LogFAQs > #952042117

Lightning Strikes posted...

This is going to sound ridiculous, but if you have a Wii U try to get that version, because they made a lot of improvements.

I love the original Deus Ex but it is incredibly inaccessible.

That does sound kind of funny. Unfortunately I don't have a Wii U, so I'll have to stick with the PS3 version. To be fair, older PC games tend to be a lot less accessible. I really like the OG Fallout games, but most of my friends who tried them didn't get past the first couple hours either. I'll stick it out with Deus Ex, I think my first writeup about the game probably came off as more negative than I intended because I was in a bad mood that day.

ctesjbuvf posted...

Btw, depending on what platform you'd rather play on and what you already own, some of the games you'll eventually play are free on Playstation in the near future as part of their stay home program.

Thanks for pointing that out. Yeah, it looks like I'll be able to pick up Subnautica and Horizon Zero Dawn through that, at least.

LinkMarioSamus posted...

With Blade Runner a lot of it is more that if you've taken in a lot of media like that then it probably loses a lot of impact. That being said, I only saw Blade Runner for the first time in 2018 and still loved it.

I got Age of Empires II

That might be part of it, sure. I can see Blade Runner being one of those movies that's so influential that it almost seems cliche to modern viewers who are familiar with the imitators. I felt kind of the same way about Casablanca when I watched that recently. It didn't feel as special to me as it seems to have been for a lot of people, but I could tell lots of movies had been influenced by it. I think for me personally the bigger "issue" is that Blade Runner just doesn't quite connect with me emotionally, though.

I've only played a bit of Age of Empires 2. I wasn't that thrilled by the combat either, so I ended up leaving it to go back to strategy games like Civ and Europa Universalis that have more in-depth diplomacy, which I find a little more interesting. I liked playing as the vikings, although they don't seem that good.

ctesjbuvf posted...

Update, I will join in on the Dark Souls playthrough, being mostly able to use my thumb again now.

Glad to hear it! I hope you like the game.

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I found a physical copy of the PS3 version of Human Rev. in my apartment. I must have anticipated that it might not work on my PC and bought it just to be safe. I played a bit here and there over the past few days, up to the point where you can do some sidequests between the first and second larger missions.

Both Deus Ex games start with some kind of shadow organization talking about their plans, and then cut to your mostly-unaware protagonist doing his own thing. In Human Reverend, that's Adam Jensen, who never asked for this. He's head of security at a company that's researching cybernetics. They want to increase people's potential by augmenting their bodies with technology, like for instance replacing someone's arms with stronger metal limbs or implanting a data display into their actual eyes. At the very start of the game some mysterious assassins bust into the place, kill most of the people there including Adam's GF, destroy the research, and injure Adam to the point of death, but luckily he gets rebuilt Robocop-style. Six months later, he's back in commission and ready for some covert corporate missions, starting with retrieving some experimental tech from a lab that's been attacked by terrorists before the cops find it.

The game makes an effort to re-create a lot of the mechanics from the original Deus Ex. You still move crates around the same way so you can jump on them, there's a Resident Evil 4-style inventory system like the first game's, and the emphasis is on open-ended level design with multiple solutions. The level-up system is a bit streamlined since the first game had both skill levels and augmentations and the second one combines them into one system. You gain a resource that lets you move through the skill tree by leveling up but you can also find it lying around or buy it. I've mostly focused all my levels on the hacking skill, but I also got the ability to lift heavy objects, which I used to solve one sidequest where you're looking for a police locker by stacking dumpsters on top of one another so I could hop a fence.

Since I was going for the full stealth and quickload whenever someone sees you approach in the first game, I picked lethal rules of engagement in this one, so I could start with a revolver instead of a stun gun, and although I try to stealth through the areas I just kill everyone once I get spotted. After the first mission one of the NPCs made fun of me for doing too much murdering, and I also failed to save any of the hostages except the very last one that you rescue by picking the right dialog against the boss. One thing that I do appreciate is how the "speech checks" are more complicated than they were in something like New Vegas, where you mostly just picked one option that was indicated by being the one with a speech requirement beside it and instantly convinced the other character. Both this first encounter with the terrorist leader and another one where you have to convince a cop to let you into the police station even though he's mad at you for not shooting a 15 year old boy during your backstory feel a little more nuanced because it's actually kind of hard to talk them down. I succeeded on my first attempt with both guys, so either the system is kind of lenient or I just got lucky. It might become annoying later on if I end up having to keep re-loading to find the right options though.

Playing on normal, I'd say the difficulty is above average compared to most modern games. Even with his augmentations Adam dies pretty fast to any old gun. Ironically the opening tutorial section is the hardest part yet, because you're facing guys with cybernetics and helmets, so they don't die even to headshots, while with the revolver I could one-shot the mooks in the following mission by hitting them just about anywhere. My personal distaste for stealth games aside, I'd say the gameplay is pretty good so far, but I'm not too interested in the story just yet. It's still early on, though. I've heard people criticize the whole central issue of prejudice toward "augs" as not making much sense, and to a certain extent I agree, and I also have a little bit of a problem with the world-building in that at least some of the cybernetic technology doesn't seem very practical. I doubt people will want to graft LED displays into their eyes instead of just carrying a phone or something, for starters.

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I'm playing every game from GotD 2020! Games Completed: 19/129
Currently Playing: Deus Ex: Human Revolution