer to fennel, similarly to caraway and coriander leaf, sharing a name in Chinese as well. Dill also may be stir fried as a potherb, often with egg, in the same manner as Chinese chives. It commonly is used in Taiwan as well. In Northern China, Beijing, Inner-Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, and Xinjiang, dill seeds commonly are called "zīrán" (), but also "kūmíng" (), "kūmíngzi" (), "shíluózi" (), "xiǎohuíxiāngzi" () and are used with pepper for lamb meat. In the whole of China, "yángchuàn" () or "yángròu chuàn" (), lamb brochette, a speciality from Uyghurs, uses cumin and pepper.


title: Dill

text: In Vietnam, the use of dill in cooking is regional. It is used mainly in northern Vietnamese cuisine.


title: Dill

text: In Arab countries, dill seed, called (grasshopper's eye), is used as a spice in cold dishes such as "fattoush" and pickles. In Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, dill is called "shibint" and is used mostly in fish dishes. In Egypt, dillweed is commonly used to flavour cabbage dishes, including "mahshi koronb" (stuffed cabbage leaves).


title: Dill

text: Successful cultivation requires warm to hot summers with high sunshine levels; even partial shade will reduce the yield substantially. It also prefers rich, well-drained soil. The seeds are viable for three to ten years. The plants are somewhat monocarpic and quickly die after "bolting" (producing seeds). High temperatures may quicken bolting.


title: Dill

text: The seed is harvested by cutting the flower heads off the stalks when the seed is beginning to ripen. The seed heads are placed upside down in a paper bag and left in a warm, dry place for a week. The seeds then separate from the stems easily for storage in an airtight container.


title: Dill

text: These plants, like their fennel and parsley relatives, often are eaten by black swallowtail caterpillars in areas where that species occurs. For this reason, they may be included in some butterfly gardens.


title: Dill

text: When used as a companion plant, dill attracts many beneficial insects as the umbrella flower heads go to seed. It makes a good companion plant for cucumbers and broccoli.


title: Dill

text: Tomatoes will benefit from dill when they are young since it will repel harmful pests while attracting pollinators, but as dill matures and flowers it will slow or stop the growth of tomatoes. Prune dill regularly so it does not flower if planted next to tomatoes.


title: Cheka

text: The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (), abbreviated as VChK (), and commonly known as Cheka (; from the initialism ), was the first of a succession of Soviet secret-police organizations. Established on December 5 (Old Style) 1917 by the Sovnarkom, it came under the leadership of Felix Dzerzhinsky, a Polish aristocrat-turned-Bolshevik. By late 1918, hundreds of Cheka committees had sprung up in the RSFSR at the oblast, guberniya, raion, uyezd, and volost levels.


title: Cheka

text: Ostensibly set up to protect the revolution from reactionary forces, i.e., "class enemies" such as the bourgeoisie and members of the clergy, it soon became the repression tool against all political opponents of the communist regime. At the direction of Lenin, the Cheka performed mass arrests, imprisonments, torture, and executions without trial.


title: Cheka

text: In 1921, the Troops for the Internal Defense of the Republic (a branch of the Cheka) numbered at least 200,000. They policed labor camps, ran the Gulag system, conducted requisitions of food, put down rebellions and riots by workers and peasants, and mutinies in the Red Army.


title: Cheka

text: The official designation was All-Russian Extraordinary (or Emergency) Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage under the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR (, "Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya po borbe s kontrrevolyutsiyey i sabotazhem pri Sovete narodnykh komisarov RSFSR").


title: Cheka

text: In 1918 its name was changed, becoming All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution, Profiteering and Corruption.


title: Cheka

text: A member of Cheka was called a "chekist" (). Also, the term "chekist" often referred to Soviet secret police throughout the Soviet period, despite official name changes over time. In "The Gulag Archipelago", Alexander Solzhenitsyn recalls that "zeks" in the labor camps used "old chekist" as a mark of special esteem for particularly experienced camp administrators. The term is still found in use in Russia today (for example, President Vladimir Putin has been referred to in the Russian media as a "chekist" due to his career in the KGB and as head of the KGB's successor, FSB).


title: Cheka

text: The chekists commonly dressed in black leather, including long flowing coats, reportedly after being issued such distinctive coats early in their existence. Western communists adopted this clothing fashion. The Chekists also often carried with them Greek-style worry beads made of amber, which had become "fashionable among high officials during the time of the 'cleansing'".


title: Cheka

text: In 1921, the Troops for the Internal Defense of the Republic (a branch of the Cheka) numbered at least 200,000. These troops policed labor camps, ran the Gulag system, conducted requisitions of food, and subjected political opponents to secret arrest, detention, torture and summary execution. They also put down rebellions and riots by workers or peasants, and mutinies in the desertion-plagued Red Army.


title: Cheka

text: After 1922 Cheka groups underwent the first of a series of reorganizations; however the theme of a government dominated by "the organs" persisted indefinitely afterward, and Soviet citizens continued to refer to members of the various organs as Chekists.


title: Cheka

text: In the first month and half after the October Revolution (1917), the duty of "extinguishing the resistance of exploiters" was assigned to the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee (or PVRK). It represented a temporary body working under directives of the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom) and Central Committee of RDSRP(b). The VRK created new bodies of government, organized food delivery to cities and the Army, requisitioned products from bourgeoisie, and sent its emissaries and agitators into provinces. One of its most important functions was the security of revolutionary order, and the fight against counterrevolutionary activity (see: Anti-Soviet agitation).


title: Cheka

text: On December 1, 1917, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK or TsIK) reviewed a proposed reorganization of the VRK, and possible replacement of it. On December 5, the Petrograd VRK published an announcement of dissolution and transferred its functions to the department of TsIK for the fight against "counterrevolutionaries". On December 6, the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom) strategized how to persuade government workers to strike across Russia. They decided that a special commission was needed to implement the "most energetically revolutionary" measures. Felix Dzerzhinsky (the Iron Felix) was appointed as Director and invited the participation of the following individuals: V. K. Averin, V.V Yakovlev, D. G. Yevseyev, N. A. Zhydelev, I. K. Ksenofontov, G. K. Ordjonikidze, Ya. Kh. Peters, K. A. Peterson, V. A. Trifonov.


title: Cheka

text: On December 7, 1917, all invited except Zhydelev and Vasilevsky gathered in the Smolny Institute to discuss the competence and structure of the commission to combat counterrevolution and sabotage. The obligations of the commission were: "to liquidate to the root all of the counterrevolutionary and sabotage activities and all attempts to them in all of Russia, to hand over counter-revolutionaries and saboteurs to the revolutionary tribunals, develop measures to combat them and relentlessly apply them in real-world applications. The commission should only conduct a preliminary investigation". The commission should also observe the press and counterrevolutionary parties, sabotaging officials and other criminals.


title: Cheka

text: Three sections were created: informational, organizational, and a unit to combat counter-revolution and sabotage. Upon the end of the meeting, Dzerzhinsky reported to the Sovnarkom with the requested information. The commission was allowed to apply such measures of repression as 'confiscation, deprivation of ration cards, publication of lists of enemies of the people etc.'". That day, Sovnarkom officially confirmed the creation of VCheKa. The commission was created not under the VTsIK as was previously anticipated, but rather under the Council of the People's Commissars.


title: Cheka

text: On December 8, 1917, some of the original members of the VCheka were replaced. Averin, Ordzhonikidze, and Trifonov were replaced by V. V. Fomin, S. E. Shchukin, Ilyin, and Chernov. On the meeting of December 8, the presidium of VChK was elected of five members, and chaired by Dzerzhinsky. The issues of "speculation" or profiteering, such as by black market grain sellers and "corruption" was raised at the same meeting, which was assigned to Peters to address and report with results to one of the next meetings of the commission. A circular, published on , gave the address of VCheka's first headquarters as "Petrograd, Gorokhovaya 2, 4th floor". On December 11, Fomin was ordered to organize a section to suppress "speculation." And in the same day, VCheKa offered Shchukin to conduct arrests of counterfeiters.


