[HEADING=2]EDIT: DISCLAIMER - THIS IS JUST A BIT OF FUN[/HEADING]
A few people have called me out for bitching about the game and acting like an angry fanboy, when that really, really isn't the intention of this thread. I'm a damn, damn pleased fanboy. I love this freaking game and am deeply impressed with it. I love it so much that I got scared of how much I love it, and had to stop myself and take a trip down memory lane to see if Deus Ex: Human Revolution really held up to the original as well as I thought it did. And, since it's a hot topic, and there's already a ton of people putting it on a pedestal, I figured I'd play devil's advocate and share a sober look at the game's flaws, with the admission that most of these are nitpicks, or could be seen as such. It's just a bit of fun.
I thought this was clear in the opening paragraph, but a lot of people seem to think I'm a really enraged fanboy who's out to really rip on this game, and I'm not. That said, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it, and I hope you don't take these gripes too personally, because that really isn't the point.
As an additional edit, I've decided to enclose the different points in spoiler brackets for readability.
[HEADING=2]Original Post[/HEADING]
So, been playing Human Revolution, and it's awesome. Best game I've played in years, and I see myself doing a re-play of it almost immediately. To me it's a worthy sequel to Deus Ex in every way, and I find a lot of the changes extremely welcome, particularly the application of the best, most fluid cover system I've ever used in a game, and the melee takedowns. I also dig the consolidation of skills and augments, leaving lots of possibilities and experimentation open for players rather than strictly forcing them to cut a lot of things out of their playstyle just because they don't have high enough rifle skill.
However, I'd be lying to myself if I didn't identify a few things that bother me. This thread is for a little bit of sobering up off the hype by word-of-mouth train, identifying the nitpicks and problems that do exist in this very excellent game. Let's try not to get negative, though, and just have fun reminiscing, comparing, and contrasting. For those of you on the fence about getting it, consider this an account of grievances, and see if they really do seem like deal breakers or if you can't get over them.
[HEADING=2]1 - Lack of Humor[/HEADING]
Fans of Deus Ex will recognize this scene, where the game satirizes its own paranoid, mistrustful atmosphere and storyline. There is always a conspiracy at hand, and it jokes about it. It also jokes about what a lunkhead Gunther is, with him remarking "I knew I should have gotten a skull gun!" and making offhand and cool-headed remarks about how every situation calls for a shotgun to the head.
Human Revolution, suffice it to say, takes itself a lot more seriously and doesn't indulge in as much of the cheese or self-awareness of its predecessor. That's not to say there aren't funny moments and conversations ("I'm gonna get my pit bull augmented! Cyber claws, cyber fangs, the works! I'll make a killing putting him in fights!" "DOGmentation?"), but it is something that's easy for me to miss, as the humor did make for a good atmosphere of fun even when the original did have a good list of technical shortcomings.
Still, I would call this an instance of "different, but also good," and it's not as though the game doesn't have any humor at all. Look at some of the Emails you find if you don't believe me. I've been craving a good cyberpunk game for a very, very long time, and the gravity with which Human Revolution handles itself gives it a sense of focus that the original didn't have. For instance...
Generally, it's a little more believable and a little easier to take seriously. And for legit science fiction, that ain't no bad thing. Just a matter of getting Neuromancer instead of Snow Crash this time.
[HEADING=2]2 - Hacking Wears You Out[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]3 - No Melee Weapons[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]4 - Lack of Landmarks[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]5 - Unreliable Scaleform Menus[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]6 - Regenerating Health[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]7 - The Music[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]Conclusion[/HEADING]
Well, that's it--my gripes about Human Revolution. And you know something? They don't ruin it for me at all! This game is STILL the second coming of a great masterpiece for me, and there's very little that can change it. It's a game that I anticipated heavily and that didn't let me down even a little--I'd go as far as to say it's better than I expected and, in a lot of ways, better than its predecessor, and the GOOD things we got in return for these few flaws--better AI, better bosses, more complex environments, the conversation system, et cetera--were more than worth it. Will these break the game for you, though?
