thiefinthedark on 2/9/2011 at 01:56
Don't get me wrong, it was a "fun" ride. Certainly better than most of the linear gun simulators that have been pumped out over the past few years. That, however, is the issue at hand. We've been so deluged with pap that even a game as flawed as HR is a breath of fresh air, and it is flawed.
Story:
It focuses on the augmentation issue to the exclusion of everything else. Every piece of literature, every conversation, every subtext inevitably draws back to that. And yet, interestingly enough, there is barely any mention of the Neuroprozyne addiction issue that was so heavily a part of the marketing efforts, even. There is barely any extrapolation on other events or plotlines, to the point that it is not clear until 20 minutes before the end of the game that Taggart is an agent of the Illuminati. There is no choosing a side in this game, because you still don't know what the sides really represent by the time you get to the incredibly bland ending. Human Revolution was written with tunnel vision, and it shows.
Environment:
The world itself seems lifeless. Characters continue to cycle animations after their lines are finished, leading to silent epileptic fits. There is no ambient sound, there are no animals of any kind, not even a stray newpaper blowing across your path. Everything is sterile and rigidly defined. By the time you hear the 5th stranger repeat the exact same line about her boyfriend not picking her up, you begin to wonder if this is Oblivion.
Oh, and the guards having a nice loud discussion about the optimal way to achieve your level objective was really just pathetic. Once or twice would be OK, if it wasn't blunt. But having them spell it out for you in every area? Ludicrous.
Quests:
Side quests are few and far between, with rigid points and no room for emergent gameplay. In fact, skipping ahead of one side quest early on by exploring the game world out of sequence will completely break the game and require a hard alt+f4. The few side quests that do exist either only serve to prop up the main quest or are tremendously out of place given the context of Jensons character and mission.
Characters:
The primary characters of the game are incredibly poorly developed, with zero character development and incredibly one-dimensional motives. You will have no clue who the main baddy is until the end of the game, simply because his motives and plot never appear until the end of the game. It would be as if Deus Ex ended with you storming Versalife and blowing up Page with the UC, that is how truncated this plot is.
Additionally, everyone not a quest-related NPC is faceless, from the streetwalkers to the gunrunners, nobody is of note. Why is someone dealing weapons in a gas station a mere block from one of the worlds largest biotech corporations, let alone the city police station? I don't know, I couldn't ask him.
The cutscenes and boss fights, other people have described adequately how poorly they work.
RPG Elements:
Augments? I was missing a single upgrade by the end of the game, simply by virtue of hacking, opening, and reading everything in the game and playing without kills. There's no hard choices in the augment system, unlike Deus Ex. You simply chose between simple upgrades to efficiency. One upgrade does not exclude another.
Ending:
So I come to a room and face 3 buttons. Then I get a big expose in monotone that explains the 3 factions of the game, which up until that point were barely touched upon. Afterwards, I Push a button and get a bland speech while some real-world stock footage plays in the background. Hell, if I opt to blow the station it just fades to a black screen with some crushing sounds. I don't think a game has had a worse ending since Fable 2, and at least I thought that had a moderately original twist on the classic boss fight.
I could go on, but this is already quite long. Suffice it to say that I found Human Revolution to be an bland shooter that was heavily reminiscent of FEAR 2, for some reason I can't quite put my finger on. However, I found it to be heavily flawed in ways which upon completion left a sour taste in my mouth. I find the resounding applause to be somewhat vexing, as this game in no way shape or form lives up to the legacy of its predecessor, it is Invisible War with Ammunition and a far less engaging story.
God help us all when this team drops Thiaf...
Volitions Advocate on 2/9/2011 at 07:28
All i've got to say is that pretty much everything you said (minus the spoilers which I didn't read) except for the augmentation issue sounds pretty much exactly like the original deus ex.
I don't understand the pedestal that the original deus ex is set atop and far above so many other games, when it was also horribly flawed in other ways as well.
both are great games. IW is less amazing but not the complete shit show that people say it is.
june gloom on 2/9/2011 at 07:31
Quote:
I did not enjoy Human Revolution
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mothra on 2/9/2011 at 11:17
i think they got DX thematically right but not "technically". The worlddesign does not fit with DX1, the augs are all pretty useless (I finished the game with 25 praxis points left, 2nd playthrough 30 praxis left) for non-lethal players and most things Jensen does contradict either your (as the player) or his previous actions. not to speak of murdering each boss horribly and having a smirk on the face while doing it. the AI/patrolpatterns are too easy, not one situation where you really would have needed all of your augs. they throw dozens of resources for free at you. after the 3rd ambush the 4th became boring. but all in all it was a pretty good game compared to the shit that is out there with a few top-notch missions and a few emotional touches (the malik-rescue comes to mind, I HAD TO SAVE HER). the main-story, the megan-dna thing you get RUBBED in the face from the tutorial on was lackluster and nothing in it was surprising. the last bossfight while reminiscent of DX1 was boring (there is one spot where you can just sit and wait for everything to resolve itself).
