PC Gamer reviews Deus EX: HR

[Oriebam]

Third, they replaced the near-future realistic setting of DX1 with the more generic anime-ish sci-fi. It's good for what it is but it's not as unique as DX1.

I'm not saying it's worse than anime-ish sci-fi, but having godlike nanotech in the near future isn't feasible for a realistic setting.
Also what do you mean unique?

 

[BLOBERT]

BRO LOLLOLOL PC GAMER HAD A GOOD PREVIEW OF ARMA SO YOU CAN TRUST THEM NOW

IT IS GOOD TO SEE THE BRIANLESS MASSESS UPDATING STANDARDS OF CRITICAL THINKING

 

[meanwhileInPoland]

skyway u are full of shit. just to remind you

dx:hr goty 2011 and best crpg in years. calling it right now. geralt/revan/hawke/shepard etc. can suck massive implanted jensens cock

 

[MetalCraze]

Of course it is. It's new and overhyped and is even more dumbed down than anything before it - perfect for next-gen imbeciles like you - and that means the previous Gears of War clone can be finally declared shit.

 

[sea]

Of course it is. It's new and overhyped and is even more dumbed down than anything before it - perfect for next-gen imbeciles like you - and that means the previous Gears of War clone can be finally declared shit.

I'll bite. Aside from the cover system and the slight differences in level design (more forward-moving than hub-based, though there's still that), exactly what has been dumbed down?

 

[MetalCraze]

Quest compass (can't be turned off)
Health regen (can't be turned off)
Enemy radar (can't be turned off)
Cameras made so you could avoid them, also show up on radar (can't be turned off)
Completely tight linear level design, not just "forward moving" or some "small differences" shit

You can swallow now.

 

[meanwhileInPoland]

Completely tight linear level design, not just "forward moving" or some "small differences" shit

police station from beta leak. please elaborate

 

[MetalCraze]

Maybe you should elaborate what exactly makes police station so stunningly well designed with all the overwhelming numbers of approaches like going through the left side of the room or a corridor next to it?

Glad you at least agree with me on everything else.

 

[ortucis]

I still don't understand how yellow/gold is a sci-fi friendly colour in their minds. At least the blue theme in DeusEx felt natural (to sci-fi genre and the world).

Either way, I will most likely enjoy it considering no one else is making anything fun these days when it comes to FPS/Stealth games. I don't trust PC Gamer though. Their name probably means Please Console since the give every console port out there (DA2) +90%, most likely to keep the publishers happy (to keep getting previews).

 

[Genma:TheDestroyer]

First, it loses points for not really improving on the original. Sure, it plays a lot like DX1, but DX1 was 10 years ago. Our computers are much faster and developers have a lot more experience. Why is the best they can do today to match what was done 10 years ago?

The way the industry is these days, it's a triumph for a developer to remember at least a few of the lessons from yesteryear. If more of them consistently did then maybe we could get progress down the line.


As it is, everyone apparently likes shooting what worked for them, burying it for a few years then digging it up, piecing it back together and calling it progress.

 

[Jaesun]

PC Gamer: ArmA 2

SCORE
8.3

*GASP*

 

[Jaedar]

"OMG 6 choices!! 5 of them involving killing the guy and 1 letting him go to never see him again which is the same shit but OMG it's awesome!"

And that's how you know that even LARP'ing is linear here.

But you do see him again if you let him go(he gives you an access code or something like that). Why do you lie skyway?

 

[made]

Btw, you can win a replacement arm if you buy the game from this swedish shop it's really neat:

 

[oscar]

Wait this is set like 25 years before the first one right?

So why does every second person and their dog have a million augmentations (augmented security guard? lolwat) when they were still rare as fuck (you don't met more than about five augmented characters in the whole game and all of them are boss fights)? Why do the cities all look so crazily high tech when in Deus Ex 1 they were little different to modern architecture (and if anything cities had become more grimy and filled with slums).

I'm not going to jump to conclusions about the game yet but I find that pretty strange.

 

[Konjad]

Wait this is set like 25 years before the first one right?

So why does every second person and their dog have a million augmentations (augmented security guard? lolwat) when they were still rare as fuck (you don't met more than about five augmented characters in the whole game and all of them are boss fights)? Why do the cities all look so crazily high tech when in Deus Ex 1 they were little different to modern architecture (and if anything cities had become more grimy and filled with slums).