title: Cheka

text: In January 1918, a subsection of the anti-counterrevolutionary effort was created to police bank officials. The structure of VCheKa was changing repeatedly. By March 1918, when the organization came to Moscow, it contained the following sections: against counterrevolution, speculation, non-residents, and information gathering. By the end of 1918–1919, some new units were created: secretly operative, investigatory, of transportation, military (special), operative, and instructional. By 1921, it changed once again, forming the following sections: directory of affairs, administrative-organizational, secretly operative, economical, and foreign affairs.


title: Cheka

text: In the first months of its existence, VCheKa consisted of only 40 officials. It commanded a team of soldiers, the Sveaborgesky regiment, as well as a group of Red Guardsmen. On January 14, 1918, Sovnarkom ordered Dzerzhinsky to organize teams of "energetic and ideological" sailors to combat speculation. By the spring of 1918, the commission had several teams: in addition to the Sveaborge team, it had an intelligence team, a team of sailors, and a strike team. Through the winter of 1917–1918, all activities of VCheKa were centralized mainly in the city of Petrograd. It was one of several other commissions in the country which fought against counterrevolution, speculation, banditry, and other activities perceived as crimes. Other organizations included: the Bureau of Military Commissars, and an Army-Navy investigatory commission to attack the counterrevolutionary element in the Red Army, plus the Central Requisite and Unloading Commission to fight speculation. The investigation of counterrevolutionary or major criminal offenses was conducted by the Investigatory Commission of Revtribunal. The functions of VCheKa were closely intertwined with the Commission of V. D. Bonch-Bruyevich, which beside the fight against wine pogroms was engaged in the investigation of most major political offenses (see: Bonch-Bruyevich Commission).


title: Cheka

text: All results of its activities, VCheKa had either to transfer to the Investigatory Commission of Revtribunal, or to dismiss. The control of the commission's activity was provided by the People's Commissariat for Justice (Narkomjust, at that time headed by Isidor Steinberg) and Internal Affairs (NKVD, at that time headed by Grigory Petrovsky). Although the VCheKa was officially an independent organization from the NKVD, its chief members such as Dzerzhinsky, Latsis, Unszlicht, and Uritsky (all main chekists), since November 1917 composed the collegiate of NKVD headed by Petrovsky. In November 1918, Petrovsky was appointed as head of the All-Ukrainian Central Military Revolutionary Committee during VCheKa's expansion to provinces and front-lines. At the time of political competition between Bolsheviks and SRs (January 1918), Left SRs attempted to curb the rights of VCheKa and establish through the Narkomiust their control over its work. Having failed in attempts to subordinate the VCheKa to Narkomiust, the Left SRs tried to gain control of the Extraordinary Commission in a different way: they requested that the Central Committee of the party was granted the right to directly enter their representatives into the VCheKa. Sovnarkom recognized the desirability of including five representatives of the Left Socialist-Revolutionary faction of VTsIK. Left SRs were granted the post of a companion (deputy) chairman of VCheKa. However, Sovnarkom, in which the majority belonged to the representatives of RSDLP(b) retained the right to approve members of the collegium of the VCheKa.


title: Cheka

text: Originally, members of the Cheka were exclusively Bolshevik; however, in January 1918, Left SRs also joined the organization. The Left SRs were expelled or arrested later in 1918, following the attempted assassination of Lenin by an SR, Fanni Kaplan.


title: Cheka

text: By the end of January 1918, the Investigatory Commission of Petrograd Soviet (probably same as of Revtribunal) petitioned Sovnarkom to delineate the role of detection and judicial-investigatory organs. It offered to leave, for the VCheKa and the Commission of Bonch-Bruyevich, only the functions of detection and suppression, while investigative functions entirely transferred to it. The Investigatory Commission prevailed. On January 31, 1918, Sovnarkom ordered to relieve VCheKa of the investigative functions, leaving for the commission only the functions of detection, suppression, and prevention of anti revolutionary crimes. At the meeting of the Council of People's Commissars on January 31, 1918, a merger of VCheKa and the Commission of Bonch-Bruyevich was proposed. The existence of both commissions, VCheKa of Sovnarkom and the Commission of Bonch-Bruyevich of VTsIK, with almost the same functions and equal rights, became impractical. A decision followed two weeks later.


title: Cheka

text: On February 23, 1918, VCheKa sent a radio telegram to all Soviets with a petition to immediately organize emergency commissions to combat counter-revolution, sabotage and speculation, if such commissions had not been yet organized. February 1918 saw the creation of local Extraordinary Commissions. One of the first founded was the Moscow Cheka. Sections and commissariats to combat counterrevolution were established in other cities. The Extraordinary Commissions arose, usually in the areas during the moments of the greatest aggravation of political situation. On February 25, 1918, as the counterrevolutionary organization "Union of Front-liners" was making advances, the executive committee of the Saratov Soviet formed a counter-revolutionary section. On March 7, 1918, because of the move from Petrograd to Moscow, the Petrograd Cheka was created. On March 9, a section for combating counterrevolution was created under the Omsk Soviet. Extraordinary commissions were also created in Penza, Perm, Novgorod, Cherepovets, Rostov, Taganrog. On March 18, VCheKa adopted a resolution, "The Work of VCheKa on the All-Russian Scale", foreseeing the formation everywhere of Extraordinary Commissions after the same model, and sent a letter that called for the widespread establishment of the Cheka in combating counterrevolution, speculation, and sabotage. Establishment of provincial Extraordinary Commissions was largely completed by August 1918. In the Soviet Republic, there were 38 gubernatorial Chekas (Gubcheks) by this time.


title: Cheka

text: On June 12, 1918, the All-Russian Conference of Cheka adopted the "Basic Provisions on the Organization of Extraordinary Commissions". They set out to form Extraordinary Commissions not only at Oblast and Guberniya levels, but also at the large Uyezd Soviets. In August 1918, in the Soviet Republic had accounted for some 75 Uyezd-level Extraordinary Commissions. By the end of the year, 365 Uyezd-level Chekas were established.


title: Cheka

text: In 1918, the All-Russia Extraordinary Commission and the Soviets managed to establish a local Cheka apparatus. It included Oblast, Guberniya, Raion, Uyezd, and Volost Chekas, with Raion and Volost Extraordinary Commissioners. In addition, border security Chekas were included in the system of local Cheka bodies.


title: Cheka

text: In the autumn of 1918, as consolidation of the political situation of the republic continued, a move toward elimination of Uyezd-, Raion-, and Volost-level Chekas, as well as the institution of Extraordinary Commissions was considered. On January 20, 1919, VTsIK adopted a resolution prepared by VCheKa, "On the abolition of Uyezd Extraordinary Commissions". On January 16 the presidium of VCheKa approved the draft on the establishment of the Politburo at Uyezd militsiya. This decision was approved by the Conference of the Extraordinary Commission IV, held in early February 1920.


title: Cheka

text: On August 3, a VCheKa section for combating counterrevolution, speculation and sabotage on railways was created. On August 7, 1918, Sovnarkom adopted a decree on the organization of the railway section at VCheKa. Combating counterrevolution, speculation, and crimes on railroads was passed under the jurisdiction of the railway section of VCheKa and local Cheka. In August 1918, railway sections were formed under the Gubcheks. Formally, they were part of the non-resident sections, but in fact constituted a separate division, largely autonomous in their activities. The gubernatorial and oblast-type Chekas retained in relation to the transportation sections only control and investigative functions.


title: Cheka

text: The beginning of a systematic work of organs of VCheKa in RKKA refers to July 1918, the period of extreme tension of the civil war and class struggle in the country. On July 16, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars formed the Extraordinary Commission for combating counterrevolution at the Czechoslovak (Eastern) Front, led by M. I. Latsis. In the fall of 1918, Extraordinary Commissions to combat counterrevolution on the Southern (Ukraine) Front were formed. In late November, the Second All-Russian Conference of the Extraordinary Commissions accepted a decision after a report from I. N. Polukarov to establish at all frontlines, and army sections of the Cheka and granted them the right to appoint their commissioners in military units. On December 9, 1918, the collegiate (or presidium) of VCheKa had decided to form a military section, headed by M. S. Kedrov, to combat counterrevolution in the Army. In early 1919, the military control and the military section of VCheKa were merged into one body, the Special Section of the Republic, with Kedrov as head. On January 1, he issued an order to establish the Special Section. The order instructed agencies everywhere to unite the Military control and the military sections of Chekas and to form special sections of frontlines, armies, military districts, and guberniyas.


