Background: I never played the original, but I've heard good things about it.
Since Bethesda's marketing department (or whoever) decided to delay the last bit of DLC for New Vegas when I 'needed' it most, I figured it was time for an impulse buy that would discourage me from getting the DLC when it came out.
Steam had a few titles that looked interesting, but everything's coming out later--wait? What's this, Deus Ex HR unlocks tonight? Well let's look at the trailers at leas--yep, $45 here you go.
Anyone else looking forward to this?
Probably not. Either they don't care or they played the original games and are spending their time and money hexing Eidos for ruining the series.
I am. The first Deus Ex was fantastic, especailly for the era. The second wasn't as good, but I'm willing to see if they did better this time.
I am. The first Deus Ex was fantastic, especailly for the era. The second wasn't as good, but I'm willing to see if they did better this time.
I wasn't, but the reviews so far have been incredibly positive -- enough so that I think I'm going to pick it up tomorrow.
Absolutely.
This was already a guaranteed buy for me based on name alone, and when I stumbled across a Steam copy for $34 I snatched it up. Everything looks brilliant so far, and it has a Metacritic score of 88/100 (and every single review falls into the positive category). I'll be playing in two hours.
One of the very few games I pre-ordered, and I'm cautiously optimistic I'm going to really enjoy it based on the few reviews I've read.
So, yes, very much looking forward to it.
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I am. The first one I discovered late (it was a budget title by that time) but loved it. The second one - I really liked it, sure, it wasn't even close to the first one, but it was a decent shooter and I liked the story overall. Seeing the images of part Human Revolution and reading a lot of positive reviews, I'm looking forward to it. Won't play it when it comes out (friday evening in Germany, friday is gaming night), but I will sure as hell get it.
BTW: I think the game E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy, is well worth checking out for Deus Ex fans (I don't know about the multiplayer part, though).
I am. The first Deus Ex was fantastic, especailly for the era.
I agree. And the era you speak of is called "information age". Deus Ex was a near-perfect blend of first-person shooter and computer roleplaying game.
The only game that came close to repeating that was Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines.
Not to mention that the game wasn't over in 8 hours or less.
The second wasn't as good
The second was a crime. Totally dumbed down.
But from what I hear, they learned from the mistakes of Invisible War.
I've downloaded mine, but haven't had a chance to play. It looks like it's a prequel?
I've downloaded mine, but haven't had a chance to play. It looks like it's a prequel?
Ah, I assumed everyone knew it was a prequel! So the augmentations are more cybernetic than nanotech, which is the tech du jour in the original + sequel.
I've downloaded mine, but haven't had a chance to play. It looks like it's a prequel?
Yep. Remember those two agents on your side at the start of the original Deus Ex? The ones who are always complaining about how their augmentations are obsolete in the age of nanoaugmentation? That's the sort of augmentation you get to experience.
And yeah, it's freaking fantastic.
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I never got to play the first one, but WOW I really like this game. To put it into RPG game terms, it's what I figure Shadowrun's and Eclipse Phase's child would look like.
Yup. Seems to be pretty darn good. I never played Eclipse Phase, but the hacking is very reminiscent of a simplified Shadowrun 2e decker.
I just finished the first big mission and had a blast. 0 kills, and only a couple of take downs. Stealth all the way, baby!
The preload option was a godsend. Launched at 3am and...crash. Turns out ATI left some garbage behind and it caused some problems; no issue, delete a file and move on.
Only three hours in and I'm still making my way through the first mission (excluding the intro). I'm determined to Ghost my way through every quest and only neutralize (nonlethal), but we'll see how long my patience holds.
This really is a stealth game, I don't care what anyone says and it really reminds me of Thief in some (good) ways. HUD immersion's clever and I'm enjoying the experience so far.
Argh. Not out yet around here. Got to wait 2 or more days yet.
Well, Heroes VI should tide me over until then.
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Not sure I like the 1st-person/3rd-person blend, and there are a few other issues with the control scheme (at least on the Xbox 360, which is where I'm playing it), but I'm already about 20 hours into it so it must be doing something right. Also, man I want to play some Shadowrun now! Old-school decking FTW!
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** spoiler omitted **
Having so much fun with this game :D
Man, I want this game so bad. Stupid Ptolus re-release taking all my money.
** spoiler omitted **** spoiler omitted **Other than that, loving it.
- revolver with laser mod just to conserve space
- x3 EMP grenades
- tranquilizer rifle with faster reload mod
- sniper rifle with faster reload mod (picked up on a whim because I like sniping and I hadn't seen the weapon before then)
- some painkillers, hypostim, hack tools, and ammo
After biting it four times, I decided my only option was to enter with the sniper rifle equiped. Once the cutscene conveniently placed me in the worst possible position, I dropped an EMP, zoomed, and took as many headshots as I could with the sniper rifle. Rinse and repeat. Dodging grenades became necessary, I snuck away, Barrett decided to charge an empty corner of the room, and I used the revolver for some headshots. Reload, take damage, EMP, and a few more revolver headshots finally took that a%&~*~% out. 'Would've liked a better cutscene kill, but Jensen's alive and I don't care.
