Deus Ex Human Revolution - Page 2

Oh look, it's the hilarious angry sociopath.

 

Hi Hilariously Angry Sociopath!

 

Do I silently knock this guard out with my hulking robo-arms or take him out with my elbow-blades?

I missed you so much.

 

Both you and your low standards.

No, it's called having a positive outlook. Something that you wouldn't understand, seen as you seem to want to be a hilariously myopic internet tough guy.

I sure seem to to suck as an internet tough guy, seeing as you monopolize the aggressive statements and the "macho" posturing.

 

You want to actually debate me on whether this game, no matter how well made, has a chance of replicating the impact Deus Ex had upon its release? Which was the meaning of that post of mine you found so aggravating? 

Not really, what's the point of debating with a frothing at the mouth PC Gaming Ubermensch who seems to be butthurt that a new iteration of a PC classic might actually be good. In my view a 'heir to Deus Ex' would be a game that offered the same tonality, same options, same general feel as the original game. Whereas you seem to think that a 'heir to Deus Ex' has to someone change the way games were designed in the way Deus Ex, debatably, did. I don't view being influential as a barometer of quality.

Fer cryin' out loud.

 

 

So...video games are pretty cool, eh? Let's talk about those.

 

Video games, fuck yeah! Anyway. The first few videos, especially the game play ones, seemed sort of disappointing. Then there's this voice in the back of my head that remembers playing the original sometime between my senior year of high school and shipping out for the first time. Memories. That's beside the point though. It looks great and I've got my fingers crossed it can deliver on some level. If it's half as good as I want it to be then we'll all be busting through walls, assassinating fools with elbow swords and somehow not being detected by the guys in the next room. Deus Ex, fuck yeah! I think a couple guys around here need to hug it out too. Just sayin'. 

It's weird though how this game's developers do not equate complaints about it to some sort of mental disorder. Rather they viewed them as legitimate concerns, from people actually wanting the game to be good and addressed them. Making item highlighting an option that has to be turned on rather than obligatory, cutting down on the signposting and the third person stuff. Same with Bioware and Dragon Age 2. Listening to the complaints and as a result making Legacy superior in quality to the main game.

 

Anyway, other than the protagonist looking like a douche, which was a minus with the original too, this seems to have turned out very well indeed. And I love that the developers did so much homework on the cybernetics stuff. Not so much on the abilities since these have to be amped up for excitement's sake, but on side effects, bio-ethics, you know, cool sci-fi stuff. They're actually using established theories rather than making stuff up on their own. I just hope its theme expands from a personal quest into something similar in scope to the original. The question of "Man has come to a nexus point where he can choose what his nature will become next. What do you think should happen?" may very well be my favorite sci-fi concept. What did you guys do in the end?

I like to think the development team has a huge portrait of Warren Spector in their office, actually.

As for the themes of the game, I think its themes will reach the same scope as the original, since the trailers and interviews have stated that the gameplay world seems to be defined by the controversy of human augmentation.

 

 

 

 I can hardly believe it myself, almost spill  my drink at the thought of it.

 

 

 

Every time I open my Steam library and see that pre-loaded icon just sitting there, waiting for release day, I salivate just a little. Please let all these glowing reviews be accurate...

Video game critics are extremely lenient with AAA titles so that doesn't mean much. Still, I optimistic about this game, everything about it so far seems right.

 

The only bummer with the game coming out is that only a few months ago I was eager to play it but knew that the release date would mean summer is almost over.

The first few reviews are trickling in. Eurogamer, who tend to align with my opinions, gave it a 9/10

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-08-22-deus-ex-human-revolution-review

 

I skimmed the review, I'm trying to go into this without as much info as possible, and the review seems rather...airy. Like it doesn't really tell you anything. I'm still intent on getting the game, but I'm in a Catch-22 where I don't want to know too much about the game, but am finding the ambiguity of the reviews a little frustrating.

Joystiq also just posted a glowing review that mostly avoids specifics.

Good, good. Four more days until this comes out here and I've gone into media blackout.