title: Cheka

text: In November 1920 the Soviet of Labor and Defense created a Special Section of VCheKa for the security of the state border. On February 6, 1922, after the Ninth All-Russian Soviet Congress, the Cheka was dissolved by VTsIK, "with expressions of gratitude for heroic work." It was replaced by the State Political Administration or GPU, a section of the NKVD of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). Dzerzhinsky remained as chief of the new organization.


title: Cheka

text: As its name implied, the Extraordinary Commission had virtually unlimited powers and could interpret them in any way it wished. No standard procedures were ever set up, except that the commission was supposed to send the arrested to the Military-Revolutionary tribunals if outside of a war zone. This left an opportunity for a wide range of interpretations, as the whole country was in total chaos. At the direction of Lenin, the Cheka performed mass arrests, imprisonments, and executions of "enemies of the people". In this, the Cheka said that they targeted "class enemies" such as the bourgeoisie, and members of the clergy.


title: Cheka

text: Within a month, the Cheka had extended its repression to all political opponents of the communist government, including anarchists and others on the left. On April 11/12, 1918, some 26 anarchist political centres in Moscow were attacked. Forty anarchists were killed by Cheka forces, and about 500 were arrested and jailed after a pitched battle took place between the two groups. In response to the anarchists' resistance, the Cheka orchestrated a massive retaliatory campaign of repression, executions, and arrests against all opponents of the Bolshevik government, in what came to be known as "Red Terror". The "Red Terror", implemented by Dzerzhinsky on September 5, 1918, was vividly described by the Red Army journal "Krasnaya Gazeta":


title: Cheka

text: Without mercy, without sparing, we will kill our enemies in scores of hundreds. Let them be thousands, let them drown themselves in their own blood. For the blood of Lenin and Uritsky … let there be floods of blood of the bourgeoisie – more blood, as much as possible..."


title: Cheka

text: The Cheka was also used against Nestor Makhno's Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine. After the Insurgent Army had served its purpose in aiding the Red Army to stop the Whites under Denikin, the Soviet communist government decided to eliminate the anarchist forces. In May 1919, two Cheka agents sent to assassinate Makhno were caught and executed.


title: Cheka

text: Many victims of Cheka repression were "bourgeois hostages" rounded up and held in readiness for summary execution in reprisal for any alleged counter-revolutionary act. Wholesale, indiscriminate arrests became an integral part of the system. The Cheka used trucks disguised as delivery trucks, called "Black Marias", for the secret arrest and transport of prisoners.


title: Cheka

text: It was during the Red Terror that the Cheka, hoping to avoid the bloody aftermath of having half-dead victims writhing on the floor, developed a technique for execution known later by the German words ""Nackenschuss" or ""Genickschuss", a shot to the nape of the neck, which caused minimal blood loss and instant death. The victim's head was bent forward, and the executioner fired slightly downward at point-blank range. This had become the standard method used later by the NKVD to liquidate Joseph Stalin's purge victims and others.


title: Cheka

text: It is believed that there were more than three million deserters from the Red Army in 1919 and 1920. Approximately 500,000 deserters were arrested in 1919 and close to 800,000 in 1920, by troops of the 'Special Punitive Department' of the Cheka, created to punish desertions. These troops were used to forcibly repatriate deserters, taking and shooting hostages to force compliance or to set an example.


title: Cheka

text: In September 1918, according to "The Black Book of Communism", in only twelve provinces of Russia, 48,735 deserters and 7,325 "bandits" were arrested, 1,826 were killed and 2,230 were executed. The exact identity of these individuals is confused by the fact that the Soviet Bolshevik government used the term 'bandit' to cover ordinary criminals as well as armed and unarmed political opponents, such as the anarchists.


title: Cheka

text: Estimates on Cheka executions vary widely. The lowest figures ("disputed below") are provided by Dzerzhinsky's lieutenant Martyn Latsis, limited to RSFSR over the period 1918–1920:


title: Cheka

text: Experts generally agree these semi-official figures are vastly understated. Pioneering historian of the Red Terror Sergei Melgunov claims that this was done deliberately in an attempt to demonstrate the government's humanity. For example, he refutes the claim made by Latsis that only 22 executions were carried out in the first six months of the Cheka's existence by providing evidence that the true number was 884 executions. W. H. Chamberlin claims, "It is simply impossible to believe that the Cheka only put to death 12,733 people in all of Russia up to the end of the civil war." Donald Rayfield concurs, noting that, "Plausible evidence reveals that the actual numbers . . . vastly exceeded the official figures." Chamberlin provides the "reasonable and probably moderate" estimate of 50,000, while others provide estimates ranging up to 500,000. Several scholars put the number of executions at about 250,000. Some believe it is possible more people were murdered by the Cheka than died in battle. Historian James Ryan gives a modest estimate of 28,000 executions per year from December 1917 to February 1922.


title: Cheka

text: Lenin himself seemed unfazed by the killings. On 12 January 1920, while addressing trade union leaders, he said: "We did not hesitate to shoot thousands of people, and we shall not hesitate, and we shall save the . On 14 May 1921, the Politburo, chaired by Lenin, passed a motion "broadening the rights of the [Cheka] in relation to the use of the [death penalty]."


title: Cheka

text: The Cheka engaged in the widespread practice of torture. Depending on Cheka committees in various cities, the methods included: being skinned alive, scalped, "crowned" with barbed wire, impaled, crucified, hanged, stoned to death, tied to planks and pushed slowly into furnaces or tanks of boiling water, or rolled around naked in internally nail-studded barrels. Chekists reportedly poured water on naked prisoners in the winter-bound streets until they became living ice statues. Others reportedly beheaded their victims by twisting their necks until their heads could be torn off. The Cheka detachments stationed in Kyiv reportedly would attach an iron tube to the torso of a bound victim and insert a rat in the tube closed off with wire netting, while the tube was held over a flame until the rat began gnawing through the victim's guts in an effort to escape.


title: Cheka

text: Women and children were also victims of Cheka terror. Women would sometimes be tortured and raped before being shot. Children between the ages of 8 and 13 were imprisoned and occasionally executed.


title: Cheka

text: All of these atrocities were published on numerous occasions in "Pravda" and "Izvestiya": January 26, 1919 "Izvestiya" #18 article "Is it really a medieval imprisonment?" («Неужели средневековый застенок?»); February 22, 1919 "Pravda" #12 publishes details of the Vladimir Cheka's tortures, September 21, 1922 "Socialist Herald" publishes details of series of tortures conducted by the Stavropol Cheka (hot basement, cold basement, skull measuring, etc.).


title: Cheka

text: The Chekists were also supplemented by the militarized Units of Special Purpose (the Party's Spetsnaz or ).


title: Cheka

text: Cheka was actively and openly utilizing kidnapping methods. With kidnapping methods, Cheka was able to extinguish numerous cases of discontent especially among the rural population. Among the notorious ones was the Tambov rebellion.


title: Cheka

text: Villages were bombarded to complete annihilation, as in the case of Tretyaki, Novokhopersk uyezd, Voronezh Governorate.


title: Cheka

text: As a result of this relentless violence, more than a few Chekists ended up with psychopathic disorders, which Nikolai Bukharin said were "an occupational hazard of the Chekist profession." Many hardened themselves to the executions by heavy drinking and drug use. Some developed a gangster-like slang for the verb to kill in an attempt to distance themselves from the killings, such as 'shooting partridges', or 'sealing' a victim, or giving him a "natsokal" (onomatopoeia of the trigger action).


title: Cheka

text: On November 30, 1992, by the initiative of the President of the Russian Federation the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation recognized the Red Terror as unlawful, which in turn led to the suspension of Communist Party of the RSFSR.


title: Cheka

text: Cheka departments were organized not only in big cities and guberniya seats, but also in each uyezd, at any front-lines and military formations. Nothing is known on what resources they were created. Many who were hired to head those departments were so-called "nestlings of Alexander Kerensky".