Once I saw the map layout, I gave up any hope of stealthing and sniping. I can promise one thing, the next playthrough is with a lethal/combat-intensive build.
The main problem I have heard with the game is ALL the bosses are like that. You can go through the game any way you want, but the bosses are straight balls-to-the-wall combat.
The main problem I have heard with the game is ALL the bosses are like that. You can go through the game any way you want, but the bosses are straight balls-to-the-wall combat.
A lot of games that do stealth well tend to be that way. That was my biggest gripe with DDO. At least when I tried it, you could stealth all the way to the door leading to the end, but in order to open the door you had to use a lever, which both knocked you out of stealth and triggered a combat automatically, even on the missions supposedly set up for the sneaky rogue types. Game makers are figuring out how to do stealth well, but they have a ways to go in figuring out how to reward it and work it into the other contructs of the game, like xp, leveling, and solving quests.
I wish the developers would decide whether they want players to enjoy the game (in any way they like) or to tell a story. They can do both, but that means a little more time.
- Hacking specialists should've had access to a high security panel that in using, delayed Jensen's arrival and somehow damaged and crippled Barrett.
- Stealth specialists should've gotten access to a catwalk inaccessible by Barrett, but with little cover.
The main problem I have heard with the game is ALL the bosses are like that. You can go through the game any way you want, but the bosses are straight balls-to-the-wall combat.A lot of games that do stealth well tend to be that way. That was my biggest gripe with DDO. At least when I tried it, you could stealth all the way to the door leading to the end, but in order to open the door you had to use a lever, which both knocked you out of stealth and triggered a combat automatically, even on the missions supposedly set up for the sneaky rogue types. Game makers are figuring out how to do stealth well, but they have a ways to go in figuring out how to reward it and work it into the other contructs of the game, like xp, leveling, and solving quests.
If by DDO you mean "D&D Online," that is not a stealth game. Stealth games DO have the fact that it is a stealth based game worked into major encounters.
If by DDO you mean "D&D Online," that is not a stealth game. Stealth games DO have the fact that it is a stealth based game worked into major encounters.The main problem I have heard with the game is ALL the bosses are like that. You can go through the game any way you want, but the bosses are straight balls-to-the-wall combat.A lot of games that do stealth well tend to be that way. That was my biggest gripe with DDO. At least when I tried it, you could stealth all the way to the door leading to the end, but in order to open the door you had to use a lever, which both knocked you out of stealth and triggered a combat automatically, even on the missions supposedly set up for the sneaky rogue types. Game makers are figuring out how to do stealth well, but they have a ways to go in figuring out how to reward it and work it into the other contructs of the game, like xp, leveling, and solving quests.
Not if the major boss fights are straight combat, regardless of the decisions they've made up to that point.
Not if the major boss fights are straight combat, regardless of the decisions they've made up to that point.If by DDO you mean "D&D Online," that is not a stealth game. Stealth games DO have the fact that it is a stealth based game worked into major encounters.The main problem I have heard with the game is ALL the bosses are like that. You can go through the game any way you want, but the bosses are straight balls-to-the-wall combat.A lot of games that do stealth well tend to be that way. That was my biggest gripe with DDO. At least when I tried it, you could stealth all the way to the door leading to the end, but in order to open the door you had to use a lever, which both knocked you out of stealth and triggered a combat automatically, even on the missions supposedly set up for the sneaky rogue types. Game makers are figuring out how to do stealth well, but they have a ways to go in figuring out how to reward it and work it into the other contructs of the game, like xp, leveling, and solving quests.
Deus Ex is not a stealth game either. You have the option to play it as Stealth, but it isn't a stealth game.
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Deus Ex is not a stealth game either. You have the option to play it as Stealth, but it isn't a stealth game.Not if the major boss fights are straight combat, regardless of the decisions they've made up to that point.If by DDO you mean "D&D Online," that is not a stealth game. Stealth games DO have the fact that it is a stealth based game worked into major encounters.The main problem I have heard with the game is ALL the bosses are like that. You can go through the game any way you want, but the bosses are straight balls-to-the-wall combat.A lot of games that do stealth well tend to be that way. That was my biggest gripe with DDO. At least when I tried it, you could stealth all the way to the door leading to the end, but in order to open the door you had to use a lever, which both knocked you out of stealth and triggered a combat automatically, even on the missions supposedly set up for the sneaky rogue types. Game makers are figuring out how to do stealth well, but they have a ways to go in figuring out how to reward it and work it into the other contructs of the game, like xp, leveling, and solving quests.
