Dinstinction (video game)
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| Distinction | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Abel Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Abel Games |
| Producer(s) | Jensen Battle |
| Designer(s) | Osvaldo Mcintosh |
| Programmer(s) | Khalil Burks |
| Artist(s) | Maddox Kidd |
| Writer(s) |
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| Composer(s) | Anthony Turner |
| Series | East |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Distinction is a 2021 action-adventure game developed and published by Zamastanian-company Abel Studios. The story is set in 1879 in a fictionalized representation of Zamastan and follows outlaw Jude/Jamie Kurt, a member of the Crawford gang. Jude/Jamie must deal with the decline of the expansionist era in the east whilst attempting to survive against government forces, rival gangs, and other adversaries. The game is presented through both first and third-person perspectives, and the player may freely roam in its interactive open world. Gameplay elements include shootouts, heists, hunting, horseback riding, interacting with non-player characters, and maintaining the character's honor rating through moral choices and deeds. A bounty system governs the response of law enforcement and bounty hunters to crimes committed by the player.
The game's development lasted over eight years, and it became one of the most expensive video games ever made. Abel Studios co-opted all of its studios into one large team to facilitate development. They drew influence from real locations as opposed to film or art, focused on creating an accurate reflection of the time with the game's characters and world. The game was Abel Studio's first built specifically for ninth generation consoles, having tested their technical capabilities while porting their previously released "Ridge (2016)" to the platforms. The game's soundtrack features an original score composed by Anthony Turner and several vocal tracks produced by Theo Thomson.
Gameplay
Played from a first or third-person perspective, the game is set in an open-world environment featuring a fictionalized version of Zamastan in 1879, during the latter half of the Eastern Expansionist era, the aftermath of the Parabocan War, and the beginning of rampant industrialisation. The game features both single-player and online multiplayer components, the latter released under Distinction Online. For most of the game, the player controls outlaw Jude (or Jamie) Kurt, a member of the Crawford gang, as he/she completes numerous missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story. Outside of missions, the player may freely roam the game's interactive world. The player may engage in combat with enemies using melee attacks, firearms, throwables, or explosives. Combat has been refined from the game's predecessor, and notable new mechanics consist of dual-wielding and the ability to use a bow.
Distinction's unexploited land makes up the largest portion of the game world and features diverse landscapes with occasional travelers, bandits, and wildlife. There are urban settlements in the game, ranging from farmhouses to towns and cities. Horses are the main forms of transportation, of which there are various breeds, each with different attributes. The player can steal horses, and must either train or tame a wild horse to use it; to own a horse, the player must saddle or stable it. Increased use of a horse will begin a bonding process, which can be increased by leading, petting, cleaning and feeding it, and the player will acquire advantages as they ride their horse. Stagecoaches and trains can also be used to travel. The player can hijack an incoming train or stagecoach by threatening the driver or passengers and then rob its contents or the passengers.
The player may also witness or take part in random events encountered from exploring the game world. These include ambushes, crimes committed by other people, pleas for assistance, ride-by shootings, public executions, and animal attacks. For example, as the player explores the Interior, they can find specific people in distress. If the player decides to help them, they will be thankful and may reward the player if they cross them again. The player may also take part in side-activities, which include small tasks with companions and strangers, dueling, bounty hunting, searching for treasure or other collectibles around the map such as rock carvings, and playing poker, blackjack, dominoes, and Five Finger Filet. Hunting animals also plays a major role in the game, providing food, income, and materials for crafting items. When hunting, the player needs to take into account several factors, including the choice of weapon and shot placement, which affect the quality of the meat and pelt and subsequently the price traders are willing to pay. The player can either skin the animal immediately or carry the carcass, which will rot over time and decrease its value and attract predators.
The game focuses heavily on player choice for the story and missions. To start, the player can determine their character's sex - whether their player is a man (Jude) or a woman (Jamie). The character, while their name cannot be changed in story mode, is highly customizable through physical appearance, clothing, and accesories. Certain moments in the story will give the player the option to accept or decline additional missions and lightly shape the plot around their choices. The player can communicate with any non-player character (NPC) in dynamic ways new to the series. The player can choose different dialogue trees with NPCs, such as having a friendly chat or insulting them. If the player chooses to kill an NPC, they can loot their corpse. Distinction utilizes an "Honor" system by measuring how the player's actions are perceived in terms of morality. Morally positive choices and deeds like helping strangers, abiding the law, and sparing opponents in a duel will add up to the player's Honor. However, negative deeds such as theft and harming innocents will subtract from the player's Honor. The story is influenced by Honor, as the dialogue and outcomes for the player often differ based on their Honor level. Hitting milestones for the player's Honor level will grant unique benefits, such as rewarding the player with special outfits and large discounts in stores. A low Honor level is also beneficial, as the player will receive a greater number of items from looted corpses.
Maintaining the player is important, as they can undergo conditions that affect their health and stamina attributes. In addition to a health and stamina bar, the player also has cores, which affect the rate at which their health and stamina regenerate. For example, wearing warmer clothes will mean they avoid freezing in a cold environment, but wearing them in a hot environment will result in perspiration. Freezing or overheating will rapidly drain cores. The player can also gain or lose weight depending on how much he eats; an underweight character will have less health but at an increase of stamina, while an overweight character will be able to better absorb damage but will have less stamina. The player can eat and sleep to replenish their cores. The player can bathe to remain clean, and can visit a barber to change hairstyles; hair also grows realistically over time. The game features weapon degradation, with weapons requiring cleaning to maintain their performance. When the player uses a certain type of gun for a long period of time, they become more experienced with it, which improves weapon handling, reduces recoil, and increases the rate of reloading.