I'm not going to jump to conclusions about the game yet but I find that pretty strange.

Because it's awesome and no one gives a shit about stupid realism and coherence that destroys immersion.

HR will sell dozens of times better than DE, therefore your argument is invalid.

 

[Konjad]

Btw, you can win a replacement arm if you buy the game from this swedish shop it's really neat:

ever heard of scaling fucking images?

 

[Jaedar]

Wait this is set like 25 years before the first one right?

So why does every second person and their dog have a million augmentations (augmented security guard? lolwat) when they were still rare as fuck (you don't met more than about five augmented characters in the whole game and all of them are boss fights)? Why do the cities all look so crazily high tech when in Deus Ex 1 they were little different to modern architecture (and if anything cities had become more grimy and filled with slums).

I'm not going to jump to conclusions about the game yet but I find that pretty strange.

The devs have stated that they consider the game more of a reboot set earlier in the timeline than as an actual prequel.

 

[SoupNazi]

I still don't understand how yellow/gold is a sci-fi friendly colour in their minds. At least the blue theme in DeusEx felt natural (to sci-fi genre and the world).

Either way, I will most likely enjoy it considering no one else is making anything fun these days when it comes to FPS/Stealth games. I don't trust PC Gamer though. Their name probably means Please Console since the give every console port out there (DA2) +90%, most likely to keep the publishers happy (to keep getting previews).

Tom Francis, who reviewed it for the mag, is one of the last remaining honest game journalists out there. I follow all of his stuff (including personal blog) and he makes a really good impression, so I trust him. Of course he could be forced by the publisher or w/e but well, if he does, he'll probably blog about it later so that wouldn't be too smart.

He wrote a few excellent articles on the mistakes of Far Cry 2 (and the things it did right), and generally tends to make a whole lot more sense than any other journo. Or the Codex.

Francis also wrote several great articles on the original Deus Ex and understands what made it aswesome.

Wait this is set like 25 years before the first one right?

So why does every second person and their dog have a million augmentations (augmented security guard? lolwat) when they were still rare as fuck (you don't met more than about five augmented characters in the whole game and all of them are boss fights)? Why do the cities all look so crazily high tech when in Deus Ex 1 they were little different to modern architecture (and if anything cities had become more grimy and filled with slums).

I'm not going to jump to conclusions about the game yet but I find that pretty strange.

Because, smartass, in the original Deus Ex, augmentations were extremely common. The bartender in Hell's Kitchen had them, the 'Ton manager had them, it's very likely that soldiers and security guards had them too even if we don't see them. The rare augmentations were nanoaugmentations, which were limited to the Dentons, Simmons, and at the end, Page. Hermann and Navarre also both had the old augmentations, which is something Hermann comments on several times, being jealous of Denton's advanced nanoaugmentations and feeling like he's going to the junkyard soon.

Human Revolution is set in the times that these crude, mechanical augmentations are at its peak and people form organizations that protest their heavy infiltrating of society. There are no nanoaugmentations like the Dentons had yet.

The only discrepancy is really the fact that HR has thrust-engine based helicopters while in the original you had to use an oldschool one but it's ultimately not such a big deal.

 

[Jaedar]

The only discrepancy is really the fact that HR has thrust-engine based helicopters while in the original you had to use an oldschool one but it's ultimately not such a big deal.

That's not the only discrepancy. The fact that Jensen can so easily throw on a trenchcoat to hide the fact that he is augmented directly contradicts the entire reason for the nanotech augmentations being researched as well as the Men in Black being created: Both projects were created because mechs were not capable of hiding the fact that they were augmented. For the men in blacks, MJ-12 even thought it was perfectly acceptable that they were a lot weaker than mechs because despite their complete lack of skin pigmentation they were still much easier to hide than mechs.

I'm sure there's also plenty of minor things that will pop up, but as it goes this is a pretty big contradiction. There's no reason to create MiB's and nanotech agents if there already exists technology that can do it better/more easily.

 

[SoupNazi]

Jensen can't hide shit. Everyone in the game comments on the fact that he's augmented; be it admirable, psychobabble, or plain old disgust. It's painfully obvious on his head at the least and hell, the trenchcoat also sort of gives him away. Of course if you're going to wear a uniform covering your entire body, head and face then you're going to conceal them most of the time. There are also Gunther Hermann-style augmented people in HR who obviously couldn't (and in the case of this particular character, don't want to) hide them.