Conveniently, no one has said that it was a stealth game.
What the game is, is supposedly one in which you can choose how to play it. We just happen to be playing it stealthily and have come into spots where we are forced to play in a style that is very contradictory to the the way we have developed our Jensens.
That would still drive me nuts, no matter what the reason. I actually played the original a long time ago, and it was good, and considering I don't usually care for that particular genre, that's saying something. I hadn't even realized they had made sequels/prequels until I saw this thread.
Let me tell you all a secret about the Barrett fight: there's gas/explosive canisters lining the corners of the room. You can beat him in ten seconds flat if you EMP grenade him immediately and then run to your back right, throw the two gas canisters into Barrett, then run along the wall to your right and grab the explosive barrels. All the barrels can be picked up and tossed by people without the strength upgrade.
- First off, hidden villains in games should not be announced with ominous music. Seriously.
- The Chinese city visited (twice) reminds me of Blade Runner.
- Several non-boss fights that are only fights if you avoided the cloaking upgrades. Taking out the security crew outside of Zhao Yun Ru's office was more time consuming than it should have been.
- Took the upgrade from LIMB, but reloaded and changed my mind. That has will-make-the-final-whatever-a-nightmare written all over it.
Also:
Conveniently, no one has said that it was a stealth game.
I did several posts up and I stand by that statement; so far all non-boss fights can be avoided.
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The first boss fight was such a pain in the behind I went ahead and bought both levels of the Typhoon enhancement. Second boss fight went a lot better - it takes two Typhoon pulses to take down that one, and I walked out unscathed and not swearing at the computer.
It's amazing how the first fight was a royal pain but the second wasn't via one enhancement.
My least favorite part of the game? The save system. At one point early on I heard intense music and couldn't figure out what was going on, so I kept going. Two minutes later I realized that something I did had pissed off the cops, who suddenly all decided to give me a very bad day. Problem was that I had no idea what I did, or when, and the save system automatically triggered. I lost out on one of the achievement quests the same way. I REALLY hate checkpoint based save systems that save to a single file.
The first boss fight was such a pain in the behind I went ahead and bought both levels of the Typhoon enhancement. Second boss fight went a lot better - it takes two Typhoon pulses to take down that one, and I walked out unscathed and not swearing at the computer.
It's amazing how the first fight was a royal pain but the second wasn't via one enhancement.
My least favorite part of the game? The save system. At one point early on I heard intense music and couldn't figure out what was going on, so I kept going. Two minutes later I realized that something I did had pissed off the cops, who suddenly all decided to give me a very bad day. Problem was that I had no idea what I did, or when, and the save system automatically triggered. I lost out on one of the achievement quests the same way. I REALLY hate checkpoint based save systems that save to a single file.
Quick-save is your friend. Not to mention a few manual saves for good measure. I quick-save before every hack and as a result I've got thirty-something nukes and twenty worms. I do not want to be stuck on a final terminal because I can't hold the alarm off long enough to crack through.
Also--I new avoiding the biochip upgrade was the right call (Zhao pops up during Namir's intro and attempts something with the aid of the upgrade supposedly taken).
Finally finished (including reloads to watch every ending) and I'm content with the bulk of the game.
The Good:
+ fun gameplay offering at least two ways through every non-boss problem
+ graphics and interface are decent
+ immersion is easy and it sticks with the player long after the game ends
+ each weapon has it's own feel and advantages
+ if the player likes to explore, they will have plenty to enjoy
+ upgrades that are worth taking
+ tons of emails to read, some funny stuff mixed in
+ nonlinear level design
+ good soundtrack and audio design
+ interesting characters and some solid voice acting
+ for the most part, non-morons can identify with Jensen
The Bad:
- boss fights are always actual fights
- forced combat-or-fully-upgraded-cloak scenarios
- some wacky facial animation and repetitive gestures
- minor elements of the idiot-hero trope
- China section's missions are clichê
The Ugly:
-- final level becomes a zombie-28 Days Later-asylum-gone-insane mash-up
-- only one ending didn't suck and even then Jensen killed himself
-- all the endings are very, very, very similar
-- After the third boss fight it seemed like everything was rushed and the freeform exploration feel was gone
-- vague, vague plot tie-ins with little-to-no connection
-- first-person ending narration
-- credits did not include any news broadcasts and whatnot covering Jensen's past actions, effects resulting from those actions, etc. just photos of the production crew...are you f%*&ing kidding Eidos?!
It's a good title with several glaring problems. I'll replay soon and see how that goes.
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** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
I eventually won by continually chucking frag mines into the central area while moving around the outside. Ten mines or so later, Namir dies.
Supporting stealth doesn't make it a stealth game.
