Azrael the cat
Arcane
I got HR from the steam sales. So far I like everything about it except for the stupid fucking boss fights, I'm stuck on the first one and have no desire to try and beat him. What's that? You played a stealthy character who tried to avoid people first and then do a non-lethal takedown if he absolutely must? Too bad, here, take this shotgun and shoot this faggy fag in the face a few times like Rambo would.
But other than that, I enjoy the music, the hacking minigame, the combat gameplay is popamole but still leagues ahead of what DX had to offer since the combat mechanics were pure shit in the original one.
So far I think it's on par with the original DE. Both have flaws and strengths, but in different areas. I guess it depends on what areas you find more important that makes you choose which game is better.
And lastly, I think the devs were playing a lot more Metal Gear Solid when developing HR rather than DE.
I clocked the game without getting combat or armour upgrades. And stealth CAN be really useful for boss fights. You just need to remember that invis in this game isn't the godmode that it was in DX - and that's a good thing. Invis allows you to get into cover and ambush the boss opponent - multiple times if you want to use the recharge items. And that is an insane advantage. You DO have to watch for sound though - the AI loves to use both grenades and AoE attacks whenever you go invis, either on the last place they saw you (so move QUICK as soon as you go invis) or anywhere that you make a noise (so don't bump into shit).
You use the 4-5 seconds of invis to get behind cover, and from there it should be no problem to sneak behind your opponent. From there you can almost always get an easy win. With the first guy, he's basically a tank, so I suggest that once he doesn't know where you are, you lob a bunch of grenades at him (emp grenades are superb on bosses, as they all have emp-based augs), and follow it up with a stun gun. Then go stun, grenade/shotgun, stun, grenade/shotgun and you should finish him really easily.
There are plenty of combat areas where a stealth build really saves your ass, particularly once you reach the 2nd hub. Being able to skip 3 floors of combat and invis out the door in one of the most imbalanced ambushes in the game (I only played it on hardest difficulty) - with armoured grunts who can wear entire entire clips at close range without getting hurt, and with one-shot-kill AoE spread machineguins that you can't even use effectively back against them unless you've invested massively in combat - being able to just jump off the balcony, invis to cover, and stealth out the door was a massive help.
2nd (or is it 3rd?) boss is easier for a stealth build as well - the one with the anti-EMP attacks that rape you if she gets the jump on you. Again, stealth build gives you a few seconds of invis so that YOU get the jump on HER - draining all her abilities with a few EMP grenades, then invis and move, then a barrage of explosive grenades, then stun/shotgun/stun etc. Getting the jump on a boss easily makes up for the combat disadvantage, and a stealth build used well should enable you to get the jump on pretty much everyone in the game.
