You know, the whole anti-nano mod movement could actually be an interesting addition if it's fleshed out. The problem with the church crap in DX 2 is that, in real life people wouldn't have abandoned their religions. After the fall of the roman empire, the church became the most powerful form of government. I have no doubt in my mind that, though the big three would not become all powerful, people would put more of their faith in the monotheistic religions again. That crap about the reworked templars from the second could have proven interesting, but it was implemented poorly (mostly cause the game was too short, beat 2 in 6 hours and less on avg). I think it could be a good backdrop to civil unrest, as different groups square off, two moderate forces and two extreme forces of both sides, etc. etc. I dunno, maybe it could be implemented well if it's not too heavy (like a mention of it here and there, maybe some commercials and shit, etc.) and it leads into something deeper, like a corporation that wants to keep a monopoly on them, and a group that wants them available to all. Oh wait, that was done in the second one. I don't know how they could do something like this and implement it well without it sounding cheesy honestly. Mods give people unfair advantages to life. People bitch, moan, whine and complain. A few target them in acts of terrorism (like the KKK maybe). Hmm, sounds like DX2 again. Dunno, but every which way I look at it, it once again sounds like they're reusing the second game's formula in terms of certain aspects of the game world, which makes me a sad panda.
Also, the second game screwed the pooch on Chad becoming an illuminatist. In the first one, in conversations, you learned that he didn't all together trust nicolette (they were kind of random spoutings, etc.) plus he was a friggin philosopher and would be against everything they stood for, etc. etc. Nicolette was more believable, as she was most likely going through a rebellious phase during that point in her life. Hell, you even found zyme in her room (it's a potent drug, made in basements and kitchens everywhere, like crystal meth) and that alone shows you that she'll do anything to piss her mother off and rebel against her. With Chad, he had a suspicion about why she would be helping him, and he suspected that she was using him to her own ends.
I hope they decide to forgo the whole clone crap. I also hope they kind of forget that the second game ever happened, though the Arcology thing was kind of cool, high rise, expensive environments for those that could afford them, which provide clean air, water, and safe (relatively) living conditions, while the poor folk live out in the ruins of the world. I also liked the mutant fighting in the second game, kind of like dog fights, only less fun. One more thing I disliked about the second game: for the most part, your buddies that you were in Seattle with were pretty shallow. The chick billie adams, her reason for joining with the templars was kind of muddled, something about purity and not wanting to be an experiment or a test subject or some crap. Clara Sparks was similarly crappy in her depth. The only one that was actually somewhat decent, that I liked was Jankowski, mostly because for some reason his voice reminded me of a younger Treat Williams, and that's who I saw: some young cocky sob that could dish it out pretty well and be helpful in a fight. I liked his mercenary attitude as well.
Also, that thing with Tong. You get a message from Chad about how he'll drag you into the criminal underworld. What underworld? What seedy underbelly of society that is often, in real life, so friggin obvious they post signs out saying that they exist. There was no organized criminal world in DX2 like there was in the first. You actually overheard and witnessed the corruption and violence in the first. There was none of that crap in the second. Plus, Tong being a Luddite, I don't think he'd be an ally of JC's, nor of Paul's by the time the second game comes around. I think he'd be, philosophically speaking, the exact opposite.
Even the main Character was fleshed out poorly in the second. You got, from gleamings here and there, that JC was in fact a clone of his brother, his memories all implanted and what not. Where was that in DX2? Nowhere!
If they do DX3, they'd better damn do it right.
Rule #1: A good conspiracy is impossible to prove, and at times so contrived it sounds ludicrous. #1 was all about that. #2 had blatant crap everywhere. It sucked.
Rule #2: Bob Page's greatest weapon was secrecy. In the first game, you're still guessing this way and that about everyone's intentions, even your own. Halfway through the second game, everyone knows everyone's dirty laundry, and their motives are friggin obvious. Civilians know everything. Whether they believe it or not is another thing, but the fact that they actually have that info at hand is absurd. Also, the fact that people would know the origins of the Grey Death from the first game is equally absurd. If anything, that knowledge would be covered up by the powers that be almost immediately, simply because it would make people completely unlikely to trust any form of government or authority ever again.
Rule #3: Continuity. Not necessary. In DX2, there were recurring characters friggin everywhere. It wasn't necessary in any way, shape, or form. The only thing that's necessary is a game that can stand on it's own two feet, and not rely on a predecessor. DX2 had homages to the first everywhere, and it sucked balls. Why was there even a mention of MJ12 in the second game? "MJ12? You mean the super secret organization that created the gray death and murdered billions and attempted to take over the world?" "Yes the very same!"
Cut the crap, it's not necessary. All that's needed are characters that are deep enough, like Gunther. Now that was an NPC. I ended up actually pitying him more than anything. He looked almost pathetic at times, terrifying at others. His body and face, mangled by bionics to improve performance, yet hamper his clarity, and his constant quest for new upgrades, due to fear of a shelf date. While fearless when it came to overwhelming odds, the only thing he was terrified of was becoming useless. He was even so blinded by this that he willingly became a pawn of MJ12, just for a promise for new upgrades. His response to his killphrase, I am not a machine, was almost the exact opposite of what he was. He was a machine. He was incapable of any rational thought by the time of his death, only revenge and upgrades. He didn't even care that he was being used. His augmentations also affected his mental state, including his paranoia. He was so afraid to admit that his augmentations had any defects, that he was capable of making a mistake, that he blamed the janitor for switching the sodas around. What was even more pathetic was that even a Woman In Black, an emotionless killer, pitied him, and saw him as not even a man anymore, just metal held together by hatred. Her comments on his behavior reinforced this view. He'd just stand, staring at a cross in the cathedral, then he'd cry, then he'd get a message from Simons, then he'd get angry, then he'd cry again. He was deep without him ever telling you. It was all done through observation. That's how characters should be in the third.
Hell, even Simons himself was deep in some ways. You hear a few comments from people here and there that have met with him. the Quartermaster General in UNATCO says that he's known people like Simons, people who have seen too much combat, or killed off they're own emotions. Even a dockworker makes a comment about him, that the worker thought that he'd rather strangle you then talk to you. First thought: He's a pencil pushing Bureaucrat, instead he ends up being one of the deadliest men in the game.