Well, that's up to you to decide. Me, I'm gonna put on a trenchcoat and fight some conspiracies some more. See you later!
A few people have called me out for bitching about the game and acting like an angry fanboy, when that really, really isn't the intention of this thread. I'm a damn, damn pleased fanboy. I love this freaking game and am deeply impressed with it. I love it so much that I got scared of how much I love it, and had to stop myself and take a trip down memory lane to see if Deus Ex: Human Revolution really held up to the original as well as I thought it did. And, since it's a hot topic, and there's already a ton of people putting it on a pedestal, I figured I'd play devil's advocate and share a sober look at the game's flaws, with the admission that most of these are nitpicks, or could be seen as such. It's just a bit of fun.
I thought this was clear in the opening paragraph, but a lot of people seem to think I'm a really enraged fanboy who's out to really rip on this game, and I'm not. That said, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it, and I hope you don't take these gripes too personally, because that really isn't the point.
As an additional edit, I've decided to enclose the different points in spoiler brackets for readability.
[HEADING=2]Original Post[/HEADING]
So, been playing Human Revolution, and it's awesome. Best game I've played in years, and I see myself doing a re-play of it almost immediately. To me it's a worthy sequel to Deus Ex in every way, and I find a lot of the changes extremely welcome, particularly the application of the best, most fluid cover system I've ever used in a game, and the melee takedowns. I also dig the consolidation of skills and augments, leaving lots of possibilities and experimentation open for players rather than strictly forcing them to cut a lot of things out of their playstyle just because they don't have high enough rifle skill.
However, I'd be lying to myself if I didn't identify a few things that bother me. This thread is for a little bit of sobering up off the hype by word-of-mouth train, identifying the nitpicks and problems that do exist in this very excellent game. Let's try not to get negative, though, and just have fun reminiscing, comparing, and contrasting. For those of you on the fence about getting it, consider this an account of grievances, and see if they really do seem like deal breakers or if you can't get over them.
[HEADING=2]1 - Lack of Humor[/HEADING]
Fans of Deus Ex will recognize this scene, where the game satirizes its own paranoid, mistrustful atmosphere and storyline. There is always a conspiracy at hand, and it jokes about it. It also jokes about what a lunkhead Gunther is, with him remarking "I knew I should have gotten a skull gun!" and making offhand and cool-headed remarks about how every situation calls for a shotgun to the head.
Human Revolution, suffice it to say, takes itself a lot more seriously and doesn't indulge in as much of the cheese or self-awareness of its predecessor. That's not to say there aren't funny moments and conversations ("I'm gonna get my pit bull augmented! Cyber claws, cyber fangs, the works! I'll make a killing putting him in fights!" "DOGmentation?"), but it is something that's easy for me to miss, as the humor did make for a good atmosphere of fun even when the original did have a good list of technical shortcomings.
Still, I would call this an instance of "different, but also good," and it's not as though the game doesn't have any humor at all. Look at some of the Emails you find if you don't believe me. I've been craving a good cyberpunk game for a very, very long time, and the gravity with which Human Revolution handles itself gives it a sense of focus that the original didn't have. For instance...
... the fact that, in addition to nano augmentations, artificial nanotech viruses, and the Illuminati, J.C. Denton also spent a lot of time fighting aliens, robot bugs, and dinosaurs. Given that each of these enemies encapsulated all the most annoying aspects of mid-to-late 90's shooters, I don't particularly miss them.
Generally, it's a little more believable and a little easier to take seriously. And for legit science fiction, that ain't no bad thing. Just a matter of getting Neuromancer instead of Snow Crash this time.
[HEADING=2]2 - Hacking Wears You Out[/HEADING]
I've played Human Revolution for 25 hours with the end just barely in sight. There's still a lot of loose ends to tie up, and for all I know this'll go past the 40 hour mark. I have absolutely no idea how much of that time I've spent just hacking doors.
