Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the Codex verdict?

[Gregz]

Voting is anonymous.

 

[Admiral jimbob]

It was distinctly... okay. Far better than I expected, which wasn't much. Some genuine love went into the game, some of the level design was great, and to be honest, it's probably as close as we'll get to a next-gen Deus Ex. That doesn't earn it many extra points in my book, because it's like saying you should really appreciate it when you're locked in prison with Mexican gangsters and you get to suck the tastiest cock there. Somewhere between a 6 and 7, much like my last Mexican cock.

 

[sea]

Based on the descriptions next to those scores, 7/10. Compared to contemporary games I'd say more like 9/10. Time and further analysis have made me notice more and more flaws with the game, especially next to the original Deus Ex (I don't think Eidos fully understood the reason some of those gameplay systems worked so well, like the role of melee and the division between skill points and augmentation canisters), but I still think it stands up quite well and does an effective job of living up to the original game's legacy. It's not exactly perfect, but in my opinion probably the best we could have reasonably hoped for.

Really, if they had fixed up a few things I think I would have totally loved it:

• More balanced character progression (more thought put into augmentations and their respective costs and upgrade paths)
• Overhaul of the XP system (remove it or remove XP for kills/takedowns)
• Get rid of takedowns and add melee weapons back in (they had a lot of utility value in the first two games that was lost in Human Revolution)
• Add lockpicking or equivalent in to balance out hacking better
• Get rid of boss fights
• Fix up the late-game plot holes and either remove or better justify the "zombie outbreak"
• Bigger, less linear levels (the hubs were really, really well done but aside from a few missions the other parts felt very confined and directed)

But even so, a lot of that is nitpicking, and you can make a lot of similar complaints about the first Deus Ex. It had some awkward late-game stuff, some skills and augmentations were badly balanced, some of the writing, voice acting and even level design in a few places was weak, etc. Both games still get all the basics right, but the first game was just a bit more consistent and sophisticated in its implementation of many mechanics and ideas.

For what it's worth, I went into a lot of these ideas a while back in more detail: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/EricSchwarz/20110911/90184/Deus_Ex_Human_Revolution_design_analysis.php The writing there is a bit messy because I never edited it, but whatever.http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/Eric.../Deus_Ex_Human_Revolution_design_analysis.php

 

[attackfighter]

One of the best games to come out in the last few years. Better than original Deus Ex.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

One of the best games to come out in the last few years. Better than original Deus Ex.

I agree with this. The ending was a let down but other than that, great game.

 

[Angthoron]

A very good game. Hope the team learns from some of the mistakes they've made (and judging by Missing Link, they have) and pump out a proper expansion or a sequel to continue the story.

Or follow another aug's perspective in the same setting.

 

[Infinitron]

A very good game. Hope the team learns from some of the mistakes they've made (and judging by Missing Link, they have) and pump out a proper expansion or a sequel to continue the story.

Or follow another aug's perspective in the same setting.

My greatest fear: they'll try to cash in with a pure shooter Call of Duty clone based on the rise of the NSF and the subsequent civil war in the Northwest US. With a cheesy cameo by Adam Jensen, now a grizzled NSF commander.

 

[Azalin]

A good and enjoyable game,somewhere between 7 and 8 for me(I voted 8 btw).Probably as good as you can get in this Age of Decadence Decline.They are some major flaws,boss fights,augmentations and build balance and especially the end where they seem to run out of money and the Derp is stronger but I enjoyed it engough and they seem to try to fix their mistakes judging by the Missing Link.Too bad they couldn't make a full expansion that could add a third hub like Montreal

 

[Stinger]

7/10 judging by those descriptions. Boss battles sucked, hacking minigame was too frequent even if you weren't a hacker and the game handed out XP like candy, which gets in the way of actually trying to specialise your build.

But it's still a pretty good game with otherwise well thought out mechanics and level design that, while not as strong as the original Deus Ex, is still very good in its own right.

