I've never played Invisible War.

T-Smith on 23/12/2010 at 02:00

As per the title. I've never played the sequel to Deus Ex. Years have passed, reviews written, snide remarks thrown, but I've never bothered to see for myself if all the hate is justified.

So I have to ask - is it worth picking up? Obviously I love the original, but the general consensus on the internet is that Invisible War is an affront to God; a terrible calamity upon sequels and gaming in general that will hollow out my soul. Sounds a little harsh I know, but some have been more than a little NMA-esque in talking about the title.

So what's the general opinion around here? I don't expect anything that will surpass the first. Just something that will entertain me and be a little smarter than your average video game.

EDIT - I joined around the time of Thief 3, so I missed any praise/hatred the game got upon release. As I'm not going to search through 6+ years of threads for opinions on it, I was hoping for some that have been tempered by the years since Invisible War's initial release.

Chade on 23/12/2010 at 02:23

I can't speak for everyone as I like the game more then most, but I would have thought that by now, the game is cheap enough to buy purely out of historical interest.

T-Smith on 23/12/2010 at 02:31

Quote Posted by Chade

I can't speak for everyone as I like the game more then most, but I would have thought that by now, the game is cheap enough to buy purely out of historical interest.

It's certainly cheap enough. But I want to get a general opinion of whether or not I should even bother. If I bought every cheap game I have an interest in out of "historical interest" I'd be a little backlogged.

Ostriig on 23/12/2010 at 02:50

If you can find it for cheap I'd suggest you go for it. It's an awfully shitty sequel to the original Deus Ex, but if you manage to distance yourself from that fact you may get some fun out of it. Taken on its own I'd say it was a generally mediocre implementation of a design that nonetheless attempted a fair bit more than the average shooter of the time. To contrast with an example, I'd say Bioshock was a very polished implementation of a design that attempted not quite as much. I've formed a bit of an involuntary connection between their RPG elements and one tends to bring to mind the other.

But yeah, going by what you're looking for I'd recommend giving it a shot. As long as you keep your expectations reasonably low you may find it entertaining enough.

DarkForge on 23/12/2010 at 10:12

I would have to agree. I happen to be replaying the game now and, annoying and frustrating random freeze-ups aside (but that's a separate story), I'm enjoying it just fine. I would say that Ostriig pretty much hit it on the head: if you can try to treat it more on its own merits, without the original's shadow hanging constantly overhead, more fun could be had.

So yeah I'd say give it a whirl. You've not really got much to lose by doing so, and there's really no telling how much enjoyment you'll get out of it unless you try it - sometimes these things can come from the unlikeliest of places!

(That reminds me: one of these days I'm really going to have to try tracking down a copy of Project Snowblind - just for the heck of it.)

twisty on 23/12/2010 at 12:23

In many ways IW was ahead of its time. They attempted to implement a narrative that evolved as a result of player decisions on ambiguous or "grey" choices, rather than the black or white options that featured in most games before it (and still do today). Many aspects of the game were streamlined and tailored to reduce immediate complexity, whilst simultaneously ameliorating gameplay through the replacement of micromanagment elements and various upgrade options with a more simplified inventory and restricted character building options. At least, that was the theory.

In practice, IW suffered for a variety of reasons -- all of which have been widely written about already, so I wont retread the same ground here. For me, the main aspect of the game that disappointed me was the absence of any likeable characters. Unlike the first game, I simply didn't care about anyone, which is a tragic result for a game that relies on dialogue as one of its key mechanisms.

The changes to some aspects of gameplay were ok and other parts of the game were actually fun but for the most part it was a game that felt more like an unrealised product of half-baked theory and over ambitious design.

kabatta on 23/12/2010 at 14:47

I for one actually had fun playing it. I played the patched version and had no problems. Sure, it's not like the first game, but it is still good.

henke on 23/12/2010 at 17:05

If it hadn't been the sequel to Deus Ex it would be very well regarded around here. Yeah, it's a good game. And it was like 2 euros on steam yesterday, now it's 5.

Pyrian on 23/12/2010 at 18:09

I'd recommend giving it a try, at least as far as getting out of the starting building and poking around in the first hub (Seattle).

ZylonBane on 23/12/2010 at 20:02

IW is tolerable only if you select a female Alex and pretend you're playing NOLF 3.