To be fair, it's a good hacking minigame. Probably the second-best I've seen other than the one in Dan Remar's Iji, in that it definitely feels like hacking and you get rewarded greatly for doing it well.
[img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yFl5spJZO9s/TlWEFJ1ztbI/AAAAAAAAAoU/n5NnFE8hevY/s640/hacking.jpg" /]
Get used to seeing this, folks
The problem is, you almost have to be able to hack in order to access a good bulk of the content. I've discovered it isn't completely necessary all the time--believe it or not, you CAN blow up doors pretty often, and you'll be surprised at how the mobility augs can safely get you around most doors otherwise barred by a locked terminal. There's enough detail in the environment that this doesn't feel like a conscious problem so much as something I do to myself...
... And why the hell wouldn't I? Hacking gives you EXP, it gives you easy, reliable access to a lot of things, and there are things like safes and storage lockers that have to be hacked. Hacking well gives you even more EXP, in addition to money and viruses and worms that can be used for even more hacking.
It's infinitely more compelling to hack than it is to not hack. Compare with the original. You only ever got EXP for completing major objectives, and hacking was a simple act--more secure systems simply took more time to grant you access, and you had a countdown going when hacking a machine before an alarm went off. There were clear incentives for upgrading the hacking skill, but it wasn't such that you felt compelled to do it like in this game; the incentives for legitimate access and use of a well-planted LAM were equal, because the reward was the same. That's what made it more of a play style and not a compulsion.
That said, I've spent a TON of time hacking, and it wears me out like nothing else now. It's such that I get impatient when potential targets do introduce themselves and go Rambo on them immediately, killing what's supposed to be a non-lethal playthrough just because I need to work out my frustrations.
[img src="http://www.lostsystem.com/images/JensenRambo.jpg" /]
Prichard: "Don't give me that look, Adam. You did everything to make this private war happen!"
Adam: "They drew first blood, not me!"
Still, if the worst thing I can say about hacking is that it's successful and I keep coming back to it, I suppose there's not that much room to complain, but a more even-handed take to different playstyles and a quicker means of doing a hack job so as to keep the emphasis on the action would be much appreciated. To be fair it's not half as bad as I make it sound, and there are alternatives present most of the time. They just aren't as reliably rewarding.
To be fair, it's a good hacking minigame. Probably the second-best I've seen other than the one in Dan Remar's Iji, in that it definitely feels like hacking and you get rewarded greatly for doing it well.
[img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yFl5spJZO9s/TlWEFJ1ztbI/AAAAAAAAAoU/n5NnFE8hevY/s640/hacking.jpg" /]
Get used to seeing this, folks
The problem is, you almost have to be able to hack in order to access a good bulk of the content. I've discovered it isn't completely necessary all the time--believe it or not, you CAN blow up doors pretty often, and you'll be surprised at how the mobility augs can safely get you around most doors otherwise barred by a locked terminal. There's enough detail in the environment that this doesn't feel like a conscious problem so much as something I do to myself...
... And why the hell wouldn't I? Hacking gives you EXP, it gives you easy, reliable access to a lot of things, and there are things like safes and storage lockers that have to be hacked. Hacking well gives you even more EXP, in addition to money and viruses and worms that can be used for even more hacking.
It's infinitely more compelling to hack than it is to not hack. Compare with the original. You only ever got EXP for completing major objectives, and hacking was a simple act--more secure systems simply took more time to grant you access, and you had a countdown going when hacking a machine before an alarm went off. There were clear incentives for upgrading the hacking skill, but it wasn't such that you felt compelled to do it like in this game; the incentives for legitimate access and use of a well-planted LAM were equal, because the reward was the same. That's what made it more of a play style and not a compulsion.
That said, I've spent a TON of time hacking, and it wears me out like nothing else now. It's such that I get impatient when potential targets do introduce themselves and go Rambo on them immediately, killing what's supposed to be a non-lethal playthrough just because I need to work out my frustrations.