title: Cheka

text: Konstantin Preobrazhenskiy criticised the continuing celebration of the professional holiday of the old and the modern Russian security services on the anniversary of the creation of the Cheka, with the assent of the Presidents of Russia. (Vladimir Putin, former KGB officer, chose not to change the date to another): "The successors of the KGB still haven't renounced anything; they even celebrate their professional holiday the same day, as during repression, on the 20th of December. It is as if the present intelligence and counterespionage services of Germany celebrated Gestapo Day. I can imagine how indignant our press would be!"


title: Dishonored

text: Dishonored is a 2012 action-adventure game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. Set in the fictional, plague-ridden industrial city of Dunwall, "Dishonored" follows the story of Corvo Attano, bodyguard to the Empress of the Isles. He is framed for her murder and forced to become an assassin, seeking revenge on those who conspired against him. Corvo is aided in his quest by the Loyalistsa resistance group fighting to reclaim Dunwall, and the Outsidera powerful being who imbues Corvo with magical abilities. Several noted actors, including Susan Sarandon, Brad Dourif, Carrie Fisher, Michael Madsen, John Slattery, Lena Headey and Chloë Grace Moretz, provided voice work for the game.


title: Dishonored

text: The game is played from a first-person perspective and allows the player to undertake a series of missions in a variety of ways, with an emphasis on player choice. Missions can be completed through stealth, combat, or a combination of both. Exploring each level opens new paths and alternatives for accomplishing mission goals, and it is possible to complete all missions, eliminating all of Corvo's targets, in a non-lethal manner. The story and missions are changed in response to the player's violent actions or lack thereof. Magical abilities and equipment are designed to be combined to create new and varied effects.


title: Dishonored

text: During its two and a half years in production, several versions of "Dishonored" were developed. Before the creation of Dunwall—inspired by late nineteenth-century London and Edinburgh—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. "Dishonored"s music score was produced by composer Daniel Licht to represent London in the nineteenth century.


title: Dishonored

text: "Dishonored" received positive reviews, focusing on the missions' individual narratives and the freedom available in completing them. The game won several awards, including the 2012 Spike Video Game award for Best Action-Adventure Game and the 2013 BAFTA award for Best Game, and was repeatedly recognized as the best action-adventure game of 2012 and one of that year's best games. It has also been cited as one of the greatest video games ever made. "Dishonored" was initially released in October 2012, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, and was later supplemented with additional content focusing on the assassin Daud and his quest for redemption. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game were released in August 2015. Two narrative sequels, "Dishonored 2" and "", were released in 2016 and 2017 respectively, and the 2021 game, "Deathloop", takes place within the far future of the "Dishonored" universe.


title: Dishonored

text: "Dishonored" is an action-adventure game played from a first-person perspective with an emphasis on stealth action and the use of gadgets and the environment to eliminate opposing forces. The game world is a series of self-contained, mission-focused areas designed for multiple avenues of exploration in terms of in-game movement and powers. Between missions, the player is taken to a central hub called the Hound Pits pub where the player character Corvo can meet with his allies, receive mission briefings and alternate objectives, and convert recovered loot into new equipment and upgrades. In-game areas include loading docks, royal estates, poverty-stricken streets, and a bathhouse. The player can save their progress anywhere, and the game includes a checkpoint save system. Saving is disabled during combat. The game has four difficulty levels which modify the effectiveness of health and mana (magic) potions, and enemies' awareness, damage delivered, and responsiveness. In the easy setting, health regeneration is possible.


title: Dishonored

text: "Dishonored" features role-playing game elements, such as the ability to upgrade powers and to make moral choices with a focus on non-linear consequences. The game is designed to allow the player to complete it without killing any non-player characters (NPC), including boss characters and mission targets. An example of a non-lethal situation given by co-creative designer Harvey Smith involved the player completing a side mission for a character, and in return that character had two of Corvo's targets kidnapped and enslaved. Each mission contains multiple ways to explore and reach targets. Movement through and exploration of levels is designed to support the player character's abilities, rather than specific paths that are aimed at a particular gameplay style, such as hacking or sneaking. Specific elements of missions, such as changes to the color of a target's clothing and mask in one mission are randomized, requiring the player to explore the game area to find the target each time the mission is played.


title: Dishonored

text: The player's actions are not judged to be good or evil, but instead are tracked by a "chaos" system that records the amounts of friendly fire, violence, and deaths the player causes. This modifies the game world, affecting the story without directly punishing the player or forcing them to choose one style of play over another. For example, an NPC who disapproves of violence may refuse to support the player, or may even betray them. The game reacts to the chaos caused in scripted ways, such as changing dialogue, and dynamic ways, such as increasing the presence of rats and plagued citizens and adding new scenes. This can affect the active mission and future missions. The system also influences which of the game's two endings is reached, with variations based on which characters live or die. Using violence allows missions to be completed in less time than using a stealth approach, but violence consumes more in-game resources such as health and mana potions, which are required more often in direct combat.


title: Dishonored

text: "Dishonored" features six active powers, four passive powers or "enhancements", and forty "bone charms" which grant the player supernatural perks, such as the ability to increase the duration of rat possession. Initially, only three bone charms can be active at any time; up to six can be active through optional upgrades. Smith and designer Raphaël Colantonio stated that it is impossible for a player to accrue all of the powers and abilities in a single playthrough. The player requires mana to use these abilities; mana partially regenerates after use to allow "Blink" and "Dark Vision" powers to be used, but mana potions are required to regenerate more mana, restricting the use of higher cost abilities like "Possession" and "Bend Time." Magic and ranged weapons are assigned to the player character's left hand control and a sword is assigned to the right hand control.


title: Dishonored

text: The main supernatural powers are unlocked and purchased using "runes"—artifacts carved from whale bone—and each can be upgraded. Powers include "Dark Vision", which allows the player to see enemies through walls, their field of view and highlights interactive objects; "Blink", a short-distance teleportation ability; "Possession", that allows the player to temporarily inhabit and possess other characters; "Devouring Swarm", which summons a swarm of deadly rats; "Bend Time", that slows or freezes time; "Wind Blast", a gust of wind that can knock down enemies; and "Shadow Kill" that turns dead enemies to ash, preventing their discovery by opposing forces. The player can use weapons including a sword, grenades, a crossbow, and pistols. Coins must be collected to upgrade weapons and gadgets.


title: Dishonored

text: Stealth is based on limiting the player character's visibility; hiding behind objects and buildings, avoiding the enemies' cone of vision, and avoiding lighted areas aid in reducing detection. When hiding behind an object, the player can lean around the sides to see the immediate area and eavesdrop, and as long as Corvo remains hidden, his enemies will not see him. The player can also look through keyholes to gain insight into closed rooms. Sneaking up behind enemies allows the player to silently subdue them, and unconscious or dead bodies can be moved and hidden.


title: Dishonored

text: Guards have several states of alertness, ranging from normal to suspicious; they can become aware of the player's presence or can actively search for them. Enemy artificial intelligence (AI) will respond to sound and can be distracted using sound to lure guards away from their positions. If the player remains concealed from guards, their alertness will drop to "aware", but it will not return to normal in that mission. Enemies communicate their states of alertness to their allies, increasing the alertness level throughout the mission.


title: Dishonored

text: "Dishonored" takes place in the industrial city of Dunwall, where technology and otherworldly forces coexist. The city's design is modeled on London and Edinburgh between the late 1800s and the early 1900s. The capital of the Empire of the Isles, Dunwall is ruled by an oppressive regime that came to power following the assassination of the Empress and the kidnapping of her daughter. The city is a center for fishing and whaling; whale oil is a valuable resource which is needed to power the city. After a natural philosopher discovered that whale oil can be used as a fuel, the government used it to develop powerful weaponry, which in turn bred government corruption. The city is stricken with a plague spread by rats, which is killing the poor and isolating the rich. The infected, known as "weepers", cry blood and can become violent. The government uses the plague as an excuse to take or purge citizens as they wish. Order is maintained by the Tallboys, heavily armored officers on tall, mechanical legs, and districts are separated by barriers known as "Walls of Light", which are made of energy and disintegrate unauthorized people who try to cross them. A covert group of activists, the Loyalists, plots to overthrow the government and install the Empress's daughter as the new Empress.