Supporting stealth doesn't make it a stealth game.
It may not be a 100% stealth game like Thief, but (regarding my own personal labeling scheme) it counts as a stealth game.
** spoiler omitted **** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
Because of how the laser rifle works I could sweep the beam across the area quickly to decloak him, then throw a gas grenade at his feat and focus him down with the laser.
I'm going to finish the game tomorrow. Played up to the elevator to the last area, but had to get ready to have Pett kill me with a pleasure worm that burrowed into my arm (CoT game).
End boss 3
I used the grenade launcher tong gave me for springing his son. 4 shorts - which the thing can squirt out like nothing - and he's done for
And I'm ashamed that I only ever realised where I knew Tong's son from when I saw the name of his boat. Should have klicked much sooner...
Did anyone notice the game poster in the Singapore facility?
Just finished this last night, and greatly enjoyed it. I liked the teases that lead into the original game's plot, as the original game is one of my all-time favorites.
Had 2 technical issues (on the 360 version) that annoyed me. One, the Detroit-based sidequest "Cloak & Daggers" was broken and could not be completed. There are numerous purported fixes for this known issue, but none of them worked for me.
But I got over that in time, since it was early in the game. Much more annoying was the fact that my energy cells never regenerated beyond the 1st bar, even w/ the proper augmentation maxed. That had a noticeable effect on my gameplay (e.g., couldn't use optical camouflage for very long, and had to keep part of my inventory for power bars), which is unfortunate.
That said, I enjoyed the game very much. Some of the "100% stealth" players reacted angrily to the boss fights, but really, like much of the game, there's multiple ways to solve those problems. A little experimentation goes a long way. EMP mines + stun gun + fragmentation mines are all excellent; and if you pre-ordered the game and get the (spoiler) as a reward for the extra mission, the 3rd boss fight becomes extremely simple after a quick EMP mine...
I loved the final mission/location. Had lots of fun hacking every computer I could find, reading emails, PDAs, E-books. Fleshed out the story for me, which was a bit murky in places otherwise.
Everyone get the "Hangar 18" achievement? ;-)
A late update:
After four playthroughs, I couldn't bring myself to trek through the game again. This is rare for me.
If you're still wondering about whether to buy or skip, I recommend a wait until the price is at least halved. It's just not worth the $50 and the cheap DLC won't help matters.
After four playthroughs, I couldn't bring myself to trek through the game again. This is rare for me.You played through the game four times and don't consider it a good value?
The last time I played through it, the experience felt like work rather than fun. I usually get a lot of mileage out of the games I like and this one just got worse with every replay.
I know every game gets older the more you play it, but during the fourth playthrough I started to hate the game so I'm setting it aside.
In comparison:
I'm playing through my sixteenth character in Fallout: New Vegas, twenty-something-th Torchlight run, Hawke #9 in Dragon Age 2, but I've only made three characters for Saint's Row 2 and I consider it to be my favorite out of those listed.
After four playthroughs, I couldn't bring myself to trek through the game again. This is rare for me.You played through the game four times and don't consider it a good value?
That gave me pause, too. I played through once (though may play through again) and thought it worth it.
I'm playing through my sixteenth character in Fallout: New Vegas, twenty-something-th Torchlight run, Hawke #9 in Dragon Age 2, but I've only made three characters for Saint's Row 2 and I consider it to be my favorite out of those listed.
Whoa! I think the only game I played that much was Super Metroid back in the 90ies. Seriously, how old are you to have so much time for gaming, you lucky guy?
I'm playing through my sixteenth character in Fallout: New Vegas, twenty-something-th Torchlight run, Hawke #9 in Dragon Age 2, but I've only made three characters for Saint's Row 2 and I consider it to be my favorite out of those listed.Whoa! I think the only game I played that much was Super Metroid back in the 90ies. Seriously, how old are you to have so much time for gaming, you lucky guy?
And you only did that to see if that one myth is true. You know, the one that if you finish the game quickly enough, Samus takes off the bikini.
Admit it! ;-P
I'm playing through my sixteenth character in Fallout: New Vegas, twenty-something-th Torchlight run, Hawke #9 in Dragon Age 2, but I've only made three characters for Saint's Row 2 and I consider it to be my favorite out of those listed.Whoa! I think the only game I played that much was Super Metroid back in the 90ies. Seriously, how old are you to have so much time for gaming, you lucky guy?And you only did that to see if that one myth is true. You know, the one that if you finish the game quickly enough, Samus takes off the bikini.
Admit it! ;-P
Nah, I was a boring teenager with a sceptic mind - I did not buy Nintendo would produce x-rated content. I just liked that game.
But I did get 100% under 3 hours. I'm not much of a record holder, so I am proud to say I wasted enough time on one game to actually get good at it.