Been playing this for a few hours. Game feels and plays fine, but isn't even close to being
anything like the original, which stands heads and shoulders above most games.
1. Graphics are mediocre at best. Blurry textures up close. Even at highest settings.
2. Most items in the game world can't be moved. Only when the game wants or needs you to move something, you can move it.
3. Clunky cover system. Hold right button to get into cover, then akwardly use the wasd keys to maneuver around or aim and shoot.
4. Game favors a stealth-no kill takedown gameplay. Killing nets you far fewer xp.
5. Adam Jensen is closer to Sam Fisher than J.C.Denton.
6. Story doesn't do much for me at this point. Yeah, ok, conspiracy, murder, protest - no substantial deviation from what we already got in DX and DXIW.
7. I haven't encountered any original innovative gameplay design so far. The game so far sticks closely to the tried and true formula of most other cover-based stealth type shooters.
8. Game looks consolish. Thank God, many of the console type prompts can be turned off.
Overall, it's a decent game, worth playing, but definitely can't hold a candle to the first one. It just doesn't manage to "pull" you into its game world, the way the first one did right away when J.C. met his brother Paul on the pier at the Statue of Liberty.
For me, the key problem is that Deus Ex never developed into a franchise under the control of one publisher like Valve. A lot of "cooks" have come up with various "Deus Ex dishes", but all of it lacks the consistency of a franchise. DXHR is a prequel, DXIW is a sequel, but they all don't really come together very well.
Ricardo41
It's obviously a matter of opinion, personally I disagree with most of your points:
1) While the graphics are not especially impressive from a technical pov, I really like the art direction, the colors, the style and the realization of the world.
2) True, most items cannot be moved, however there's generally always enough items around that if you need something to throw, stack or use to block a path, there's plenty around. Beyond that I don't really care if you can pick up everything.
3) Cover system worked fine for me. I'm not sure if Gears was more intuitive, it been a while. Imho, it's leaps and bounds better than MGS4 for example. In short, for me it works fine, does that job and doesn't get in my way :)
4) In the early game where you face relatively few and weak enemies, non-lethal takedowns make a lot more sense. Once you get further, the option to try non-lethal becomes increasingly risky. The non-leathal weapons are fairly limited in terms of speed and ability to take on groups of enemies.
5) I can certainly see the Splinter Cell influence, but I think that's what makes Deus Ex, both the old games and the new ones. It's really up to you if Adam Jensen is more like Sam Fisher or not.
6) I like the story, it fits the setting and the franchise history.
7) I gotta disagree here, it goes way beyond the options you have available in both Splinter Cell and MGS4. You have for more free on how to approach situations, you have far more options in how to develop your character, far more options in the choices presented, far more open ended world.
All things said and done. I think the make or break for a game like this is how well it immerses you in the world and that's probably where we really differ. I feel that it's every bit as captivating and immersive as Deus Ex was 11 years ago, but it's something that really comes down to the individual.
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