I've been up for 25 hours. Why?

Sluggonics on 29/6/2004 at 12:52

The depth of the game is the only part I was disappointed with-- there just doesn't seem to be as much there as in the original. I guess the stakes were so different in the design of this game as opposed to the first-- the first was made in a different time, when money for such in-depth, possibly not-as-consumer-friendly types of games was more readily available. Now, developers simply aren't going to commit to deep, involving games without hedging their bets, and making sure that the game can appeal to casual gamers and console fans. The small development houses that could commit to designing games based on what would make a great game instead of only what is guaranteed to move 150,000 units, are a thing of the past.

That's just the reality of the gaming business wihch, sadly, has become a lot like the film business- safe projects that appeal to the lowest common denominator in order to maximize the potential audience and guarantee that they make their money back and/or a profit.

BottleofVintageGarrett on 1/7/2004 at 13:06

Quote Posted by ZylonBane

I remember the last game where people said the physics system was the most entertaining part-- Trespasser.

And i remember that you cant afford TDS, thats why you go on about it, ZylonBane = What a gay name!!! HAhahahahaha.

SpellCaster on 1/7/2004 at 13:32

I finally installed my DX:IW DVD too, and was extremely curious about what I would find out about the experience.
My first impression: bad graphics, when reported to the hardware requirements. Horrible textures, straight out of the past.
My second impression: ok, very very small levels, quite disappointing.
After that I stopped having impressions, and got sucked into the game the way that makes you stay up late at night (err, morning). It had been very long since the last time a game managed to drag me into its world this much. For my taste, it's the best game I have played in recent years and is also superior to the original.
Depth? I don't feel it has changed this much. I was angered when I read about the new inventory system and unified ammo, but found out that they gave me a plausible - for the game world, that is - explanation for the second, and the first still serves the purpose of having to choose what you carry with you, albeit with different parameters. Replay value is probably more limited, that's true, but I don't usually enjoy replaying a game several times just to try out the combinations I didn't use in the first run. I have a playstyle that fits a certain combination of skills and mods; I don't feel compelled to try the rest, because it would be no longer "my" game.
But the DXIW world is pure cyberpunk. What I love about some of the best literary works in that field is the way they manage to make you read all this stuff about a fantasy world in some near future that is dark, unforgiving, hopeless. And all of a sudden, you realize how much this world has in common with the one you are living in, and you ask yourself whether this is where you are headed. DXIW did this for me, just like the first DX did some years ago.
Of course I'm not speaking about Illuminati or other conspiracy theories: there are lots of more serious points of interest scattered throughout the game, and I believe it's a pity they were completely lost on the majority of players. I can't argue about the graphics, and those levels are REALLY small, still the overall experience was much more than this to me. Kudos to Warren Spector for creating a game that focuses as much on social analysis as gameplay. I can live without a reticular inventory, but appreciate being able to understand a lot about the everyday life in the game world by reading books or news items that give this info to those who care. Impatient types will probably skip all of this stuff, because it's completely unrelated to plain and simple gameplay or the main quest.
The little success DXIW has enjoyed will probably mean no DX3 (I haven't finished the game yet, and maybe the ending would prevent a similar occurrence anyway) and I find that's a pity. I think the complaints about the XBox version being developed together with the PC one are way exaggerated and can only assume the same happens with T3.
A cyberpunk masterpiece on one side and a magic-steampunk one on the other? I hope to find out it's just like this!

SpellCaster on 6/7/2004 at 10:15

Ok, after finishing the game and redoing about half at hard difficulty, I am forced to admit that some of my previous comments were incorrect. Gameplay depth has been toned down. Throughout all the game I always had all the multitools I needed to open any door/crate I wanted; yes, I did use grenades when possible in order to save on tools, but still I had no real strategic choice to make. I also found a wealth of biomods: I never had to gauge whether to invest in one or the other, you can max everything out early in the game. And the same is true for difficulty in general: even at hard level, it's comparable to the average game played in god mode.
So I did change my mind. Even though I like games that entertain rather than infuriate, this one was a bit oversimplified. The first DX was also on the easy side, especially at the end, but DXIW goes much further. I used to think it was because of a bad choice on my side, i.e. playing at normal, but I can see now it doesn't make much difference.
The overall experience was still great for me because the social depiction of the world seemed so real and plausible (except for Illuminati and Templars, of course) but I can now better realize why so many people felt let down.

Rolander on 6/7/2004 at 21:39

I did a rough count of the maps in DXIW and DX:

DXIW:

Tarsus - 3
Seattle - 9
Mako - 3
Cairo 1 - 9
Trier - 8
Antartica - 4
Cairo 2 - 5
Liberty - 5

Total: 44

DX:

Liberty - 2
Battery - Hell's - NSF - Liberty - 7
Battery - Mole - Airfield - Liberty - 9
Hell's - NSF - Battery - 5
MJ12 - Liberty - 3
Hong Kong - Versalife - 8
Hell's - Subpen - Masoleum - 6 (Fan Room c/w Spiderbots ignored)
Catacombs - Town - Templars - Everett - 7
Vanderberg - Oceanlab - Silo - 8
Area 51 - 4

Total: 59

Not to mentioned that DX maps are so much larger than DXIW maps.

Map count and size are not accurate indicators of content, but can be used as rough guide.

chuckempire on 7/7/2004 at 14:39

Unfortunately, when I first bought DX:IW my computer was in a mess and I didn't have time to fix it, after buying TDS as well I consolidated all my good hardware and was pleasantly surprised by IW.

To my mind there were some really great aspects of IW in terms of story and gameplay. I thought the way they continued the story from DX was good - rather than patronizing us DX junkies they eased in the roles of JC and other characters from the original.

I really liked the variety of goals, especially secondary goals in the city levels. The secondary goals were presented in a much less pushy way than the primaries and I thought that went a long way to allowing the player more freedom to choose their actions.

In terms of gameplay in the more straight forward missions, I thought that DX had a lot more oppurtunities for different approaches. In DX I often saved and loaded over and over to try to accomplish something in a way that would save me losing any health at all (like dropping gas grenades from a hole in the ceiling or something...) but although there were a few options for passing threats it just didn't seem the same. ...also long loading times made me upset...

But like DX (and so many other games) before it, I thought that the open, diverse gameplay that made you feel like you're in a real living world as demonstrated in game up to maybe... trier? was drilled down quickly to a short list of primary goals from one faction which I guess can be simplified to moving through a maze, while defeating of avoiding enemies.

overall though, I enjoyed IW a great deal. I would even say as much as I enjoyed DX although perhaps for a shorter time.