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TurtlePerson2
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Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Tue Jan 10, 2012 2:56 pm

I was surprised to find out that there's not already a thread for this game. I am very impressed with this game. They captured everything that was good about Deus Ex and combined it with a slicker presentation and better gameplay. I haven't played a game this good in a long time. I can't believe that this didn't win any major GotY awards.

Did anyone else play this game? Or is the lack of a thread until now indication that it got lost in the shuffle with all the big games that came out last year?
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Glorious
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Re: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:22 pm

I liked it too. I actually just finished it two weeks ago and I walked away impressed.
 
pikaporeon
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Re: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:28 pm

There was a topic but it was mostly about motion sickness.

I got a copy free with my video card, but have been too far lost in Skyrim to start it yet.
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sjl
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Re: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:46 pm

TurtlePerson2 wrote:
They captured everything that was good about Deus Ex and combined it with a slicker presentation and better gameplay.

Mm... yes and no. See, I've played through the original game at least four or five times (probably more). Each time, I've found something new - and it's frequently been something that radically changed my perception of some of the plot. For example, the hostage scene in the 'Ton: you might assume that they're just standard terrorists, but there's a datacube in the reception area that paints a very different picture.

Human Revolution, I suspect, doesn't have that same depth and attention to detail. Don't get me wrong, it comes pretty close, all things considered - and it's much, much closer to the original in spirit and depth than Invisible War - but I don't think that it matches the original game in that respect, at least. It is a worthy successor, though, in my opinion; there was so much crammed into the original, I struggle to imagine how any game could live up to it.

That said, HR is a game I can see myself sitting down and playing through again in a few years. IW ... no, I've better things to do with my time. Watching paint dry springs to mind as a better option. :P
 
TwistedKestrel
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Re: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:49 pm

It was very good, but there were flaws. Besides the well-known boss fights (which were supposedly outsourced?), the whole choose-your-ending thing was lame. Compared to the endings in the original where Everett, Tong and Helios were trying to address global socio-economic problems, it seems like in Deus EX:HR the problem with the world is that humanity is just stupid and can't be trusted with knowledge of (insert whatever the bogeyman is of the ending here).
 
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Re: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Tue Jan 10, 2012 4:03 pm

Mm... yes and no. See, I've played through the original game at least four or five times (probably more). Each time, I've found something new - and it's frequently been something that radically changed my perception of some of the plot.


Oh, heck yeah... one of the things that I really enjoyed about Deus Ex was the level of detail in all the datacubes, newspapers, books, office papers, emails... I played through that game a bunch of times, and I always found something new. I also liked that many of the books, while perhaps not relating directly to the plot, were stories that related to the theme of the story. I actually wound up tracking down some of the books and reading them - "The Man Who Was Thursday" for example, was a really good read.

Back to the original topic, I may buy Human Revolution when it hits the bargain bin; based on everything I've heard it just doesn't seem like it's going to live up to the original. The first sequel, Invisible War, was very disappointing. I have slightly higher hopes for Human Revolution; just not $50+ hopes :wink:
 
pikaporeon
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Re: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Tue Jan 10, 2012 4:11 pm

The impression I get from what I've heard is this would be an oustanding game if it didn't have Deus Ex in the title.
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timaeus
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Re: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Tue Jan 10, 2012 4:50 pm

I bought and enjoyed the game, but had three major complaints:
1. Forced boss fights
2. Push a button to choose an ending
3. Experience rewards driving gameplay
1. and 2. have been mentioned plenty of times here and elsewhere, but one of the things I really liked about the original DX was that the player was not rewarded with *how* they solved situations, but rather only getting progress rewards for when they did. So the sneaky ghost would get the same xp as the agressive tank. In HR, the player gets the most xp for knocking out every enemy with unarmed combat. So how do you think everyone is going to play? Even though you're technically free to play however you want, you're essentially punished for not taking that route.
 
TurtlePerson2
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Re: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:06 pm

I played the original Deus Ex about five years after its release, so I feel that I have a somewhat less nostalgic perspective on the game. It was a great game, but not to the level that some people seem to elevate it to. It's true that Deus Ex had a lot of excerpts and e-mails which you could read to get a better sense of the world, but these are also present in Human Revolution. Countless times in the game I figured out something before the game made it more explicit. I made several decisions in the game based on knowledge of characters from little clues and hints.