I've read several reviews today, and they all seem to agree that Human Revolution succeeds in just about everything the devs wanted to do with the game. The phrase "worthy successor" was mentioned a few times.  The one thing that just about everybody mentions as a negative are some generic boss fights that take away the player choice that is huge throughout the rest of the game.

 

1Up did a cool thing where they had three different people play the game for the review. They don't get super specific about the plot or anything, but they do outline how each of them had wildly different approaches to how they played the game.  I think it's my favorite review of the game that I've read today.

 

I'm loving all that I'm reading so far. I can't wait to play it tomorrow (or really late tonight depending on when it unlocks on Steam and if I'm still awake). 

 

Until then, I'll continue playing through the original, but I doubt I'll make it all the way to the end unless I seriously rush through it.  I just made it to the first bit of Paris last night, so there's still quite a ways to go, especially for my sneaky "stab guards in the back with a nano sword so I can get back to exploring" playstyle.

Odds of me going back to the office after a mid-day trip to Best Buy tomorrow? Slim, very slim. My most anticipated game this year, easy.

Could not stop playing. Effortlessly awesome gameplay that just also happens to look so pretty maxed out. Hacking takes some getting used to with various things on screen happening, but there's a part near the end of the first mission with lots of computers you can practice hacking on to get a feel for things. Don't know what I'm going to do with my extra copy (wife told me she pre-ordered the augmented edition for xbox); she can play it on her own after she's finished with Bastion and Alice. Chose to do the first missions guns blazing, but went in doing it non-lethal and covertly, which is just satisfying. Crap, have to go to sleep, but probably won't.

I booted up the game this morning before heading in to work.  The menus are really slick, and the first room looks nice and cluttered. That's about all I could tell you about Human Revolution at this point, but I'm really looking forward to playing it tonight.

 

As for the original Deus Ex, I made it past the Cathedral level and met Morgan Everett.  Part of me wants to go all the way to the end, but that's not going to happen when Human Revolution is sitting there all shiny, new, and ready to play. I'll get back to it eventually though.

Can't wait to play this.

Anyone ever played that turd that was Deus Ex Invisible War? What a major letdown that was. Such a stripped down experience.

I played IW - didn't think it was horrible, but it was a HUGE step back from the first game.   Why they simplified their augmentation system confuses the crap out of me.  I remember just sprinting through the endgame while cloaked just desperately trying to finish it. 

 

Really excited for this though - anyone get it on 360?  I've heard mentions of long load times..

I had to tear myself away from this game just to post this, and I intend on booting it back up as soon as I'm done typing.

 

So far it's delivering on all fronts. Information is parceled out beautifully in the prologue and first mission, and the (skippable) tutorial videos are concise and informative. This really is a game where YOU can decide how to tackle a given scenario. I love that hacking is more than some silly mini-game, it's a miniature strategy game all its own. I love that I was able to complete the first mission without killing a single person, without being detected by a human or a camera, and how no matter what route you take or how aggressive your tactics you're rewarded regardless.

 

I'm not completely engaged by the story itself yet, but I'm just getting started, obviously. The voice acting could use a little work, and load times on a beefy pc seem a little too long. Those are my only nitpicks at the moment.

 

In a nutshell, pretty fucking impressive so far.

Same thoughts on IW here...but yep, it pales in comparison to the original and reeks of a missed chance to expand.

Load times seem to be slightly better on the 360 when installed (about 7 to 8 seconds less than running from disc); it seems the only fast load times are when its played on a really next gen PC.

 

 

Damn it I've finally cracked.

 

Watched a few reviews for this last night and simply had to order it.

 

Thing is, this could be a disaster. I'm one of "the 33%". I haven't played a proper first person game in nearly fifteen years. I may get five minutes in and have to vomit and never pick it up again. (ETA: just realised some may not know what this means - I get simulator sickness, so looks like I'll have to stock up on ginger pills in readiness)

 

...but this looks so damn good - and for a cyberpunk geek like me, utterly gorgeous - I have to take the chance.

 

Will let you all know how I go.

Edited by The Rain Dog - 8/25/11 at 12:36am

Does anyone else playing this on PC have a problem with the mouse having like a millisecond delay? Just long enough to make the controls feel not so tight?  Other than that I'm enjoying it so far.