[img src="http://www.lostsystem.com/images/JensenRambo.jpg" /]
Prichard: "Don't give me that look, Adam. You did everything to make this private war happen!"
Adam: "They drew first blood, not me!"
Still, if the worst thing I can say about hacking is that it's successful and I keep coming back to it, I suppose there's not that much room to complain, but a more even-handed take to different playstyles and a quicker means of doing a hack job so as to keep the emphasis on the action would be much appreciated. To be fair it's not half as bad as I make it sound, and there are alternatives present most of the time. They just aren't as reliably rewarding.
[HEADING=2]3 - No Melee Weapons[/HEADING]
This isn't a world-ending calamity for me given my enjoyment of the takedown system. Let's be honest here, it's quick, it's satisfying, it's rewarding, it's reliable, and it neatly reflects its source material, those being Molly Millions's built-in blades in Neuromancer. The same couldn't necessarily be said for a lot of the original Deus Ex's melee weapons, most of which (looking at you, combat knife), which would take a good seven or eight hits to bring someone down unless you got a good sneak attack in.
Even so, I can see where people would find complaint with this, especially since takedowns depend on Jensen's very limited energy supply and are the ONLY option for melee. There's many times when it would be nice to be able to let loose with melee attacks without having to depend on that, or to have more elements to the melee system to explore, at least. As it is it doesn't get much more complicated than "hit Q to kill," when it could have more flexibility and support and develop more play styles in and of itself. Given the game took 4 years to make and feels like a 4-year game, though, I'm not going to rag on this one too hard--Eidos gets a pass this time.
Even so, I can see where people would find complaint with this, especially since takedowns depend on Jensen's very limited energy supply and are the ONLY option for melee. There's many times when it would be nice to be able to let loose with melee attacks without having to depend on that, or to have more elements to the melee system to explore, at least. As it is it doesn't get much more complicated than "hit Q to kill," when it could have more flexibility and support and develop more play styles in and of itself. Given the game took 4 years to make and feels like a 4-year game, though, I'm not going to rag on this one too hard--Eidos gets a pass this time.
[HEADING=2]4 - Lack of Landmarks[/HEADING]
There's a lot to love about the environments in Human Revolution. They're detailed, they're populated, thoughtfully designed, and excellently support the spirit of creative problem-solving from the original Deus Ex.
However...
The use of landmarks and cool locales is kind of sparse. The environments they do have fit the future story at hand very well--I thought the game's integration of Detroit and its declining auto industry was especially clever--but here's the thing. In the first game, your first job was to re-take the Statue of Liberty. UNATCO HQ was inside Liberty Island. I know, right!? Awesome!
This game... really doesn't have anything similar. Oh, it has its share of cool vistas and setpieces, I assure you. Heng Sha is especially interesting.
[img src="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110122171825/deusex/en/images/thumb/3/39/DX3_Heng-Sha_city_scape.jpg/830px-DX3_Heng-Sha_city_scape.jpg" /]
Yes. You explore this. So Square, still going to give me the "HD environments are too hard" excuse for the FF7 remake?
However, it's mostly fictional locations rather than landmarks, which would have added a lot of grounding and perspective in addition to some cool and memorable set pieces.
[img src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110706192729/deusex/en/images/thumb/8/81/StatueBody.jpg/830px-StatueBody.jpg" /]
Pictured: A statement about the future.
I wouldn't make such a big deal out of this, but the new landmarks created by this game's storyline don't get a lot of attention either. For instance, and this IS a spoiler...
Now, don't get the wrong impression. These are by all means some of the best, most detailed environments in gaming, they read like real places, and this really doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the game. It's just a strange inconsistency I sort of noticed when comparing the two games in my head, and thought was worth pointing out.
However...
The use of landmarks and cool locales is kind of sparse. The environments they do have fit the future story at hand very well--I thought the game's integration of Detroit and its declining auto industry was especially clever--but here's the thing. In the first game, your first job was to re-take the Statue of Liberty. UNATCO HQ was inside Liberty Island. I know, right!? Awesome!
