Deus Ex: Human Revolution

[DarthParametric]

Remember that it's far from final right now, so some of the elements might even be just placeholders.

It's unlikely to be too far from final, as they must be getting pretty close to a content lockdown what with an early March release date.

 

Hacking was also an interesting thing to watch, as it's no longer just non-interactive thing you have to rely on your skill to succeed in.

FFS, that's the whole point of an RPG. God I hate that mini-game crap.

 

And while I'm on a rant, why is it any game with guns in it now pretty much is cover-based? It's such a clunky and horribly overused mechanic.

[Sabretooth]

FFS, that's the whole point of an RPG. God I hate that mini-game crap.

No secret that Deus Ex isn't entirely an RPG. One would might as well argue against being allowed to aim and take cover in the game, as such elements are usually decided by RPG mechanics as well.

 

And while I'm on a rant, why is it any game with guns in it now pretty much is cover-based? It's such a clunky and horribly overused mechanic.

 

They'll tell you that it's for "tactical" purposes, which is just a way of saying "it beats having to design complex levels and playtest them".

[DarthParametric]

I've always been wary of calling Deus Ex an RPG - I personally considered the original a shooter first and an RPG second - but when they go out of their way to play up the RPG aspects of DE3 it kind of annoys me when they throw in lame mini-game junk. It was the same stupid thing in Mass Effect - level up a stat just so you can unlock more mini-games. Drives me up the freaking wall.

[jrrtoken]

Honestly, I'd rather have a minigame that is well-designed and tactically-oriented (i.e. you really are hacking or picking a lock, rather than simply matching the password or applying pressure on a pin) than no minigame at all. Deus Ex's take on interactive-based skill checks wasn't enthralling at all, and simply amounted to a click-and-wait affair; the same can be said for VtMB. Hell, at least Bethesda factored critical failures into their minigames, which made them slightly more entertaining.

[Sabretooth]

I think the part that makes me cringe the most when it comes to Deus Ex is that if you were waiting for that multitool and lockpick to do its magic and something interrupted you, you lost that multitool/lockpick, because apparently the game removed it from your inventory when it initiated a lockpick/hack.

 

Can't remember if they retained that in Invisible War... I was too distracted by all the other things that were wrong.

[Liverandbacon]

I think the part that makes me cringe the most when it comes to Deus Ex is that if you were waiting for that multitool and lockpick to do its magic and something interrupted you, you lost that multitool/lockpick, because apparently the game removed it from your inventory when it initiated a lockpick/hack.

 

Can't remember if they retained that in Invisible War... I was too distracted by all the other things that were wrong.

 

Whenever that happened, I'd just get that lockpick back by taking out another, but going into inventory right when I started lockpicking. I'd stay there for the length of time two lockpicks would take, and when I came out, the door's lock percentage would be down by the amount that 2 lockpicks would take, although I only used 1 lockpick.

[stoffe]

I think the part that makes me cringe the most when it comes to Deus Ex is that if you were waiting for that multitool and lockpick to do its magic and something interrupted you, you lost that multitool/lockpick, because apparently the game removed it from your inventory when it initiated a lockpick/hack.

 

I would guess that was intentional to add an element of risk to attempting such activities in dangerous situations.

 

Or to prevent the player from aborting the lockpick on purpose just before a pick would be spent to retain it, and thus open locks that would normally require multiple picks to open with a single pick.

[Sabretooth]

The cover art for Deus Ex: Icarus Effect has been finalized and revealed by Amazon. I'm not a big fan of it, but here it is:

 

 

Pretty much reeks of "MONEYCASHTIE-INBUYPLEASE", but any way.

[DarthParametric]

Is that a prequel novel or something?

[Sabretooth]

Not a prequel as such, it will interweave with the game's story as far as I know. It's really one of those same-universe-different-story affairs you have these days.

 

Deus Ex: Human Revolution has improved AI on PC

Nicholas: A lot of games for the PC, recently, have been really poorly ported for the PC, and I was wondering if you had any assurances about Human Revolution that this will not happen.

 

David: No, that'll be the same thing in Deus Ex: Human Revolution. [pause] Joking! No, for sure you must adapt your controls to the PC version, so we have someone working on that, making sure the keyboard mapping is well done, supporting the experience for the PC gamers. It's also important to adjust the AI, because you know, with the mouse you're more precise and quick, compared to the console controls. So we've got someone working on that to adjust the experience. We also have a partnership with AMD, to optimize the graphics for their cards too. With the way we've developed it, we don't really have a main platform, so the controls will be easily adjusted to the PC version. The interface, as well.

[Sabretooth]

New gameplay trailer, gives the clearest idea of what's what:

 

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[Ctrl Alt Del]

^ Character seems so level 40. Or at least terribly overpowered. But that's how it's fun right?

 

So, I wanna play this thing. But I'm not sure why yet.

[jrrtoken]

Other than the cover system and the obviously thumbstick-ed aiming, everything else in the trailer felt like Deus Ex. The computer UI seems to have the same level of intuitiveness as DX1's, as well as the grid-based inventory screen and the hacking sequence. Me likey.

[DarthParametric]

Extended pre-rendered trailer:

 

[youtube=hd]CZRYROjQPoI

[Sabretooth]

Total collated story information we know so far:

 

 

Adam Jensen is an ex-SWAT officer, now a security specialist working for America's most advanced biotech firm, Sarif Industries, and is romantically involved with the boss' daughter, Megan Sarif.

