SS2 and Deus Ex.. Which is better?

redrain85 on 25/8/2006 at 00:07

The soundtrack in DX1 is one of my favorites. The music in DX2 is also nice, and about the only part of the game that I really like.

Meanwhile, the soundtrack for SS2 is very good too, but I like DX1's better.

michaelg on 25/8/2006 at 03:35

I don't know.

I personally like the sound in SS2 better than DE.

I have a set of decent surround sound headphones and while DE has very good sound, the ambiant sounds seem crisper and more defined on SS2.

However as far as actual music, I'd have to go with DE, seeing as SS2 didn't have a whole lot of it.

The thing I don't understand are the cut scenes in SS2. Thank God there aren't too many, as the couple that are in the game look absolutely horrible!

tungsten on 25/8/2006 at 03:52

I prefer SS2 over DX for two reasons:

SS2 is more 1st person (you can be yourself) and DX is, no matter which way you go, this Denton guy. It's like a 1st person shooter having feet :eww:

Second: the sounds. The SS2 sounds (incl. music) are just too creepy for me.

Oh, yes, and let's drag this discussion once more into the headphone vs real speakers-discussion...

TF on 25/8/2006 at 05:33

Quote Posted by ZylonBane

As for your comments about the low object count and simple brushwork, they seem a little absurd in light of the fact that when DX came out, it was lauded as having some of the biggest, most complex levels ever done on the Unreal engine. Minutes-long load times, remember? And bear in mind that many places in DX, you can look down on almost the entire level.

Guess I'd have wished for SS2-sized levels with a higher object count then, because while DX levels are indeed pretty big, they're also pretty empty at times. Also my beef is that even most of the insides are low on detail, it's perfectly fine if you lower the outdoors brush count to make a Liberty Island full level view possible, but just about the only indoors area that looks nice brushwise that I can think of is the first part of Versalife.

Also I kind of like the music too, just saying it doesn't beat SS2's because of the trackerin.

Kaldoth on 26/8/2006 at 03:42

DX simply because it lets me to play more of a stealthy character than SS2 allows. I like sniping, too.

As for storylines, DX wins in my book, just all the conspiracy stuff, plus everything is explained perfectly. In DX your friends are your enemies the next day. SS2 has a little of that, but not quite on the same scale.

SS2 is alot scarier though. I know a turret or cyborg assassin is going to be around a certain corner, and I still jump. But they are both really great games. Too bad IW sucked.

ZylonBane on 26/8/2006 at 13:22

Quote Posted by TF

Guess I'd have wished for SS2-sized levels with a higher object count then, because while DX levels are indeed pretty big, they're also pretty empty at times.

Smaller, deeper maps, eh? :sweat:

june gloom on 26/8/2006 at 15:43

okay, so let's see a DX map concerning a pit that's 5 feet across and 200 feet deep. :p there's small and deep for you.

Bluegrime on 27/8/2006 at 03:57

With a the walls covered in 10mm pistols on racks, of course.

7th Circle on 13/9/2006 at 01:42

It's my first post here so "hi". Anyway, to the topic at hand...

Having played both these excellent games for the first time in the last few months, my answer is that it depends on how you define "better".

In terms of artistic achievement, I think that SS2 beats Deus Ex. SS2 handled its narrative in a more engaging and compelling way than Deus Ex. It had better atmosphere and generally created a better world. Ironically, I think that the whole hidden levels of control thing kind of got in the way for Deus Ex in this regard - it made it harder to find a "hook" for the world.

In terms of gameplay, I think that Deus Ex beats SS2. SS2 certainly has interesting gamplay but, imho, it also suffers from two major problems here. Firstly, I think that some of the design decisions were overly-sadistic. For instance, weapon degradation was interesting but when it happened very fast that was pushing it. Add to the mix the issue of shotguns from the zombie-like enemies being broken with, iirc, poor condition and it was just too much. Secondly, I think that balancing of skill etc. in SS2 could have been improved.

Generally, I think that Deus Ex was a more consistently executed game. SS2 was brilliant in some areas but problematic in others. I tend to think of Deus Ex as a great game but SS2 as a flawed masterpiece.

Bluegrime on 14/9/2006 at 04:01

I belive they did that to give maintenance SOME use. If finding a functional shotgun was as easy as beating a once human beings body into a screaming, gurgling and finally twitching mockery of a corpse and then ripping a shotgun from the hamburger like mass that used to be an arm, things would be too easy. ;)