This game... really doesn't have anything similar. Oh, it has its share of cool vistas and setpieces, I assure you. Heng Sha is especially interesting.
[img src="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110122171825/deusex/en/images/thumb/3/39/DX3_Heng-Sha_city_scape.jpg/830px-DX3_Heng-Sha_city_scape.jpg" /]
Yes. You explore this. So Square, still going to give me the "HD environments are too hard" excuse for the FF7 remake?
However, it's mostly fictional locations rather than landmarks, which would have added a lot of grounding and perspective in addition to some cool and memorable set pieces.
[img src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110706192729/deusex/en/images/thumb/8/81/StatueBody.jpg/830px-StatueBody.jpg" /]
Pictured: A statement about the future.
I wouldn't make such a big deal out of this, but the new landmarks created by this game's storyline don't get a lot of attention either. For instance, and this IS a spoiler...
You don't actually get to go on the upper plate of Heng Sha--all your dealings happen in the undercity or inside the tower. Not that it's that important--turns out there isn't anything all that amazing up there anyway--but even a little use of those vertigo-inducing heights would do a lot to make this portion of the game more memorable.
Now, don't get the wrong impression. These are by all means some of the best, most detailed environments in gaming, they read like real places, and this really doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the game. It's just a strange inconsistency I sort of noticed when comparing the two games in my head, and thought was worth pointing out.
[HEADING=2]5 - Unreliable Scaleform Menus[/HEADING]
This... is a personal gripe that a lot of folks won't pick up on or care about. Feel free to skip this one if you don't dig technical stuff.
I'm an Unrealscript coder, and I know of a fun little thing called Scaleform. Basically, it allows developers to use Flash instead of developing proprietary UI scripting. Think of it as overlaying a Flash movie on top of real-time gameplay.
It's a neat tool that opens a lot of possibilities for UI programmer hiring, emphasizing graphic design and web programming over hard C++ code, and makes it very easy to develop a user interface visually. I've had personal experience with it, and let me tell you, it's great, making it easy to throw together menus and UI of any kind in a matter of mere days, from dialogue systems to control panels and options screens. Other games you might have seen it in include... virtually every major release in the past five years! Human Revolution's fans would most recognize Mass Effect, Crysis, and The Witcher 2, though.
Unfortunately, something seems a might janky in Human Revolution's use of it. Flash movies need to take something called "focus" in order to properly register clicks on interface options, and sometimes this game doesn't always take focus properly when it brings up a menu, or icons just won't rollover when you try to use the hacking system and you'll accidently use a worm when you just wanted to hack a node. It's especially problematic if you're trying to hack fast; the FPS for the flash icons has to catch up before you can do anything, and Flash's mouse cursor tracking isn't always as reliable as the real thing.
It's most frustrating when it bugs out like this when you're just trying to save or exit the game. This can be fixed by using the keyboard instead of the mouse, but most people wouldn't think of that. Still, if it doesn't feel responsive or polished sometimes, you know the reason why--it's flash, and flash is a bit slow and a bit dumb. Fancy, smooth animations and vector graphics, but sometimes at a cost.
And oddly, this isn't the only Scaleform bug the game shipped with. The infamously long load times the game was saddled with before the recent patch is also a Scaleform problem, wherein the game loaded based on the loading screen movie's frames per second rather than users' actual processing power, hitting a huge bottleneck. It's better now--a lot better--but you would think that there would be just a little better quality control on the UI, and this seems like a difficult error to make.
I'm an Unrealscript coder, and I know of a fun little thing called Scaleform. Basically, it allows developers to use Flash instead of developing proprietary UI scripting. Think of it as overlaying a Flash movie on top of real-time gameplay.