 

I had that at first, and judging by the Steam forums, a fair number of people are having the same issue.  I don't think there's a definitive fix for it yet as it seems different things fixed it for different people.

 

In my case, adjusting the sensitivity so that the Y axis was less sensitive than the X axis pretty much made the mouse movement feel fine. It seems that the X and Y sensitivity are not equal, so setting them to equal spots on the sliders makes things feel a little wonky.  People were also saying that putting the FOV at 80 for 16:10 aspect ratios or 90 for 16:9 helped for some reason that I can't remember.  I changed mine to 80 since my monitor is 16:10, and it seemed like it made a little bit of a difference, but that could just be the placebo effect talking.  I also felt like the game felt smoother once I got past the opening guided tour section.
 

 

Try disabling mouse smoothing, or mouse acceleration. Give disabling v-sync a try too. On console ports these are usually the main culprits of sucky mouse control.

I didn't get very far into the game last night for a few reasons.  It took me a while to get through the intro of the game because I kept screwing around with configuring the keyboard controls to my liking.  I kept screwing myself up by hitting keys that I thought were "lean" keys because I've been playing the original for the last week.  Of course, "lean" doesn't exist in Human Revolution, so pressing those keys didn't have the desired results. It took me a bit to remember that I couldn't do it.  I also had to put the "use" function onto a mouse button. Pressing E to interact with things just didn't feel right.

 

So after screwing around with the keyboard/mouse controls for a while, I decided to switch over to a 360 controller to see how that felt.  I think the controller layout works pretty well, but hacking, manipulating the inventory, using the map, etc works much better with a mouse for me, so I decided to move forward in the game with keyboard/mouse for the time being even though I like movement better with control sticks.

 

After that, I slowly made my way through the first level of the game.  A smile came on my face when I got the "Ghost" XP bonus for finishing an objective without an enemy detecting me.  I love playing a game stealthily when it is done well, and DEHR does stealth very well, at least so far.  The cover system is great. I was afraid that popping out to third person when in cover would feel odd, but it works really well.  I spent a lot of time crouched behind desks, crates, and other odds and ends scattered throughout the environment.  Also, hopping between two pieces of cover or rounding the corner of whatever you're hiding behind is really easy and fun.

 

Speaking of the environments, I love how "lived in" everything feels. So far everywhere I've been has felt more like a real place and less like a video game level.  There is a ton of clutter around, and everything feels like it has a reason to be where it is.  In a more general sense, I like how papers and objects are scattered over desks rather than being perfectly placed.  Details like that go a long way towards establishing a believable space to move around in.

 

There's only one negative I can come up with so far. The load times are pretty long. Now this doesn't really bother me when it's at the front end of a level.  The only time it gets really annoying is when you get detected in a room full of goons and you quickly get killed by their gunfire.  You have to wait for the entire level to load again before you get to start again at wherever your last checkpoint or save happens to be.  It really interrupts the flow of the game when you die several times in a row attempting to cross a room unsuccessfully and you have to wait 20-30 seconds to reload each time you die.  The flip side of that is the there are no mid-level loads if you aren't dying, so it is possible to go a long time without seeing a loading screen.

 

I am going to attempt playing through the game without killing anyone my first time through.  It makes things much more tense when you can't permanently take guys out.  There were a couple of times when I knocked out one of the enemies without having time to hide the body, and they were revived by one of their comrades.  Let me tell you, they were none too happy when they found me lurking around a corner with the tranquillizer rifle still in my hands.

 

However, some of the more aggressive augmentations like punching through walls or the "typhoon" ability are awfully tempting.

Died a few times early on, but having a save anywhere function is pretty reassuring to see. Now that I've learned the basics...

 

...I've completed the first mission and now am in the first hub exploring and doing some side jobs.

 

What a blast it is so far. I Tranquilizer rifled my way through, with the odd no lethal take down. Feels good. The conversation trees are also very well done. Now i've Just upgraded my 10mm pistol since I've been hoarding my ammo for it.

 

So good.

