40. Beat Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut - 7/10

All in all I dig it, there are some clear obvious improvements over the first game, and in other cases it's not nearly as strong as the best qualities of OG Deus Ex. Although it maintains the first games stupid way of doing an ending, all tied up in an ending tron 5000. The story is also equally stupid, but the first game at least had some fun with it and was dumb. This takes itself more seriously, and I don't fucking know why, it basically does nothing with its setting all the transhuman bullshit.

Jay-Z better be a villain in Mankind Divided

Anyway base mechanics are inherently more fun and satisfying, even the shooting engine doesn't really bother me. What limitations are there are meant to make sure you can't just go guns blazing out of the gate, and it makes the stealth a reasonable option through out the experience. If anything I'm more annoyed by how rigid and stiff the movement feels when in cover, and how to place shots. It's also super clunky on a pad, but even on a mouse and keyboard it could be way smoother.

Early areas like Detroit have some dumb ass navigation design where I have to suspend my disbelief long enough to believe that everyone in this one apartment complex, moves this dumpster or crouches through this one vent, instead of taking a different alley way. But luckily the game cuts that shit out when it comes to Hengsha and stuff. Beyond that the level design is mostly really good with a fairly diverse amount of options at your disposal for navigating an area.

I like the addition of a hacking minigame, I like that if you find a keycode/password, Jensen's in game notes remember em, and I don't have to write the codes down myself (because lazy, though not really a problem I have with OG). I like that you aren't ignored while hacking the way you are in say Bioshock, and yeah the customization through the augmentations is solid. I can't say anything is as pointless as a melee build, or putting stats into swimming like the first game, because well I stopped playing sneaky awhile back anyway. So I don't really know if it's even worth it to have the stealth enhancer for hacking.

I did see a bunch of neat spots for people rocking Icarus landing systems.

The boss fights are supremely garbage. I get that people dislike them as stealth builds because it's a dumb spike, but they are shit as action fights. Even the new additions to fights to make them more about "choice" just make everything anticlimactic. Plus they add nothing to the experience. They aren't really a test of what you learned up until that point (which is what most good boss fights should be, a version of a skill check), they aren't particularly engaging sequences, they go against the spirit of the game, oh and added bonus they aren't even fleshed out characters. I actually preferred the Hyperion Project sequence more than the 3 squad douches.

It's also not anywhere near as deep as the first game, yeah it had its jank, but that jank also meant the action was more of a significant part of the role playing. The shooting augments in HR aren't what make an action build viable to me, at least not on hard mode. It's buffing your ability to take damage, and having an inventory filled with guns. The recoil or movement stability is whatever. It's not the same as Deus Ex 1, where you are really inaccurate with the guns, which has a more dramatic payoff and satisfying feeling when you upgrade your shooting.

Plus the levels all around had even more options than this game, and more secrets as a whole. The boss fights that game did have, actually fit the overall play of the game and had far more to offer in terms of options. I also do not like the side quests in this game, and really only did them for my Piraxis points. Outside of the one with Malik and that douchebag Lee, that was neat. But not the playing it part. Doing a fucking pixel hunt in his room was boring as shit.

Both games have killer atmosphere and bitchin soundtracks though.

Fuck the way the missing link dlc is added into the game, double fuck the me playing it part as well. I didn't like getting Samus Aran'd of my shit, I didn't like the stupid back tracking I had to do through this one prison tower about 3 or 4 times? it cuts into the narrative so fucking hard, your reasoning for being there is loose at best, and all things considered outside of the final area, I much preferred every other area in the main game to Missing Link.

Oh and the final area blows cock, and fuck zombies.

edgecrusher said:

Beat Limbo.....i guess its ok?

I mean I don't see what's so great about indie games like this. People go all goo goo for the weird art styles but Super Metroid this isn't.

SupremeAC said:

So will you be playing Inside?

robio said:

edgecrusher said:

Beat Limbo.....i guess its ok?

I mean I don't see what's so great about indie games like this. People go all goo goo for the weird art styles but Super Metroid this isn't.

No its not even okay. Its a piece of crap that people who want to shit on the mainstream praised as genius because of its art style and because it wasn't made by EA. That's it. It's junk. Always was. Always will be. Fuck Limbo.

This was awesome.

aspro said:

It's not a Metroidvania game at all, so why the comparison?

It's just a "puzzle platformer witha unique artstyle" nothing more or less. Probably in the top qurtile of said genre, but that's like saying Gone Home is in the top quartile of walking simulators.

I'm just saying I hear so many people praising the shit out of some of these games like they're the best things ever, as if they ARE on the level of something like Super Metroid or Mass Effect 2 or whatnot....then I play them and I'm like.....ugh, ok. Way overhyped.

Mass Effect 2 isn't on the level either though, I'd say it and Limbo are on the same level, strong aesthetic/narrative qualities, then you get to the playing it part and go, wow, this can and should have been a shit load better for something so simple.

Dvader said:

Hall of fame terrible post right here.

Gagan said:

Because all things considered Limbo is a fine game as well, overrated sure, it's no Braid, but lots of things aren't.

My mind just imploded.

Gagan said:

I'm going to assume you think Braid is wank too? lol

Pretty much....haha. I actually liked Limbo more than Braid. But in general I've just not been able to get into these kinds of games.

Wait asshole, you don't podcast anymore, I want your actual fleshed out opinions on Braid.