I understand the boss battle complaints. I thought the boss battles were ok, but I played the game stealthy and consequently leveled up stealth attributes instead of armor. This came back to bite me in one of the boss battles. I disagree that the push button endings was a problem. The original game had the decision for all of the endings at the very end of the game just like Human Revolution. The push button stuff didn't seem out of place in the fiction, so I don't understand why anyone has a problem with it.

I disagree with the criticism that the game ending choices lacked the depth of the original game. The original game dealt with government and freedom while this game was primarily concerned with transhumanism and its ethical implications. It doesn't make sense to have the endings be about socio-economic or political problems.

By the way, it was already in the bargain bin. I picked it up for $10 from Amazon around Christmas time. It's only $17 if you buy it through Amazon right now. It downloads through Steam, so it's the same as buying it through Steam.
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kamikaziechameleon
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Re: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:10 pm

While the games narrative is great and the organic nature of the story presentation the story itself is wonky and strangely paced. It kinda borrows a little to much from Russian nesting dolls with regards to its villains. You peal back on layer to reveal, no thats not the villain there is someone pulling his strings... and then that persons strings are being pulled by another... and again, wow it just keeps going.

The gameplay is also strange, the RPG elements suck(read, are broken). Simply put I would have been stuck in the game had I not invested in the hacking. 2/3 into the game and all I'd put points into was strength to carry things(like ammo) and hacking to basically be able to advance in the game(no fancy hacking for cameras or bots and no strength combat abilities) Similar to witcher 2 they hide basic functions behind the skill tree. Not cool! Yeah there were probably ways around this ridiculousness but eventually you get funneled back to hey you failed this convo, time to hack something.

The art design is not only gorgeous but well utilized. The world has a great feeling to it despite the nasty old looking game engine. The diversity of play options feels stilted by the strange AI quite often. I'll be seen or exposed for no conceivable reason some times, while others I'll be out in the open and apparently invisible.

I love the thematic elements fueling the game and the art design and the organic nature of the story telling, how the characters all fit into the world its great. The game feels so fresh it really helps. Oh and for the record this has one of the most amazing OST's of any game in the past several years.
 
TurtlePerson2
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Re: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:31 pm

What the game borrows too much from is the original Deus Ex. They even used some of the same twists.

By the way, what does OST stand for? Original Sountrack?
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TwistedKestrel
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Re: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Tue Jan 10, 2012 10:05 pm

kamikaziechameleon wrote:
While the games narrative is great and the organic nature of the story presentation the story itself is wonky and strangely paced. It kinda borrows a little to much from Russian nesting dolls with regards to its villains. You peal back on layer to reveal, no thats not the villain there is someone pulling his strings... and then that persons strings are being pulled by another... and again, wow it just keeps going.


Hahaha, if you're talking about DX:HR, the original does that tenfold. One of my favourite things about it.

And okay, HR is supposed to be more about transhumanism. It's that the only thing that really differentiates the endings is what part of the truth you're manipulating, with no subsequent action involved. And all the endings in DX implied a long term path for JC, in HR everything is kinda hands off. It's too neat, too Hollywood. And while I'm nit-picking, Meghan is something of a vague character. Does she have a sense of ethics, or doesn't she? How much of a crap does she give about Jensen? And nobody on the whole planet could be naive enough to believe that Darrow's intentions were benign, he was wearing bad guy cologne the whole time.

All of that said though, it's still enough of a sequel to Deus Ex that I had a blast. The sneaking, the hacking, that's good stuff. The DLC is funny - it's pretty much Metal Gear Solid 2, without the vampire. The dialogue system was neat too, though apparently I had way more trouble with it than most people.
 
TurtlePerson2
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Re: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Fri Jan 13, 2012 9:02 pm

Just as a heads up, the game is on sale for $10 at Best Buy (digital download) right now.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Deus+Ex+-+H ... 1000000907
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Re: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Sat Jan 14, 2012 1:45 pm

Came free with my vidcard, but I would buy it. I also have the Missing Link DLC. Played the 1st DE, but never finished.

The game is fun and the story is derivative of major cyberpunk tropes, but I ate this stuff up anyways. Sort of a mix between "Wag the Dog" political-drama, X-files' government conspiracy, Kurzweil's theories on Singularity, and philosophical questions regarding the soul of a machine a la "Ghost in a Shell."

Production design is the best of 2011 imho, and would make a good base for MMORPG if they ever get around to it.

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