Introduction
In 2007 Microsoft held their first Dream-Build-Play development contest. James Silva, creator of The Dishwasher, won the first prize of $10,000 and an Xbox Live Arcade publishing contract. Work continued on the game and in 2009 The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai was released to the Xbox Live Arcade. But this is not the story of that game. This is the story of its sequel: The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile, which was released in April of 2011.
Why not play the first game? The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile takes the core concept of its predecessor (Intense combat, over the top action, and a film noir visual style) and takes it to the next level. The combat is more fluid, the controls are tighter, and the visuals and animations are much more polished. The two games are extremely similar, but Vampire Smile is simply better in execution. The narrative in Vampire Smile also provides just enough back story that the player can jump right in to it. Vampire Smile is simply a better game and the way I see it if you're only going to pick up one new Xbox Live Arcade game in the near future I think it should be The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile.
As I said the game itself provides a recap of the story, but this is only the case in single player campaign. I will be playing through the co-op campaign so I will provide a synopsis of the plot so far along with showcasing the characters.
Videos
Episode 01 - Blood, Death, and Vengeance
Episode 02 - Belated Back Story
Episode 03 - Economics 101
Episode 04 - Twitch Gamers
Episode 05 - Hellsingvania
Episode 06 - The Stocks Don't Rise With Randies
Episode 07 - Exploration Gratification
Episode 08 - SPORTS
Episode 09 - The Dragon Chumper
Episode 10 - Cheevos
Episode 11 - Boss Gauntlet
FINAL Episode - In Loving Memory
The Cast
The Dishwasher is the unnamed titular character of the series. In The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai he was vengeful and aggressive, but in the time since the previous game he has calmed considerably as he has gained more control of his abilities. Now, instead of being fueled by vengeance, he seeks to eliminate all evil in the universe, by any means necessary. The Dishwasher was killed in the opening segment of Dead Samurai by Synthesis AI, the corporation responsible for turning mankind in cyborgs and raising the undead. He was later rescued and revived by Chef, the head cook of the Foghorn Cafe where The Dishwasher worked as, you guessed it, a dishwasher. Chef claimed to have alien blood, which he gave to The Dishwasher to revive him and provide him with powers far beyond that of a normal human.
Yuki, or "The Prisoner" as she is dubbed in the character select menu, is the stepsister of The Dishwasher. Once she joined the ranks of the Cyborgs willingly and worked as an assassin for Synthesis AI. In a confrontation with The Dishwasher in Dead Samurai she is killed at the hands of her stepbrother and thanks him for setting her free. Shortly thereafter she was revived in the same manner as The Dishwasher by "The Creeper", a mysterious entity who seeks to control Yuki through nightmares and hallucinations for his own insidious means. Yuki is captured and blamed for the fire that The Dishwasher and Chef set to cleanse the Earth and is sent to rot in the Iffenhaus Space Prison.
The Fallen Engineer is the man responsible for the creation of the cyborgs and the controller of Synthesis AI. He is revealed to have similar powers to The Dishwasher and Chef, as he believes Chef is the only person powerful enough to stop him. Ultimately the Fallen Engineer is killed at the hands of The Dishwasher during the final moments of Dead Samurai.
The Story so Far
The Dishwasher was once a normal human working at the Foghorn Cafe until Synthesis AI killed him and captured his body to turn into a cyborg. Before they could complete their experiments on The Dishwasher he was rescued and revived by Chef, his old boss at Foghorn Cafe. Chef had given The Dishwasher alien blood, and with it the power to exact his revenge on the syndicate that had murdered him. The Dishwasher then proceeded to go on an unstoppable killing spree to finally take down Synthesis AI.
Along the way he was confronted by a mysterious assassin, whom he quickly dispatched. After the fight the assassin's hood fell off revealing that it was Yuki, his stepsister who had willingly given herself to the cyborgs years prior. Yuki thanked The Dishwasher for setting her free and The Dishwasher continued on his quest, fueled even further by the death of his stepsister.
Ultimately The Dishwasher killed everyone in his path and confronted The Fallen Engineer in a bloody and brutal battle. The Dishwasher emerged victorious and set the entire world ablaze, the only thing that he felt would cleanse the Earth. Both The Dishwasher and Chef managed to escape on a shuttle to the moon before being consumed by the blaze.
Meanwhile, Yuki was mysteriously resurrected and managed to find her way to a shuttle before the Earth caught fire. While on her way to the moon she was captured and blamed for the blaze that Chef and her stepbrother had set. She was sentenced to rot in the Iffenhaus Space Prison, but while there her powers awoke, along with the terrible nightmares and hallucinations. Yuki managed to fight her way to a shuttle and escaped to the surface of the moon, where she woke to find a chainsaw attached to her arm. Now she feels she must exact her revenge on the people who sought to imprison her, and may God have mercy on anyone who gets in her way...
The following is a playthrough of Yuki's single player campaign provided by Fiendly. Thanks again for your contribution!