It's a neat tool that opens a lot of possibilities for UI programmer hiring, emphasizing graphic design and web programming over hard C++ code, and makes it very easy to develop a user interface visually. I've had personal experience with it, and let me tell you, it's great, making it easy to throw together menus and UI of any kind in a matter of mere days, from dialogue systems to control panels and options screens. Other games you might have seen it in include... virtually every major release in the past five years! Human Revolution's fans would most recognize Mass Effect, Crysis, and The Witcher 2, though.
Unfortunately, something seems a might janky in Human Revolution's use of it. Flash movies need to take something called "focus" in order to properly register clicks on interface options, and sometimes this game doesn't always take focus properly when it brings up a menu, or icons just won't rollover when you try to use the hacking system and you'll accidently use a worm when you just wanted to hack a node. It's especially problematic if you're trying to hack fast; the FPS for the flash icons has to catch up before you can do anything, and Flash's mouse cursor tracking isn't always as reliable as the real thing.
It's most frustrating when it bugs out like this when you're just trying to save or exit the game. This can be fixed by using the keyboard instead of the mouse, but most people wouldn't think of that. Still, if it doesn't feel responsive or polished sometimes, you know the reason why--it's flash, and flash is a bit slow and a bit dumb. Fancy, smooth animations and vector graphics, but sometimes at a cost.
And oddly, this isn't the only Scaleform bug the game shipped with. The infamously long load times the game was saddled with before the recent patch is also a Scaleform problem, wherein the game loaded based on the loading screen movie's frames per second rather than users' actual processing power, hitting a huge bottleneck. It's better now--a lot better--but you would think that there would be just a little better quality control on the UI, and this seems like a difficult error to make.
[HEADING=2]6 - Regenerating Health[/HEADING]
This is the thing that made me feel the most apprehensive about Human Revolution prior to its release--Adam Jensen, like all first-person shooter heroes these days, now Wolverines health automatically. It's my most hated modern gaming convention, and I despise when developers put this in, terrified as they are that I'll stop moving forward at a decent pace. It's insulting is what it is, like I can't look after my own health total or find enough health kits to continue a game.
For Deus Ex, this especially felt like it was going to be a big loss. The original game's health system involved a full-body account of your health: limbs, torso, and head could all become injured, and each carried its own detriments, and you had to maintain them individually, really adding to the sense that you were a living machine and building the realism. Additionally, I always felt it was best to have health packs and the like as another reward, and by the time you do get the ability to regenerate health on your own, it puts a lot in context that you didn't always have the augmentation there to depend on.
Fortunately, even this doesn't ruin Human Revolution. Just like how they didn't implement a generic cover system, but rather one that fit with the original game's core, they didn't implement a generic health regen system either. For one thing, you actually do have a health bar that tells you exactly how much you've got.
[image src="http://i1-games.softpedia-static.com/screenshots/Deus-Ex-Human-Revolution-Multi-Path-Gameplay-Trailer_3.jpg" /]
Pictured: Proper player feedback.
Additionally, it's pretty slow and unforgiving, not at all relieving the tension of a good gunfight, and the developers found ways to have this regen system without sacrificing the level of detail of the original game. For instance, health items--like painkillers and stim packs, as well as alcohol--do still exist, giving you a sometimes much-needed boost and a certain element of control that you'd otherwise lose if the developers just shrugged and said "don't need it." Also, you can actually restore your health to ABOVE the regeneration threshold, up to as much as 200 health, through the use of stimpacks--essentially doping yourself into having more endurance. It's a little addition, but I found it made all the difference in making me receptive to the new health system.
I'd still rather have the original health system over this, mind; I liked the control and the realism, and I didn't mind "scrounging for health kits" in the least. I'm playing on the highest difficulty right now, feeling that this was the best way I could compensate for this design decision and give myself that sense of realism I felt I wanted, and let me tell you, it would be so nice if the game didn't have to depend on one- or two-hit-kills to make its combat challenging.