title: Dishonored

text: The main character of "Dishonored", whom the player controls, is Corvo Attano, the former bodyguard to Dunwall's Empress Jessamine Kaldwin (April Stewart). Corvo becomes an infamous assassin after he is framed for the empress's murder. He is skilled in stealth and combat, is armed with unusual gadgets, and possesses great supernatural powers. The game designers chose Corvo to remain silent so that players could project themselves onto the character. Corvo is aided by the Loyalists, led by Admiral Farley Havelock (John Slattery), and members: Piero Joplin (Brad Dourif)an inventor who builds Corvo's mask and supplies him with gadgets; Treavor Pendleton (Derek Phillips)a member of parliament; Samuel (Ryan Cutrona)a commoner who ferries Corvo to and from his missions; Overseer Teague Martin (Joel Johnstone); and Callista Curnow (Lena Headey)the caretaker for the Empress's daughter Young Lady Emily (Chloë Grace Moretz). Other characters include Granny Rags (Susan Sarandon)a former aristocrat now blind and deranged after years of living on the streets; Daud (Michael Madsen)leader of a group of assassins known as "the Whalers"; and Slackjaw (Al Rodrigo)a gang leader. Carrie Fisher and Gregg Berger provide the voices of the loudspeakers found throughout the city relaying government propaganda.


title: Dishonored

text: The Outsider (Billy Lush) offers to help Corvo in his quest. Described as a mixture of God and the Devil, The Outsider imprints his mark on Corvo, imbuing him with magical abilities, and provides him with a mechanically altered human heart (April Stewart) that tells Corvo secrets. The Outsider also grants his mark, and special abilities, to other characters. Smith described the character as an amoral figure who grants abilities, but leaves the choice of how to use them up to the recipient.


title: Dishonored

text: Corvo's targets include the Lord Regent Hiram Burrows (Kristoffer Tabori)the Empress's former spymaster who masterminded her death and framed Corvo, and now controls Dunwall; Burrows's lover Lady Boyle (Anna Graves)an aristocrat funding the military; Lords Custis and Morgan known as the Pendleton Twins (Zach Hanks)members of parliament; High Overseer Thaddeus Campbell (Daniel Hagen)leader of the city's religious order; and Anton Sokolov (Roger Jackson)a genius inventor responsible for the creation of many advanced technologies including the Wall of Light.


title: Dishonored

text: After returning from a foreign voyage to seek aid with the deadly plague ravaging the city, Corvo Attano travels to the tower of Dunwall and meets with the Empress. After delivering a message, they are attacked by teleporting assassins led by Daud; they magically restrain Corvo, kill the Empress, and kidnap her daughter Emily. The Empress's Spymaster arrives and has Corvo imprisoned for her murder and Emily's abduction. Six months later, the Spymaster has seized control of Dunwall as Lord Regent. Interrogating Corvo, the Lord Regent confesses that he masterminded the assassination and framed Corvo. The following day, Corvo is due to be executed. A letter from Empire Loyalists is smuggled to Corvo and he is given the means to escape. Samuel ferries Corvo to the Hound Pits Pub to meet the Loyalists, led by Admiral Havelock.


title: Dishonored

text: While resting, Corvo is taken to a dream world where he meets the Outsider, who brands Corvo with his mark. Corvo is sent by the Loyalists to eliminate the conspirators behind the Lord Regent's plot, and the player is given the option to kill or otherwise neutralize the targets, the first of which is High Overseer Campbell. Corvo removes the High Overseer and discovers that Emily is being held in a brothel called the Golden Cat under the supervision of twins Custis and Morgan Pendleton. Corvo rescues Emily and eliminates the brothers. After returning to the pub, Emily is taken into the care of Callista to prepare her for becoming Empress, while Corvo is sent to abduct the genius scientist Sokolov, who is responsible for the Lord Regent's powerful technologies. Sokolov is taken to the pub for interrogation, under which he divulges the identity of the Lord Regent's financier, Lady Boyle. Corvo infiltrates Boyle's masquerade ball and disposes of her.


title: Dishonored

text: After returning to the pub, Havelock confirms they have done enough damage to move against the Lord Regent. Corvo infiltrates the tower of Dunwall and removes the Lord Regent from power. He learns that the Lord Regent intentionally imported the plague to decimate the lower classes of society, but it escalated out of his control. Corvo returns to the Hound Pits Pub, where the Loyalists celebrate their success. After sharing a drink, Corvo goes to his room and collapses. Upon waking, he learns that Samuel poisoned his drink at the behest of Havelock and his Loyalist allies Treavor Pendleton and Teague Martin, to prevent him from interfering in their plan to install Emily as Empress and rule through her. However, Samuel actually remained loyal to Corvo and -without the knowledge of the Loyalist conspirators- had given him a non-lethal dose of poison. Samuel sets Corvo adrift on the river and flees. When Corvo wakes, he is taken prisoner by Daud and his men, who intend to claim the bounty placed on Corvo's head by taking him back to the now Lord Regent Havelock.


title: Dishonored

text: Nonetheless, Corvo overcomes his new captors and defeats Daud and his assassins before going into the sewers. Corvo returns to the pub to find it overrun with guards and that Havelock has killed many of the Loyalists. He discovers where Havelock has taken Emily and can save Piero, Sokolov, and Callista. Corvo signals to Samuel, who ferries him to the former Lord Regent's lighthouse. He infiltrates the lighthouse and either subdues Pendleton and Martin or finds that Havelock has already killed them, ensuring the Loyalists' actions remain secret. Once finished with Havelock, Corvo may or may not rescue Emily. Havelock's journal reveals that he suspected that Emily is Corvo's daughter.


title: Dishonored

text: The ending varies depending upon the level of chaos the player has caused throughout the game. If Corvo saves Emily, she ascends the throne as Empress with Corvo at her side, and, if a small amount of chaos has been caused, a golden age dawns and the plague is overcome. After many decades, Corvo dies of natural causes, and Empress Emily Kaldwin I the Wise buries him beside Empress Jessamine. If much chaos is caused, the city remains in turmoil and is overrun with the plague. If Corvo fails to save Emily, Dunwall crumbles, and Corvo flees the city by ship.


title: Dishonored

text: Bethesda Softworks first announced "Dishonored" as a first-person, stealth, action-adventure game for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 platforms on 7 July 2011. "Dishonored" is the first Arkane Studios game Bethesda published after Bethesda parent ZeniMax Media bought Arkane in August 2010. Arkane Studios founder Raphaël Colantonio and "Deus Ex" developer Harvey Smith were the game's creative directors, and "Deus Ex" designer Ricardo Bare was its lead technical designer. Visual design director Viktor Antonov, who designed "Half-Life 2" City 17, and art director Sebastien Mitton led the art team. Smith, Colantonio, Antonov, and Mitton spent three years in pre-production. Bethesda approached Arkane and asked them to develop a new game and a new intellectual property. The team already had ideas for developing a similar game, but until Bethesda approached them, Arkane had no specific ideas. Mitton contacted Antonov in May 2009 to ask for his help to establish an artistic identity for a new intellectual property. The full Arkane teamincluding their offices in Lyon, France, and Austin, Texasworked on the game.


title: Dishonored

text: The game supports a different interface for Microsoft Windows users to that for the console versions, and also supports the use of Xbox 360 controllers on Windows PCs. Smith described the team's philosophy of allowing its developers who are passionate about a particular release platform to develop software for it; those passionate about PC will work on developing that interface, while Xbox 360 aficionados were allowed to develop the Achievements for that platform. "Dishonored" was officially released to manufacturing on 28 September 2012.


title: Dishonored

text: The development team researched unexpected ways the player could combine Corvo's special powers, such as combining a high jump with the ability to teleport in order to travel greater distances than either ability allowed independently. Instead of restricting these exploits, the team tried to design levels to accommodate them. The designers did not consider all of the powers they conceived during development, such as a power to become a shadow that could move along walls, to be suitable for the game. Some existing powers went through several revisions: a version of "Bend Time" caused the player to unfreeze enemies when touched; "Possession" allowed the player to control a victim remotely without inhabiting their body, but this offered less challenge. Balancing the effectiveness of the player's powers was considered difficult. Colantonio said: "We wanted to give [the player] very strong powers, to make [the player] really a badass, but at the same time we didn't want the game to be too easy". Each power has a duration, mana cost, and other variable properties that allowed the team to effectively scale even the most destructive of abilities by making them costly to use frequently or limiting the time they remain active.