Gunfights are an essential mechanic in the game. The player can take cover, free aim, and target a person or animal. Individual body parts can also be targeted to take targets down without killing them. When the player shoots an enemy, the game's AI reactions and movements depend on where they were hit. Weapons consist of pistols, revolvers, repeaters, rifles, shotguns, bows, explosives, lassos, mounted Gatling guns, and melee weapons such as knives and tomahawks.
Synopsis
Setting
The game spans fictitious 1879 representations of the Zamastanian provinces of Zian, the Northern Isle, and Pahl, with the Olympic Ocean and Horseshoe Bay acting as a barrier to the map's west, the Louise Mountains acting as the map's eastern barrier, the Danaska River as a border to the north, and the intraversable Landeda Jungle to the south.
Zian consists of a coastline with city centers, prominently displayed in fictionalized versions of Tofino and notable surrounding towns of White Rock, Nanaimo, and Tirzah. The rest of Zian is consisting of rigged landscapes including sharp hills and steppes. Moving north along the coast, the industrial city of Providence exists in the Northern Isle, as does an expansive series of birch forests and prime hunting grounds. In Pahl, expansive prairies exist as do small railroad towns including the settlements of Abagene, Foreman Town, and Elizabeth.
Characters
The player takes on the role of Jude/Jamie Kurt, a lieutenant and veteran member of the Crawford gang. The gang is led by Byron Crawford, a charismatic man who extols personal freedom and decries the encroaching march of modern civilization. The gang also includes Byron's best friend and co-leader Evan Tew, Elliot Heath, his partner Adalyn Lucas and son Billy Heath, gunslingers Louie Hughes, Hudson Butler, and George Mills, the hunter Braydon Soto, and housewife-turned-bounty hunter Bailey Holland.
The Crawford Gang's activities brings them into conflict with various opposing forces including the wealthy coal magnate Dominic Carver, whose assets become a gang target. The government's ranger police force, led by Kieran Davis, help defend Carver and hunt down the gang. The gang also becomes entangled in a dispute between the Odom gang and the Witt gang, who are trying to dominate the bootleg liquor trade in the newly expanded eastern territories.
Plot
After their attempt to hijack a train belonging to Dominic Carver and his lucrative company Carver Coal goes wrong, the Crawford gang is pursued by the Davis Rangers into the streets of Tofino, where Jude/Jamie Kurt meets Hudson Butlet. Hudson helps the gang hide, and gives them information on a major score at Tofino's General Bank which is being brought into the city by prominent philanthropists. The bank heist, depending on the player's actions during it, either succeeds or fails (resulting in either a major influx of in-game currency or none at all), but in either case the gang reunites after escaping Tofino to the town of Abagene in Pahl, where they plan to lay low for a while.
During this time, Jude/Jamie hunts animals for the gang, explores the territory, and performs meets an array of characters in Abagene. Following a shootout with Carver's men in Abagene, the gang relocate to Elizabeth, where they work simultaneously for the Odom gang and Witt gang in an attempt to turn them against each other. However, the gangs double-cross them: the Witts kill a gang member during an ambush, while the Odoms kidnap and deliver Bailey Holland to Bruce Lott, a baron in Providence. The gang retaliate and destroy both gangs before retrieving Holland from Lott, who offers them leads on work, but eventually double-crosses them. Byron kidnaps and feeds Lott to an Emmirian lion in a zoo as revenge, which disturbs Jude/Jamie.
Having discovered the location of Lott's huge fortune, Byron convinces the gang to go after a major score in Foreman Town, which is protested by Jude/Jamie, but they are outnumbered by the rest of the gang. The heist goes horribly, as the city had previously been alerted to their presence. Many members of the gang are killed, Elliot is captured, but Byron continues to obsesses over one last heist and doubts Jude/Jamie's loyalty after they disobey him by liberating Elliot earlier than planned, naming Louie his top lieutenant in Jude/Jamie's place. Jude/Jamie becomes concerned that Byron is no longer the man they knew, as he is becoming insular, abandons their ideals, and murders an innocent man out of rage. Jude/Jamie leaves the gang, having become disillusioned.
Six months later, Jude/Jamie is trying to lead an honest life, finding work at a ranch where they fight back against outlaws threatening his employer. Jude/Jamie takes a loan from the bank to purchase their own property (in an area of the player's choosing). Afterwards, learning that Byron and Louie have massacred a town during an attempted hiest, Jude/Jamie decides to assault his camp and a fight ensues with the player, Byron, and Louie. Depending on the player's honor, a high honor will result in both men being subdued by Jude/Jamie and turned in for a bounty while a low honor will result in their executions.
Score
Anthony Turner's musical score was praised for being "an evocative mix of jangling Ennio Morricone-esque guitar and more soulful pieces, allowing for both an electrifying and eclectic experience. The soundtrack contributes significantly to the game's immersion, adding authenticity to the game world by using elements of Zamastanian folk music. The blending of music during exploration and its intensity in combat, including the sparing use of vocal tracks, highlights important narrative moments." [1]