Dishonored: seven ways to succeed gloriously

You've already heard about the many, creative and instructive ways there are to fail at Dishonored, a commendably dour mission-based action-RPG from Bethesda and Arkane Studios. Now, discover what happens when a player who is certifiably Good At The Game applies his/her imagination to those assassin's gadgets and mystical abilities.

Every coin has its flipside, every humiliating tumble into the jaws of defeat its counterweight in the field of face-murdering artistry. Let us begin.

1. The Clean Sweep

Remember those oil-powered Walls of Light whose coursing energies posed such a nuisance to would-be infiltrators? Well, a man of sound mind could always turn them to advantage by obtaining a Rewiring Tool from somewhere in the level and applying it to a fusebox, reconfiguring the Wall so that it leaves your skin intact, while reducing uniformed pigs to pork scratchings.

Once the dastardly deed is done, all you need do is run out into the open and yell "YOU CAN'T CATCH ME, I'M THE GINGERBREAD MAN" then retreat into the bosom of your fizzling minion. Of course, you'll need to inject an equivalent quantity of whale oil for every guard you fry, but this is Dunwall, sugar - the place is dripping with it.

2. The Light Touch

Possession is key to many of Dishonored's nastier tricks. Here's one of the simplest: infiltrate somebody's cerebellum, walk them to a high ledge, depossess behind them and give them a hearty slap on the back. Presto - street pizza!

3. The Forgiving

Don't let the barrage of blood and guts in the trailer above fool you. It's possible to complete each and every Dishonored mission without freeing a soul from its mortal shackle. Use Blink to reach unexpectedly navigable places, like window boxes and sewage pipes. Load your crossbow with sleepy juice rather than quarrels of Conspicuous Exploderising. Use your spyglass (which doubles, mysteriously, as a hearing aid) to pick up crucial intel from gossiping thugs, or simply take advantage of their distraction to sneak by (NPCs have narrower view cones and crappier hearing when they're engaged in conversation).

If it helps, main character Corvo is equipped with the Heart - a circuitry-wrapped lump of (presumably) human tissue which acts like a psychic router, filling your ears with the thoughts of those you're spying on. There are "consequences" for over-using the latter, mind.

4. The Squeak of Death

An expert-level trick from Arkane's QA staff. We're a little fuzzy on the details, but if you're careful it's possible to affix a sticky grenade to a rat while pausing time, then possess the rat and run it right under somebody's nose, there to self-detonate for the furtherance of rodent-kind. A little over-the-top, sure, but RESULTS PEOPLE, RESULTS.