title: Dishonored

text: "Dishonored"s stealth system was originally based on that of the "Thief" series, which uses level lighting and shadows to determine whether an enemy can detect the player character's presence. However, it was decided that it was unrealistic that an enemy could stand directly in front of a player hiding in shadows and not detect them. It was also considered that making certain areas dark hid the designers' work and contrasted poorly with well-lit areas. Much of the ambient dialogue was written to be lengthy and add background detail to the game world and to entertain stealth players who may be in a single area for a long time. Conversely, main story dialogue was written to be short to compensate for the player being able to interrupt or kill the character who is speaking.


title: Dishonored

text: To design the missions, the designers began with a cohesive area, which they filled with activities for the player. They defined paths to the target areas, and developed and expanded them. They then populated the areas with NPCs, which they assigned to patrol routes and functions. The designers would then observe how players interacted with the level, using their abilities and powers to test whether the area provided a suitable challenge for the available powers, and then redesigned the level as needed. At first, the levels featured little directional information to emphasize the player's ability to traverse them as they choose, but in testing, players became lost or obeyed NPC commands to not enter an area, leaving them unable to proceed. In response, the developers introduced more visual cues and verbal hints to direct players. Some features and ideas were removed during the design process, including a mental institution where Corvo would have faced sound-sensitive patients. Discussing the use of violence and the consequences of in-game freedom, developer Joe Houston recounted his experience while watching a tester play a mission to infiltrate a masquerade ball; Houston determined that not killing the NPCs opened up more objectives and interactions, but the tester systematically killed every NPC in the level, which Houston found disconcerting. The team came under pressure to excise a scene from the end of the game where Samuel, in response to a player killing indiscriminately throughout the game, can betray Corvo by alerting enemies to his presence. Smith explained: "Everybody just wants to be told in a video game that you’re great, no matter what you do. If you slaughter everybody – you killed the maids, you killed the old people, you killed the beggars – you’re great, here’s a medal, you’re a hero... We decided that sounds psychotic. It doesn’t match our values... What we wanted was to let you express yourself in the game, but to have the world react to that, at least in some way. [Samuel], betraying you and firing off that flare, was something we had to fight for".


title: Dishonored

text: "Dishonored" was originally set in medieval Japan, but the idea was dropped early in the game's development because of the difficulties presented in marketing the setting, and because no member of the design team knew much about the culture. Arkane moved the setting to London in 1666, considering that the city was recognizable to Europeans and Americans. Later designs inspired by added gameplay mechanics such as floodlights, electrified barriers and 20th-century technologies that it no longer resembled London, and Arkane opted to develop a fictional city. The city of Dunwall, designed to be a "contemporary and cool" "period piece", was inspired by late-19th and early-20th-century London and Edinburgh. Describing why London had been an initial setting and remained a significant inspiration, Smith said:


title: Dishonored

text: Antonov described his inspiration from London as "a big metropolis, it's messy, it's chaotic and intense ... and it's both exotic and familiar to Americans and to Europeans". He highlighted the importance of that familiarity to different cultures because "you want to communicate to a lot of people when you make a new piece of fiction". He said that Edinburgh provided a sense of containment and a variety of architectural designs, which were combined with a futuristic vision which Antonov said was not comparable to the brass, rivets, and steam of steampunk design. Antonov and Mitton traveled to London and Edinburgh for research, taking photographs of people, places, and objects. The pair avoided the busier streets and focused on side streets and alleyways that would better suit the game's world. Mitton stated: "We were trying to design the game from a rat's viewpoint ... if we have a small city, from a constrained viewpoint, what are all the different angles that we can explore?" Inspiration also came from the artwork of John Atkinson Grimshaw, Canaletto, and Gustave Doré. The world map was designed as a single piece of art and was sectioned so the designers were clear on where each mission takes place.


title: Dishonored

text: In-game characters were inspired by illustrations from adventure and pirate stories such as "Captain Blood" (1922), the work of Charles Dana Gibson, and mugshots from Edwardian London and Australia. An anatomy expert helped ensure the morphology of character faces represented Great Britain, while Arkane maintained a sense of realism and political incorrectness. Mitton established defining groups for characters such as rich, poor, and hostile with specific anatomy and posture designs, and animators created stylized movements for each social class and specific characters to help convey emotions. The city guards, for example, have small heads, low shoulders, and big hands, with animations that blend human and monkey movements. Antonov and Mitton employed a textile carpet designer in Russia to design and paint some of the in-game art.


title: Dishonored

text: The designers conceived the Tallboys as town criers. Stilts were later added after Mitton noticed someone cleaning their office façade while wearing stilts; the town crier role was replaced with loudspeakers throughout Dunwall. The Tallboy design evolved into a lamplighter that would light street lamps with whale oil tanks, but after further development, the designers considered that their tall, mechanical legs allowed them to burn the dead and deal with plague-infected citizens while remaining above them and avoiding infection, leading to their final design as a guard armed with a bow. Mitton suggested adding a phosphorus canister to the Tallboys' backs for aesthetic reasons, but Smith suggested whale oil, which in turn led Mitton to design the whaling ships to give the whales a visible presence in the city. For other technologies, designers conceptualized using 18th-century technology to build modern items and vehicles, and creating 18th-century items using modern tools.


title: Dishonored

text: The Heart is a human heart modified with technology and the supernatural, that helps the player to find collectible items in the levels, and "plays a part related to informing [the player's] decisions about when to apply violence or not, making it a really interesting, more subtle part of the power fantasy". The Heart provides contextual verbal feedback to the player, offering insight into a particular location, the secrets or history of a character, and its own origins. The Heart was originally designed as a method of identifying assassination targets using vibration and sound mechanics. The design then developed into the concept of the Heart speaking and feeling alive and having its own agenda. As a result of player-conducted testing of the game, the designers decided that a more direct navigation system was required. The Heart's gameplay role continued to change, and it continued to provide narration on its perceptions of different characters, which helped to reinforce the narrative themes and to differentiate the city's social classes in a more subtle alternative to having the characters provide expository dialogue. Colantonio and Smith were concerned that optional use of the Heart would result in some players missing the information it provides, but they considered that it was a part of giving the player the freedom to choose how to play.


title: Dishonored

text: The Hound Pits pub, which acts as a base for the player, was initially a larger structure. Filling out the interior of the pub required too many stairs and rooms, and the large amount of climbing made navigation confusing. The team found retaining the large exterior they wanted while creating and disguising a smaller interior that was easier to traverse challenging. The pub's exterior was shrunk to resemble an Edwardian building, but the interior remained labyrinthine so Colantonio required that a chain be placed outside Corvo's bedroom, allowing him to reach the roof quickly. In frustration, the designers decided to simply close off the third floor entirely. The art team continued to receive requests throughout development, requiring them to extend pre-production until the end of the development cycle. Each design was hand drawn.


title: Dishonored

text: Daniel Licht composed the game's score—an ambient, violin-heavy presentation designed to represent 19th-century London. Licht's score is designed to make the player feel unsettled, and not provide comfort. He described the music as an "evil fog" that fades in and out of the game without being initiated by any scripted moments or to warn of impending danger, instead creating the impression of ever-present danger. As "Dishonored" features few cinematic scenes that allowed for long interactions with any particular character, Licht found himself limited in developing specific character themes, and instead focused largely on composing ambient music. Samples of Licht's ambient themes were used in the game's few cinematic scenes, although Licht was not involved in scoring them. Licht conceived the score as a mixture of older music befitting the period setting, and 20th-century techniques such as reversed sounds. "Dishonored"s credit song, "Honor for All", was written by Licht and his nephew Jon, who also provided the track's vocals. It was written as a reward for players who had finished the game.