The whole side drama prompting a day 2 recall of the pc edition because of Gamestop is pretty fucked up. On whose side will have heads rolling, and who's paying the cost...

I don't like that office mission waiting for you when you get back from the warehouse raid. You're security of Sarif and you've received emails about stolen corporate materials, the guilty guy is sitting on your couch telling you what went down...and no option to just end the quest right there by arresting the two perps, which is kind of weird. I guess I'll do it and see where it leads. Unlike Fallout, no karmic backlash from raiding your coworkers offices of credits and loot is kind of nice - but I did feel guilty about doing that afterwards. Also need to lose the fallout habit of ignoring all the npc's except for the ones highlighted on the hud; seeing all the emails from Athene in a couple terminals here and there - didn't realize she's the old lady manning the front desk of David's floor - taking time now to just talk to folk where possible.

Pre-loading on Steam as of now. Not sleeping tonight.

I've been home sick all week with the flu thats now become a throat and chest infection (apologise if this seems rambly, on some good antibiotics), and the only thing keeping me going is my excitement thats built continually since I cracked and ordered this the other day. I keep lying in bed feeling like shit listening to the soundtrack on grooveshark on repeat (really beautiful actually - kinda like the score for Mass Effects cyberpunk cousin almost).

 

It's made me realise I haven't lost myself in a bona fide cyberpunk world in a very long time - and as someone who spent over a decade creating a cyberpunk world in his own head (to little result other than some pretty awesome day dreaming and reams of scribbles) - I've missed it terribly. 

 

Haven't read Gibsons sprawl series in years and the last game that really felt authentic goes all the way back to Syndicate for chrissake (but what a game). This really does look the real deal tho. I'm always banging on about freedom of choice, story and immersion being key in gaming - and this seems to hit all three of those sweet spots - and in a proper cyberpunk setting touching on all the thematics and ideas that make the scifi sub-genre my favorite no less. 

 

So ya see, even with the danger of simulation sickness looming over my head (and believe me when it hits properly its god-awful), I simply have to bite the bullet and engage in the first first-person gaming experience I've had in over fifteen years. 

 

I just can't believe I still have to wait until next week - at some point I'm going to have to exercise some willpower and stay out of this thread.

Really? I was talking about 1st person leaning like in the original game. You know, hit a key and lean to the side, another key for the opposite direction. The cover system in Human Revolution means I don't really miss it, but it would be useful in a few situations.

 

So if you can do 1st person leaning in Human Revolution, that would be cool. Maybe I just missed it in the controls menu.  Then again, everything isn't listed there.  Even though they aren't listed in the menu, HR does have a quicksave (F5) and "quick"load (F8).

Okay, I am officially in love with this game. I spent all of last night wandering around the Sarif offices and part of the Detroit hub area just exploring and doing a little bit of the first side missions.  Of course, by "exploring" I mean "breaking into random apartments, hacking their computers, and stealing their precious energy bars".  I also spent several minutes messing around on the basketball court outside one of the apartment  buildings.  I love listening in on random NPC conversations.  There have been some good ones to listen to already, and some of the comments you get when you try to talk to people are great. The developers did a great job of creating a world I want to mess around in. 

 

Maybe tonight I'll actually bother to wander all the way to the police station and continue the missions that are leading me there.

 

I think I should also mention that I love the hacking minigame. There's a bit of strategy to it, and I love that you can (and sometimes need to) multitask by clicking on several nodes at once.  I also like that some terminals have optional reward nodes that you can go for that give you credits, XP, or hacking program helpers. They can take enough extra time on even easy hacks that you have to decide if they're worth going for or if you should make a beeline for the final node instead. As far as hacking minigames go, I don't think this one will get old any time soon.

I'm still debating whether to pick this up for the PC or PS3. Are there any pros/cons to either? It looks pretty enough, but the visual differences between the PC and PS3 versions look marginal to me (at least from the videos I've seen).