The city architecture (especially hengshas 2-story city) is ridiculous but the HUB itself was awesome, detailed, lived in and I loved exploring it. Everything concerning takedowns is shit. but everything leading up to it (planing, sneaking, jumping around, stacking crates) is cool. takedown is not the payoff, it's the "I hope the right animation plays because if not this enemies body will land somewhere unpredictable and might alert his buddies" surprise button.
still I enjoyed it.
Neb on 2/9/2011 at 14:52
Quote Posted by Volitions Advocate
I don't understand the pedestal that the original deus ex is set atop and far above so many other games, when it was also horribly flawed in other ways as well.
It's probably the most awesome terrible game ever.
A secret door in a phone booth leading to a secret door in a toilet leading to a secret door in a toilet to get to
an airfield in New York? ....Controlled by terrorists. They should have nipped that one in the bud earlier, but you are working for an organisation that not only has the worst employee vetting standards ever, but can't even prevent their island of operations from being overrun, and don't seem too bothered about it anyway.
"Fuck it. The new guy'll be here soon. Don't bother letting him in to pick up any equipment first, lol. Hell, just tell everyone to hang back."Even the Illuminati fuck with you.
"Wait a goddamn minute! You didn't gas my pilot to stop him learning your super secret location.""No, lol, sry."Annnnnnyway, Human Revolution. Continue.
Volitions Advocate on 2/9/2011 at 15:23
I just find all the little things that are nitpicked about a little silly.
I think HR has the best ammo system of the 3, and DX has the worst. People complained about the shared ammo in IW, but in reality it made the game more challenging. It didn't matter what weapon you used, it drained your ammo pool. So you couldn't just hoard your shotgun ammo for a rainy day when you ran out of smg ammo and ditched it for the nearest dead guys shotty. And people complained and said it was too dumbed down. In DX J.C. had this magical sack of unlimited containment that he didn't even have to carry, which fit as many shotgun shells, rifle bullets, and heat seeking missiles as you were allowed, and it didn't even get confiscated when he was captured. And yet this is the system everyone praises.
It's just one example that irks me.
I'll stop complaining and go back to enjoying my gaming.
Eberon on 2/9/2011 at 16:39
I definitely agree with almost all of the complaints the OP raises. Unlike the OP, I definitely enjoyed playing the game immensely. Some aspects of the game were a little disappointing.
Especially the pro- and anti-augmentation theme. It's a great theme to have chosen, but the writers did absolutely nothing to pull the player one way or another. And frankly, I think Sarif acted like a total snake and spoiled brat through the whole game which didn't really help me feel grounded in the character either.
I agree that nearly every single aspect of the overall plot arc was only loosely hinted at in conversations or game e-mails and nothing more. I also agree that all of the unimportant NPCs were lifeless sacks and that wasn't too immersive either. For such a relatively ambitious plan the adversaries had, the writers surely didn't really do any foreshadowing to make the end seem exciting. There were a few elements of this, but they were easily predictable.
In the end I felt like I'd played a game where the writers got their hands on it at the very end after the levels had been built and the path for the game had been chosen and they just sort of gave it a college try.
Lastly, I'd like to point out how ridiculous it is that every single boss can be defeated in a few seconds if you mash the Typhoon system aug twice in a row.
Avalon on 2/9/2011 at 17:19
I enjoyed the game. This is a game where I can honestly go on for hours and hours and hours about things I didn't like, yet still overall I had a blast with it. I think it takes a bit of getting over the nitpicky shit and just hanging back and having fun. A lot of the things you complained about, for example, are true in just about every game since the beginning of gaming, as far as certain behaviors and plot points. Hell, as far as plot points go, you'll see the same things you described in New York Times bestselling novels.
Which isn't to say that they're fine, because they could be done better. I just don't personally consider them gamebreaking.
The one thing that almost put me on the verge of disliking this game would be the lack of consequences and change though. In the original Deus Ex, there were certain points where you could drastically alter the outcome and subsequent gameplay elements - not so much as to completely shift the rails the story is on, but enough that you can come back later and say that what you did dramatically changed how this played out. Sure, you still end up in the same place, but you got there for entirely different reasons.
Deus Ex 3 works with a much more simplistic reward system. Rather than the game world changing from your actions, you'll receive a very simple reward: A TV news cast or a newspaper will dramatize your action. On my first playthrough, I ghosted the police station and it went unnoticed. My second playthrough, I killed every. living. thing. All that happened? "Bloodbath at the Detroit PD" in the newspaper. A couple random mentions when I talk to people on the street. Nothing else, even my boss - the only one who knows I'm responsible for killing everyone - had nothing to say about it. And when I return to Detroit later? No one remembers it, nothing changed whatsoever.
They allowed you to return to Detroit and Hengsha both, yet you couldn't see any consequences of your actions which I would've thought to be the best reason to bring you back to these places. Instead, it was just to save development time.
Papy on 2/9/2011 at 22:03
Quote Posted by Volitions Advocate
People complained about the shared ammo in IW, but in reality it made the game more challenging.
Invisible War was not challenging.