title: Dishonored

text: "Dishonored" was released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 platforms in North America and France on 9 October 2012, on 11 October in Australia, and on 12 October in the rest of Europe. Celebrating the North American launch, Smith, Colantonio, and other Arkane Studios staff members from the company's office in Austin, Texas, signed copies of the game at a local GameStop store. A "Game of the Year" edition, containing all released downloadable content (DLC), was released in October 2013. The "Definitive Edition", a remastered version of the game featuring improved graphics, and all released DLC was released on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in August 2015.


title: Dishonored

text: Bethesda Softworks developed a spin-off iOS game, "Dishonored: Rat Assassin", released free of charge on 30 August 2012. The game requires players to use a knife and crossbow to kill rats while avoiding bombs. "Rat Assassin" was well received for the variety and quantity of content provided, but received some criticism for dark visuals, that made it difficult to see the rats. The game drew frequent comparisons to another mobile game, "Fruit Ninja".


title: Dishonored

text: As part of the game's promotion, Bethesda employed COPILOT Music and Sound to develop the ominous "The Drunken Whaler", a modified version of the sea shanty "Drunken Sailor". Copilot decided to use ordinary children to sing the lyrics instead of a professional youth choir, aiming to achieve a dark, haunting quality to the music. However, they found it difficult to recruit children from local schools to sing about slit throats and hungry rats, and instead used child actors, adult singers who could imitate children, and the children of their friends. Instruments included violins, detuned and distorted guitars, and a "whaler stomp" created by the team, who stamped on wooden boards to create a pulsating sound. "The Drunken Whaler" appeared in the game's trailer and attracted a positive reception during its presentation at the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Following its debut, the trailer was watched over 850,000 times on YouTube, and it was awarded the Machinima Best Trailer award.


title: Dishonored

text: A set of three animated videos, titled "Tales from Dunwall", serving as a prequel to "Dishonored", were released in September 2012. The videos show the discovery of whale-oil fuel, the Outsider granting his mark to a small boy in search of revenge, and Piero creating Corvo's mask. All three videos were created by animation studio Psyop and marketing firm Rokkan, narrated by Chloë Grace Moretz, and scored by Daniel Licht. Each "Tales from Dunwall" episode received a gold Clio Award for achievement in advertising. In the same month, the game was used as inspiration for prosthetic makeup effects on the television reality show "Face Off".


title: Dishonored

text: "Dishonored" was displayed for the public at the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), and received four nominations from the Game Critics Awards for Best Action/Adventure Game, Best Console Game, Best Original Game, and the overall Best of Show award. The game was also recognized at the event for: "Game of Show" by GameSpy, and Joystiq Editor-in-Chief Ludwig Keitzmann, and was nominated by Destructoid and EGM; "Best Action Game" by GameSpy, and EGM, and nominated by Destructoid; "Best of E3 2012 Editors' Choice Award" by "GameSpot"; and "Most Original Game" by G4TV. Other recognition included: "Best of Show" by Digital Trends; "Best of E3 Selection" by Yahoo Games and Game Revolution; "The Best Game at E3" by Cinema Blend; and "Top 10 Game of E3" by "Paste" magazine and "Stuff"; "Kotaku" listed the "Blink" ability as one of the "Top 27 Game Ideas" at the event. Jurors from the Entertainment Software Association and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences selected "Regent", a piece of artwork for the game by artist Sergey Kolesov, to be one of 16 works for the 2012 Into the Pixel art exhibition. At the 2012 Gamescom trade fair in August 2012, the game won the award for "Best of Gamescom" and "Best Console Game" for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms. For the same event, "Eurogamer" named "Dishonored" as its "Game of the Show." Attendees of the 2012 Eurogamer Expo named it the number-one game of the show.


title: Dishonored

text: "Dishonored" received positive reviews from critics. Aggregating review website Metacritic provides a score of 91 out of 100 from 29 critics for the Microsoft Windows version, 89 out of 100 from 35 critics for the PlayStation 3 version, and 88 out of 100 from 56 critics for the Xbox 360 version. Reviewers likened "Dishonored" to well-received games from the early 2000s such as "Deus Ex" and the "Thief" video game series. "The Telegraph"s Tom Hoggins said it is like the "thinking man's games [from] the turn of the century which cherished player choice and control", comparing it against contemporary "noisy, brash thrill-rides obsessed with military ooh-rah and barely interactive set pieces". Dale called "Dishonored" "one of the greatest games of this generation", and wrote that it excelled by drawing inspiration from older games and allowing players to figure out solutions without advice. Dale also called it the first true stealth game for a long time, and the closest comparison to "Thief" in the current generation of games. Schreier stated that the game blends "the do-what-you-want structure of "Deus Ex" with the masterful world design of "BioShock"".


title: Dishonored

text: "Dishonored"s plot received a polarized response, with many reviewers praising the standalone stories driving each mission, but criticizing the game's overarching narrative. "IGN"s Cam Shea said it is "a shame that "Dishonored"'s story isn't greater than the sum of its decidedly memorable parts", but added, ""Dishonored" is a game you'll talk with your friends about". "Eurogamer"s Dan Whitehead, "The Verge"s Arthur Gies, and "Giant Bomb"s Patrick Klepek criticized the end of the game for its generic missions, "late narrative missteps", and abrupt ending. Klepek also criticized the repetitive ambient dialogue in the missions. Whitehead also stated that the unique, inventive, and distinctive missions allowed for memorable gameplay that subverted the overarching story. "Joystiq"s Alexander Sliwinski was disappointed by the abrupt ending, and that the story did not explore much of the developed world of Dunwall, but said that the overall experience left him wanting more. In contrast, "The Escapist"s Susan Arendt wrote that the story was well paced, and "Shacknews"s John Keefer stated that it was emotionally immersing and is "role-playing at its story-driven finest", but added that some plot points were not properly explained or developed.


title: Dishonored

text: The gameplay was generally praised for giving players freedom to use differing methods to complete objectives and to explore the levels. Keefer wrote that in-game mechanics like the powers and equipment are not essential and did not detract from the story, but served as optional bonuses in levels that can be completed with creativity and cleverness. He also said that some missions offered too much freedom without guidance, leaving the player lost on how to proceed. According to Gies, the game can initially seem unstructured from a level-design perspective, but after exploring them it becomes clear about how much thought went into different actions a player can take, allowing them to experiment instead of focusing on rigid objective-driven design. GameSpot's Chris Watters enjoyed the various pathways and methods of traversing each level with "compelling abilities", particularly the "Blink" power, and the freedom of choice which he said made "Dishonored" "one of the truly remarkable games of" 2012. Arendt said that the game's flexibility was also a shortcoming, with certain playing styles favoring certain abilities that when fully upgraded, preclude the desire to explore levels for further enhancements and resources. "Game Informer"s Joe Juba also wrote that the game punishes players for taking certain paths, particularly one of violence, which results in more difficult gameplay and a perceived less satisfying ending, encouraging stealth over alternatives. "Kotaku"s Jason Schreier contrasted "Dishonored" with other contemporary video games, and said that where other games may require a player to find a specific solution to defeat an enemy or solve a puzzle, "Dishonored" "feels like entering a designer's playpen", providing the player with an array of tools and then allowing them to experiment with how they interact with, or break, the world.


title: Dishonored

text: Reviewers also said that the game's variety encourages replaying. "Computer and Video Games" Alex Dale praised the variety and replayability of the game, and said, ""Dishonored" doesn't demand you see everything it has to offer, although it is compulsive enough to ensure you will". News.com.au's William Colvin wrote that the game's only shortcoming could be that it offered too many options, and Watters stated the game achieves a rare feat of being "compulsively replayable". Problems in the player's control of Corvo were raised; Whitehead noted the controls were unresponsive when used in contextual situations. Sliwinski said that the controls worked well.


title: Dishonored

text: Reviewers criticized the AI, which some found inconsistent. Whitehead criticized his experience of enemies that can see Corvo from a great distance yet sometimes remain unaware of him while in his enemies' peripheral vision. Juba criticized the inconsistent detection by enemies that lead to unpredictable and unreliable stealth mechanics that could force stealth-focused players into a combat situation, for which their character is not built. According to G4's Jake Gaskill, the AI worked well in combat, with enemies employing different tactics and effectively countering attacks, but when not alerted, enemies would ignore actions directly in front of them. Watters also mentioned lulls in enemy intelligence, but he said that it remained tenacious enough to keep the enemies formidable.