Keep in mind that Jensen wasn't augmented willingly; his employer had him augmented to save his life. It's commented in the beginning that his augmentations are very basic, and as discreet as possible in nature: his body was too weak to take on any advanced augmenting. This is again commented on in the game where Sarif is concerned about Jensen's augmentations but at the same time encourages him to upgrade himself because as it is, his augs are basically a very complex life support system more than anything else.

Spoilers ahead:
There are also hints that Jensen may be much more special than it initially seems to be as his body, unlike any other augmented person, is accepting the augs willingly. Most (if not all) other augs are heavily dependent on an immunosuppressive drug, otherwise they're in constant pain as their body rejects the augmentation. Which might be connected with how discreet and natural Jensen's augs feel as compared to the Hermann lookalike (a boss in the game, you'll know him from the trailers).

 

[oscar]

Thanks for the (somewhat rude) clear up SeinfieldLover. I'm quite liking the sound of the plot now.

The lack of nano-augmentations should be somewhat limiting. JC starts off little different from your standard human. By the end-game your able too jump from eight story buildings, turn invisible and soak up minigun fire and missiles due to your nano's. If what's been said is correct Jensen would need to become a thousand ton, four meter tall robot to have similar abilities.

Could be interesting seeing Jensen become less and less human as he gains more physical-augmentations and gradually becoming more machine than man (and this having some serious consequences ranging from freaking civilians out to losing his humanity).

Those few fights against other nano-augmented were fucking fun.

 

[SoupNazi]

I don't think anything changes physically in the course of the game. Then again from what I've seen the augmetnations aren't as powerful either, and when they are, they can be very obvious. The Icarus landing system (jumping down from eight story buildings) makes a light show when used and everyone sees it (I just wish people pointed at you and went all "It's a bird! It's a plane! NO IT'S SPIDERMA-- I MEAN JENSEN") etc.

Unlike the other augs in the game, Ithink Jensen isn't really capable of upgrading too much physically because he might not be able to take it. So for example his hand readjusting to become a minigun wouldn't be possible.

I haven't actually tested a lot of the augmentations but except for the punching through wall thing, all of them seem fairly subtle and display the limitations of Jensen's discreet augmentation.

 

[Destroid]

At no point will it be possible to become a walking tank. The best damage reduction aug is 50% and if you are playing on the hardest difficulty that will take your life in the line of fire from 2 seconds to 4. Explosive weapons will kill you instantly with a good hit.

 

[Roguey]

Because, smartass, in the original Deus Ex, augmentations were extremely common. The bartender in Hell's Kitchen had them, the 'Ton manager had them, it's very likely that soldiers and security guards had them too even if we don't see them.

The bartender tells you she was an ex-UNATCO agent and the 'Ton manager didn't have any http://images.wikia.com/deusex/en/image ... renton.jpg

So no, they weren't common.

 

[SoupNazi]

Is that really him? Oh, that's some graphics mod isn't it.

Anyway, being wrong doesn't mean it's uncommon. It was always my impression that the mechanical augs were - without any combat capabilities of course - basically just advanced prosthetics. Maybe it's not reflected in the game and I'm just seeing things, I guess. Still, in the end you encounter so many mech augs (giant M12 dudes with the rocket launchers) that it seems fairly common.

Admittedly, in HR this is taken to a whole new level because even some bums have arms prosthetics. Though from what I understand they only became homeless and poor because of it or something.

Edit: Oh right, it was JoJo the lowly pimp and thug who was mechanically augmented. Also the doorman of La Porte. And a drug dealer.

Yeah it probably wasn't common at all. Duh!

 

[Wyrmlord]

So that means Thiaf will also use Tomb Raider engine?

The engine with a non-existent lighting, shitty sound code and an AI that is only able to patrol waypoints within a room and blindly rush at you only when it detects you?

Wow Thiaf is going to be an awesome sequel

So, anyone actually played that leaked build which incidently rocked?

Yes. A generic popamole shooter with hubs. You totally should enjoy it but we already kinda have Mass Effect for that.

Sorry, had to post that one.

 

[Trash]

I haven't actually tested a lot of the augmentations but except for the punching through wall thing, all of them seem fairly subtle and display the limitations of Jensen's discreet augmentation.

You got a review copy or are you playing the leaked preview version? And if it is a review copy I'm sure we'd love some impressions.