Just did a comparison between the xbox version and the pc version (directx 11, full aa, 16 ano). Not a night and day difference compared to say, Metro 2033...which was eye fuckingly awesome. On pc Deus there's a nice soft glow in the air, the electronic signs have a neat banding layer effect applied, and text is all around sharper. On xbox the jaggies are very apparent (probably moreso on ps3), you have to get really close to signs before the distortion/artifacts disappear on office door signage, and due to the lower resolution the field of view is smaller. The actual differences in character models and textures, to my eyes, is nil - except when looking at Jansen idling in conversation mode he looks more like a dirty hobo with crud on his forehead when compared to his pc counterpart.

I haven't gotten very many upgrade points yet since I spent a bunch of time wandering around the hub area without doing much. However, the Social Enhancer augment is pretty cool. It's sort of like having a Voight-Kampff device from Blade Runner built into your head.  It let's you see what personality type an NPC is, and choose the right method to convince them to do what you want them to do based on whichever type they are.  The description also says something about using pheromones, so I guess that's what you're doing....or the pheromones thing only shows up in certain conversations or something that I haven't seen yet.

 

Other than that my few points have gone into improving my hacking abilities

 

Looking through the list, I don't think any of the augments will be useless, but they definitely split between aggressive and stealth styles of play.  I think if something sounds useful to you, it probably will be.

I see myself concentrating on hacking, stealth and long range weaponry of the sniper variety - I'm going to be a pure cyber-ninja on that first play through.

 

The only problem is I'm scared this will leave me pretty fucked for the boss fights, which by all accounts is the games only weakness, in as much as it reverts to a straight-forward shooter for those sections of the game.

 

Anyone playing the game ninja-like and reached a boss battle yet?

 

I'm playing the game as ninja-like as possible, but I haven't made it to a boss battle yet. I'll let you know how it goes once I do.  I think it will probably be fine as I've held on to a weapon or two for the express purpose of having a little bit of firepower when the time comes.

Okay, so I managed to talk my way into the police station and do some snooping around, so my play time tonight wasn't completely wasted. However, I did start out wasting a bunch of time by hauling the basketball around to places for the express purpose of taking dumb screenshots.

 

I linked to the community pages rather than directly to the images so you guys can see my silly captions. Enjoy!

http://steamcommunity.com/id/Polygon_Wizard/screenshot/594694818201999803
http://steamcommunity.com/id/Polygon_Wizard/screenshot/594694818201990166
http://steamcommunity.com/id/Polygon_Wizard/screenshot/594694818201969858
http://steamcommunity.com/id/Polygon_Wizard/screenshot/594694818201963793
http://steamcommunity.com/id/Polygon_Wizard/screenshot/594694818201957670
http://steamcommunity.com/id/Polygon_Wizard/screenshot/594694818201952457
http://steamcommunity.com/id/Polygon_Wizard/screenshot/594694818201943227

Deus Ex, fuck yeah! I'm pleasantly surprised after the polished turd that was Invisible War. I don't know wtf is up with the voice acting though. It's kind of bad, anyway. Detroit! I love how a block away from the police station dudes are packing assault shotguns like it ain't no thang.

 

As far as upgrades I've been going cyber-ninja and from what some of my friends that had review copies have told me hacking is pretty important after Detroit so I've been bulking up on that. I have the cloaking shield fully upgraded and I kind of regret it, it runs out so fast that in any sort of situation it would be applicable...like stumbling into a horde of bangers, it pretty much runs out right as you get /almost/ out of range..so you're shot in the back.

 

Oh and the first boss wasn't really a ball buster to me so I dunno. I think you'll be fine, I haven't invested in dermal armor or anything so...

 

Anyone know if there's more than the two gun merchants in Detroit? I think I've found most of the hidden weapons too. The sniper rifle is pretty awesome looking but I'm super low on ammo. :(

 

All in all though it looks way better than I was anticipating, I'm really surprised so it's a treat that it runs as smooth as it does and looks pretty good. The patch that came out today sped up the loading screens for me at least two, maybe three times what they originally were also.

Well, I checked my online order this afternoon and it still hadn't shipped. Rang the company directly for a please explain and they told me they're now out of stock until at least Monday. Fuck that. Cancelled the order (had to take store credit but whatever) and went and bought a copy retail.

 

I've even bought and popped some ginger tablets while I wait for the game to finish installing on my 360.

 

So here... we... go...