title: Dishonored

text: The game's visuals and design were generally praised; Gaskill said that the art style is unique and the game world is both vivid and fully realized, and Gies stated that the game has a "unifying vision and design that stands apart from its contemporaries as something different". Colvin described "Dishonored" as "a triumph for the medium ... that sets the benchmark for visuals, story, and character performance", and that it is "easily the best looking game you'll play this year". Juba found the "steampunk-inspired" technology designs fascinating, and stated that the visual style and art direction offer a distinct aesthetic that accompanies the "dark and disturbing" lore found in the city.


title: Dishonored

text: In the week before its release (30 September6 October), the game was the third best-selling game on Steam, based on pre-orders. During the first week of sales in the United Kingdom, "Dishonored" became the second best-selling game on all available formats behind "FIFA 13" (in its third week), the number-one selling PC game, and the biggest launch of an original game in 2012, exceeding "Sleeping Dogs". It was the UK's 24th best-selling game and the second best-selling original game of 2012. Based on physical copies sold, it was the ninth best-selling original game of the 2010s.


title: Dishonored

text: In North America, "Dishonored" was the fourth best-selling game of October 2012, selling 460,200 physical units, exceeded only by "Pokémon Black Version 2", "Resident Evil 6" and "NBA 2K13". During the 2012 Thanksgiving holiday weekend (2325 November), it was the number-one game on Steam.


title: Dishonored

text: "Dishonored" was named Best Action Adventure Game at the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards and was nominated for Best Graphics, Best PS3 Game, Best Studio (Arkane Studios), Best Xbox 360 Game, and Game of the Year. It won the Inside Gaming Award for Best Environmental Design. For the 2013 D.I.C.E. Interactive Achievement Awards, the game was nominated for Adventure Game of the Year and Outstanding Achievement awards for Art Direction, Game Direction, Gameplay Engineering, and Story. The Visual Effects Society nominated Viktor Antonov, Sebastien Mitton, Jean-Luc Monnet, and Julien Roby for Outstanding Real-Time Visuals in a Video Game. "Dishonored" also won the Audience Choice award at the 2013 Game Developers Choice Awards, and received four nominations for Best Game Design, Best Narrative, Best Visual Arts, and Game of the Year.


title: Dishonored

text: "Dishonored" won Best Overall Action Game and Best PC Action Game in IGN's Best of 2012 awards, and was nominated for Best Overall Game and Best Action Game on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms. "Game Informer" named it the Best Action game and one of the 50 best games of 2012. Additionally, "PlayStation Official Magazine" named it their Game of the Year, "Official Xbox Magazine" named it the Best Original Game, 1UP.com named it one of their favorite games of 2012, Jeux Video listed as the number 2 PC game of 2011, and ActionTrip named it Best Action Game. The game was named the Best Action/Adventure Game as part of the 2012 Yahoo! Games Game of the Year awards, and GameSpot's Best of 2012 series listed "Dishonored" as the Best Action/Adventure Game, Best PS3 Game, and Best Xbox 360 Game. The 2013 British Academy of Film and Television awards saw the game win the Best Game award and receive nominations for Game Design and Story. At the 2013 Golden Joystick Awards, "Dishonored" received six nominations for Game of the Year, Best Newcomer, Best Storytelling, Studio of the Year (Arkane Studios), Best Visual Design, and Best Gaming Moment for "Lady Boyle's Last Party". "Edge" also named Arkane Studios as the Studio of the Year. In 2014, IGN listed it as the sixty-seventh best game of the contemporary console generation, and it was 32nd on "PC Gamer"s list of the Top 100 PC Games.


title: Dishonored

text: "Dishonored" appeared on several lists of the best games of 2012, and was placed at number one by Ars Technica, CBS News, CNET, CNN, "Edge", the "Daily Mirror", "Forbes", and "The Guardian" (jointly with ""); number three by GameFront, "Metro", and "Paste" magazine; number five by "USA Today"; number six by GameSpy, and Joystiq; and number ten by Slant Magazine. Gamasutra also listed it as one of the ten best games of 2012, while "Eurogamer" readers voted it as the top game of 2012. In 2013, GamingBolt ranked "Dishonored" as the 95th Greatest Video Game Ever Made, and in 2015, "Rock, Paper, Shotgun" listed it as the 23rd best PC First-Person Shooter ever made, while "PC Gamer" named it the 6th greatest PC Game. In 2019, IGN listed it as the 97th-best video game of all time. "Eurogamer" and "Rock, Paper, Shotgun" named it as one of the best games of the decade.


title: Dishonored

text: A variety of pre-order incentives were announced for the game, including a "Dishonored"-themed, 72-card deck of Tarot cards, a USB whale-oil lamp, and a smartphone decal. DLC incentives offered in-game packs for the player character, including the "Arcane Assassin", "Shadow Rat", "Backstreet Butcher", and "Acrobatic Killer" packs that offer enhancements for the player character's abilities, money, and a statue of one of the game's creatures that increases bone charm carrying capacity.


title: Dishonored

text: "Dunwall City Trials", the game's first post-release DLC, was released on 11 December 2012, and contains 10 challenge maps. The player must defeat waves of enemies, complete time-trial challenges, and perform a series of drop assassinations in which the player kills a target by dropping from a location above the target.


title: Dishonored

text: Two story-based campaign DLC packs were announced in October 2012 for release in 2013, and follow the assassin Daud as he seeks redemption for murdering Empress Jessamine in "Dishonored"s main story.


title: Dishonored

text: The first expansion, "The Knife of Dunwall" was released on 16 April, on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. It features Daud (again voiced by Michael Madsen) as a playable character, with his own abilities including: "Void Gaze", which combines the functions of Corvo's "Dark Vision" with those of The Heart, guiding Daud to runes and bone charms; his own version of "Blink", which allows him to pause time; and an ability which allows Daud to summon his assassin followers. Additionally, Daud also has his own gadgets, such as stun mines, a concealed wrist-mounted bow, "Chokedust" grenade, which dazes enemies; and arc mines that disintegrate enemies. "The Knife of Dunwall"s plot runs parallel to that of "Dishonored"s, providing Daud's perspective on events, and introduces new locations, such as a whale slaughterhouse and Dunwall's affluent legal district. "The Knife of Dunwall" also features an additional difficulty level, "Master Assassin", which is made available after completing the content. "Dishonored" designer Ricardo Bare served as the content's creative director.


title: Dishonored

text: The second and final expansion is titled "The Brigmore Witches" and was released on 13 August. "The Brigmore Witches" follows Daud's quest to stop the eponymous witches from enacting a powerful ritual that will doom him, and concludes with Daud's ultimate fate at the hands of Corvo in the core game. The ending, like the main game, is determined by the player's actions and choices, called "chaos level". The DLC carries over player choices and upgrades from a "The Knife of Dunwall" saved game.


title: Dishonored

text: The first installment of the story-based DLC "The Knife of Dunwall" was praised for its level design, which encouraged exploration to find hidden content and alternative routes through areas. The modifications to certain abilities, particularly Blink were similarly well received for the changes they brought to the gameplay from the main game. The story, however, was generally criticized. Polygon noted that the deadly assassin Daud had no motive for seeking redemption, and allowing him to be played as a non-lethal character created a disconnect with the narrative. IGN considered that it felt like only half of a complete game, lacking any urgency in its story and featuring a disappointing conclusion. The story of "The Brigmore Witches" received a mixed response, with Destructoid saying that it offered a more gripping narrative, while Polygon stated that it lacked the same tension as "The Knife of Dunwall", and the ending felt rushed and unsatisfying. However, the gameplay was generally considered an improvement, providing more intricate level design and nuanced world building that produced gameplay requiring a more thoughtful approach. PC Gamer appreciated that the levels each had a distinct theme, and adequately provided for both stealth and violent gameplay, while Polygon said that only the last level improved over the preceding DLC, introducing new mechanics that forced changes in stealth players.