For Deus Ex, this especially felt like it was going to be a big loss. The original game's health system involved a full-body account of your health: limbs, torso, and head could all become injured, and each carried its own detriments, and you had to maintain them individually, really adding to the sense that you were a living machine and building the realism. Additionally, I always felt it was best to have health packs and the like as another reward, and by the time you do get the ability to regenerate health on your own, it puts a lot in context that you didn't always have the augmentation there to depend on.
Fortunately, even this doesn't ruin Human Revolution. Just like how they didn't implement a generic cover system, but rather one that fit with the original game's core, they didn't implement a generic health regen system either. For one thing, you actually do have a health bar that tells you exactly how much you've got.
[image src="http://i1-games.softpedia-static.com/screenshots/Deus-Ex-Human-Revolution-Multi-Path-Gameplay-Trailer_3.jpg" /]
Pictured: Proper player feedback.
Additionally, it's pretty slow and unforgiving, not at all relieving the tension of a good gunfight, and the developers found ways to have this regen system without sacrificing the level of detail of the original game. For instance, health items--like painkillers and stim packs, as well as alcohol--do still exist, giving you a sometimes much-needed boost and a certain element of control that you'd otherwise lose if the developers just shrugged and said "don't need it." Also, you can actually restore your health to ABOVE the regeneration threshold, up to as much as 200 health, through the use of stimpacks--essentially doping yourself into having more endurance. It's a little addition, but I found it made all the difference in making me receptive to the new health system.
I'd still rather have the original health system over this, mind; I liked the control and the realism, and I didn't mind "scrounging for health kits" in the least. I'm playing on the highest difficulty right now, feeling that this was the best way I could compensate for this design decision and give myself that sense of realism I felt I wanted, and let me tell you, it would be so nice if the game didn't have to depend on one- or two-hit-kills to make its combat challenging.
[HEADING=2]7 - The Music[/HEADING]
The music in this game is awesome. But you know what's more awesome?
This is the original Deus Ex theme. It plays at the title screen, just as the game starts up. All it shows you is the logo floating in black space, but when I saw it, and heard this music, I teared up from sheer awe. This game boldly announces itself with such incredible pride that you know you're in for something special, a game worthy of the turn of the millennium, and one of the best you will ever see in your life.
This is the Human Revolution theme, and it's just not as strong or as dynamic. A lot of the music is this way--electronic and atmospheric, where the original employed a mixture of that with traditional instruments for varying flavors. It's still a really good soundtrack that sets the mood and atmosphere very well and draws lots of gravity to what's going on. Some folks might even prefer it. Me, though, I feel like a game this great deserves a theme song that reflects that greatness boldly, and I really miss some of the guitar riffs from the atmospheric music in the original.
This is the original Deus Ex theme. It plays at the title screen, just as the game starts up. All it shows you is the logo floating in black space, but when I saw it, and heard this music, I teared up from sheer awe. This game boldly announces itself with such incredible pride that you know you're in for something special, a game worthy of the turn of the millennium, and one of the best you will ever see in your life.
This is the Human Revolution theme, and it's just not as strong or as dynamic. A lot of the music is this way--electronic and atmospheric, where the original employed a mixture of that with traditional instruments for varying flavors. It's still a really good soundtrack that sets the mood and atmosphere very well and draws lots of gravity to what's going on. Some folks might even prefer it. Me, though, I feel like a game this great deserves a theme song that reflects that greatness boldly, and I really miss some of the guitar riffs from the atmospheric music in the original.
[HEADING=2]Conclusion[/HEADING]
Well, that's it--my gripes about Human Revolution. And you know something? They don't ruin it for me at all! This game is STILL the second coming of a great masterpiece for me, and there's very little that can change it. It's a game that I anticipated heavily and that didn't let me down even a little--I'd go as far as to say it's better than I expected and, in a lot of ways, better than its predecessor, and the GOOD things we got in return for these few flaws--better AI, better bosses, more complex environments, the conversation system, et cetera--were more than worth it. Will these break the game for you, though?
Well, that's up to you to decide. Me, I'm gonna put on a trenchcoat and fight some conspiracies some more. See you later!
