Fafhrd on 31/8/2011 at 06:19
Just finished. 32 hours or so, I think (Steam says 27 hours, but it said 20 on Sunday, and then I played for about 6 hours on Monday and it said 21, and I played for about four hours today to finish it off). I'm pretty sure I missed some things, and I had one sidequest completely bug out on me for some reason (I had to read a Pocket Secretary, but no matter how many times I read it it didn't complete the objective).
Overall: I'm kind of amazed at just how good it is. Writing-wise I'd go so far as to say that it absolutely beats the original. In large part this is probably due to the laser focus on the moral implications of human augmentation for story instead of the 'cram every conspiracy theory we can think of into the story' approach of Deus Ex, but the character work is also decidedly better, and there's nothing as laughably nonsensical as the conversations with the Hong Kong bartenders, or everybody in the world having a copy of The Man Who was Thursday on their nightstands. DE:HR seems genuinely well thought out and clever, where DX felt like it was jumping up and down saying 'LOOK! LOOK! WE'VE READ BOOKS!'
I also genuinely struggled with the final decision, and sort of choked up in the epilogue for the one I picked (shut up!).
But enough about the writing and the plot: Mechanics. For the most part excellent, but some unnecessary design decisions were made. Third person for the cover system shouldn't have been done. It didn't break my immersion, but it did rob my stealthy playthrough of a lot of tension that it would have otherwise had. Simply not using it wouldn't have really worked, either, as the dodge from cover to cover is both more rapid and quieter when cover is engaged than it is when moving while crouched or standing up and sprinting those couple of steps. Also no lean (which is less of an issue if you unlock the x-ray vision).
Enough has been said about the boss fights elsewhere, but it bears repeating: They Suck. It's not just that they're bullet sponges when you aren't, it's also that they're immune to their own grenades and you aren't, and there's no alternate way of beating them. Make them susceptible to their own 'nades and make them a little more intelligent about using them, and they might be bearable.
Takedowns: Rule of Cool. They look awesome for the most part (though they cause some weird continuity errors a lot of the time, especially with the double takedowns, and on one occasion the double takedown had me punching up a guy who got clipped most of the way through the wall), but I would have gladly traded them for being able to punch dudes in first person. Fists and Blades would need to have dedicated belt slots for it to really work, but you could still link their usage to energy to prevent someone from just being a mad punching/slicing machine.
After a five day binge of this game I think I'm going to have to detox for a couple of days with something else before I try my Slick Talking Psycho (IN 3D!) playthrough (as opposed to the Socially Awkward Pacifist that this one ended up being).
Painman on 31/8/2011 at 07:20
OK, I just faced Boss #1 so it looks like I'm probably headed to China soon. A little while earlier I decided that it would probably be a good idea to start working on a Super Duper Boss Blaster weapon, so I threw a bunch of upgrades into a shotgun - Double Fire, RoF, ammo capacity and reload speed for now. Tossed a gas grenade at the fool for starters, ducked behind the jersey barrier while waiting for it to detonate, then started unloading the shotgun into his face. He went down pretty quicky... 11 blasts from the super shotty and he was done. He more or less just stood there and took it.
I'm definitely not wild about these boss fights and having to step out of my usual character, but I'm still greatly enjoying the game.
froghawk on 31/8/2011 at 16:53
Since when are bosses immune to their own grenades? First boss damn near grenaded himself to death for me!
It's pretty funny when you take someone down with other people around and the other people just freeze in place while you finish your animation.
I agree about the really tight focus on the augmentation debate (though you could say it's heavy handed and overdone since just about every NPC in the game talks about it), but there's no way I can agree that the actual narrative was better-written than the original - the actual plot in terms of events was a dull, unfocused farce which completely crapped out by the end. It was the augmentation debate that made it interesting and awesome.
Jason Moyer on 31/8/2011 at 17:46
Quote Posted by Fafhrd
and there's nothing as laughably nonsensical as the conversations with the Hong Kong bartenders, or everybody in the world having a copy of The Man Who was Thursday on their nightstands.
What about everybody in the world refusing to talk about anything other than the moral dilemmas of biomechanical augmentation? And everyone having a copy of some article/book about it in their office?
Matthew on 31/8/2011 at 17:56
It's THE NEXT BIG THING Jason! It's like Beyonce's pregancy, EVERYONE is talking about augs in 2027!
Renault on 31/8/2011 at 18:23
This game is full of great quick moments, thought I'd share one:
At one point in Hengsha, you need to get info from a security guard named Chuanli on the roof of the Hung Hua Hotel. He wants 2000 credits for the info, and the first logical thought is, I'll just knock his ass out, and he's probably got the info on a pocket secretary. Well, Chuanli is quick to inform you that this method will not work, he does not have the info on him, and I'll have to pay to get it.
I really didn't want to pay him 2000 credits. And the conversation tree was giving me no other options.
So I paid the bastard, got the info, proceeded to knock his ass out, and grabbed my 2000 credit chip back off his unconscious body, then dropped his dumb ass over the edge of the building onto the street below. Punk mofo.
I'm still laughing like a schoolgirl over the simplicity of that one.
mothra on 1/9/2011 at 00:56
did the same thing, it's from another game can't remeber but you had the same option there with a similar dialogue, I think it's an hommage or blatant ripoff like so many things in the game (although I think it's a good game).
Fafhrd on 1/9/2011 at 02:21
Quote Posted by Jason Moyer
What about everybody in the world refusing to talk about anything other than the moral dilemmas of biomechanical augmentation? And everyone having a copy of some article/book about it in their office?
This makes perfect sense considering
The Illuminati is manipulating the public discourse to keep augmentations and their 'possible' negative effects front and centre until some form of augmentation regulation is passed. Compare that to random Hong Kong Barkeep namedropping Olaf Stapledon out of nowhere.
Llama on 1/9/2011 at 02:26
Quote Posted by Fafhrd
Overall: I'm kind of amazed at just how good it is. Writing-wise I'd go so far as to say that it absolutely beats the original.
.
Go kill yourself