 

[Metro]

6.5 -- but I agree with Sea. Probably an 8 or 9 if you compare it to most games today. Anyone claiming it's better than the original is insane. There were a couple of things that were better (but that's mostly due to advancing technology). Overall, no way this is better.

 

[Infinitron]

Voted 8.

 

[Excidium]

It was better than I expected. Not that I expected much.

 

[Steve]

Voted 7, played through it once, the boss fights were very out of place but also very easy to beat so I didnt really mind them that much, third-person cover system and stupid AI behaviour made stealthing too easy, some questionable aug unlocks.

I didnt regret buying it off from Steam sale.

 

[Roderick]

6.5 -- but I agree with Sea. Probably an 8 or 9 if you compare it to most games today. Anyone claiming it's better than the original is insane. There were a couple of things that were better (but that's mostly due to advancing technology). Overall, no way this is better.

This exactly 6.5/10 abd i agree with sea. the hubs were nice, there should have been more.

 

[Admiral jimbob]

I feel bad that mine is the most negative view so far I did like the game. Just... not enough. Sea is pretty on the ball.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

8/10. It's one of those games that has genuinely great level and art design here and there, and it improves on a number of things Deus Ex had (ie, combat and stealth). What it does have bad is balance issues and certain levels (+ obviously boss fights, which are even worse than the ones in DX1), and a lot of Useless Shit augs and some weapons. The reason why it isn't one of the best games of all time like DX1 was is because unlike DX1, it doesn't have the same degree of feature smorgasbord or the "toybox" feel.

 

[thesoup]

Voted 7. It's the best that we could have hoped for in this day and age. Still, some design ideas were pretty derp and the game is just inferior to the original in every meaningful way. Worst of all, it's worse than IW in some respects, but still an overall better game.

 

[Roguey]

Better than Alpha Protocol in every way except narrative branching and not-being-racist-and-sexist. Fucking Hengsha.

 

[Infinitron]

Better than Alpha Protocol in every way except narrative branching and not-being-racist-and-sexist. Fucking Hengsha.

YOU MAKE ME POOR

 

[RK47]

Yeah i dont mind the gameplay so much but Hengsha grated my nerves that i just punched the hooker who gave me a side quest and took her 3000 credits was it and left.

 

[Infinitron]

If Azns are allowed to get mad at Jade Empire and Hengsha, can Jews get mad at the Dunmer and Witcher dwarves?

 

[Eyeball]

Good game. While the storyline is nowhere near as intrigueing as the original DE, it is still functional, graphical style is neat, music is fitting, there's quite a bit of exploration and side quests to be found and the fighting mechanics are leaps and bounds beyond the terribad shitfest that was DE1 gameplay despite still being somewhat popamole. At least Jensen has the decency to actually die when shot repeatedly.

7/10. Considering replaying it, actually, but as with everybody else I felt very let down by the rushed ending and terrible final level.

 

[Demnogonis Saastuttaja]

4/10, the most fun I had was throwing vending machines at some hobos, quit after I run in to a completely random asshole cutscene-ambushing me into a HP-attrition battle. There was just so much wrong... At no point I found it more impressive than, say, Bioshock or any other recent shooter.

 

[Eyeball]

One of the best games to come out in the last few years. Better than original Deus Ex.

Hardly. DE1 had fairly wank gameplay, terrible graphics and hilariously campy voice acting. It is still one of the best first-person games in history due to the sheer inventiveness of its storyline and the magnificent way the writers managed to shoehorn just about every single conspiracy theory into the game and still make it seem coherent. That HR does its own thing with regards to the conspiracy overload feel of the original is perfectly acceptable, but it just doesn't ever get as exciting as first learning of the Illuminati, finding alien corpses in a top-secret FEMA base or flying all over the world in a Black Helicopter.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

I found DE1 unplayable. I completed Human Revolution after playing it almost non-stop over a few days.