 

In an attack on the Detroit headquarters, Adam is incapacitated while Megan is kidnapped by Bell Tower mercenaries. Adam is augmented upon, sponsored by David Sarif under the supervision of the bald old scientist whose name we don't know, but who appears to be Adam's handler later.

 

Adam is tasked with discovering who ordered the attack, and where Megan has been taken. It is presumed that they stole something other than Megan as well. The attack was facilitated technically by a man named Tong Se Hong, who operates from Shanghai and apparently isn't quite that friendly with the Bell Tower boys. He is also almost certainly Tracer Tong's father.

 

Barret (Kentucky-fried Bull) is Adam's arch-rival, apparently, trying to stop Adam from finding whatever it is Adam wants to find. Also, pain in the butt.

 

ELIZA is an artificial intelligence, probably a surveillance/analysis tool like Daedalus, but used at least superficially as a newscaster (her digital identity is kept a secret) for Picus TV, which has a global reach.

 

Somewhere in an ocean lies Panchaea, a Rapture-esque super-facility-thing for augmented people to live in without discrimination. It would seem that Adam can't reach it in any way other than the mini-rocket thing. It may be owned or supported by David Sarif, as he is a strong supporter of the pro-augmentation movement and professes a philosophy to let mankind live without limits of any kind. May also be there to ask you whether a man is entitled to the sweat of his augmented brow.

 

Sarif's enemy is the Humanity Front, dedicated to either preserving the human body, or laying heavy limits on augmentations and prosthetics. It's very likely that the protestors outside the Victory Hotel and Sarif Industries HQ are Humanity Front members. Curiously, one of them can be seen firing at the crowd, and not the police.

 

Fedorova's (a.k.a. "Augmented Punk Rihanna") allegiance is unknown as she is seen firing on the crowd incognito. While she may be a Bell Tower mercenary (she has a nose ring just like Barret), it is unknown who'd hire her to fire on the crowd. She seems to be the femme-fatale-turned-on-by-violence stereotype.

 

[DarthParametric]

Surely brow augmentations would include some sort of refrigeration, thereby alleviating sweat altogether?

 

Also, concerning the crowd, it would seem to me that the most likely explanation is that

there were agitators placed within the crowd specifically to incite a riot and cause the police to fire upon them for some political purpose. It could be agents of "the bad guys" (Illuminati, Templars, forerunner/offshoot of Majestic 12, or whoever it turns out to be) or could even be the police/government (making them agent provocateurs). Possibly psycho augmented butt lady is a 3rd party sent to do the same thing, or just cause general mayhem. Either way, it seems like someone wants to escalate conflict as part of some greater plot (no doubt related to world dominance).

 

[Sabretooth]

Game got delayed indefinitely

 

Excellent work, Square Enix.

[DarthParametric]

Where did the "indefinitely" come from? As far I know all they did is push it back into the following quarter, which could be as little as a month later than the original release date (all though odds are it will be more like 2-3 months). When I saw the news the other day I didn't think much of it. It actually seems pretty logical given that everyone seems to be scheduling their major releases for March now instead of Xmas and subsequently that is now overburdened just as Xmas used to be.

[Ctrl Alt Del]

Game got delayed indefinitely

 

Excellent work, Square Enix.

 

When I read that I thought this one was never going to leave the closet.

[Sabretooth]

Where did the "indefinitely" come from? As far I know all they did is push it back into the following quarter, which could be as little as a month later than the original release date (all though odds are it will be more like 2-3 months). When I saw the news the other day I didn't think much of it. It actually seems pretty logical given that everyone seems to be scheduling their major releases for March now instead of Xmas and subsequently that is now overburdened just as Xmas used to be.

 

Indefinitely because it now overrules the de facto release date of March 8, 2011.

 

I'd expect an October release date myself, as Christmas will have both Mass Effect 3 and Skyrim releasing. Bad mojo to release another RPG during this period.

[Samnmax221]

I just put in my preorder too.

[Meowster]

The first mission:

 

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Video is a bit interesting, it details multiple ways to take on the very first mission. Figured since a lot of you were interested in the game that this video might help with your impressions with the game. I am truly impressed, not having played the first two, though plans are being made (The first is on Steam, no?).

 

A bit of an update on the game; Deus Ex: Human Revolution will now be released in August, the 23rd for Americans, and the 26th for the Europeans.

[Achilles]

A bit of an update on the game; Deus Ex: Human Revolution will now be released in August, the 23rd for Americans

Happy birthday to me.

[DarthParametric]

Their NDA has expired and PC Gamer seem very enthusiastic about it:

 

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/05/11/deus-ex-human-revolution-hands-on-the-first-ten-hours/

 

They are releasing overviews of 3 different approaches to the first 10 hours of the game (combat, hacking, stealth) in the next few days, the first of which is a fairly hilarious psychopathic kill-fest:

 

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/05/11/deus-ex-human-revolution-diary-the-psychopath/

 

Hacker: http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/05/12/deus-ex-human-revolution-diary-%E2%80%93-the-hacker/

 

Stealth: http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/05/13/deus-ex-human-revolution-diary-%E2%80%93-the-thinker/

 

It certainly sounds much more promising than I could have dared dream. I sure hope the final product turns out that way in reality.

[Ctrl Alt Del]

Anybody saw the new trailer?

 

Purity (AKA Galaga) trailer:

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(Why does the Purity First logo looks like a...)

 

The viral hacked Sarif Industries website they did for the game is also a beautiful mess and has a decryption game in it. Schnazzy: http://sarifindustries.com