Deus Ex: Human Revolution

[Cosmic_Guru]

I suppose it's a bit early to tell if there will be any High Street bargains - I fancy picking this up for guaranteed Friday play rather than chancing mail order. Also, is there any insider with knowledge of how much the basic game will retail for in Game or Gamestation?

[Jimmy Shedders]

It isn't much but I noticed that Sainsburys were giving out £5 off vouchers for this at the weekend.

No idea how much it'll be on release but I'm guessing £39.99

[ilpostino]

Does the Augmented edition come with the extra level and gun and stuff or has the chance to grab those passed (until the inevitable DLC)?

[daveodeth]

If your PC I'd imagine it's a wait of seconds before you can edit it in yourself.

[Marlowe]

Haven't seen it mentioned in here, but this got 8/10 in OPM. Main downers being that ammo is scare, power for the augs needs refilling (and the bars you eat to do so aren't abundant) and you see a lot of the hub area.

Those are supposed to be criticisms? It makes you wonder how many of these reviewers actually like playing videogames.

[JPR]

Does the Augmented edition come with the extra level and gun and stuff or has the chance to grab those passed (until the inevitable DLC)?

The extra level and gun is the Explosive Mission pack which is a preorder bonus for all versions of the game in the UK at least, by the looks digital versions don't get it though.

Another person glad to see ammo is scarce I enjoyed that I'd have to adapt my approach in the first based on the ammo I had available, sniper vs mini crossbow for example. One of the things that really annoyed me about the second was the universal ammo, so it was just easier to stick with the same weapon.

[daveodeth]

Those are supposed to be criticisms? It makes you wonder how many of these reviewers actually like playing videogames.

Indeed, seems a little rich to bash the game for a players shortcomings. But then most reviews are arse anyway, buggers should get real jobs.

[The Sarge]

IGN Developer Livestream,

Currently watching...it contains a few spoilers. (also full of info and a must watch for those still on the fence.)

[Wiper]

But then most reviews are arse anyway, buggers should get real jobs.

[ilpostino]

The extra level and gun is the Explosive Mission pack which is a preorder bonus for all versions of the game in the UK at least, by the looks digital versions don't get it though.

It's an exclusive preorder from Gamestop in North America, just ordered it now.

[Gabe]

Those are supposed to be criticisms? It makes you wonder how many of these reviewers actually like playing videogames.

In the context of the review it was a criticism in that it almost forced you down a stealth route (by giving better xp and not having much ammo) - so for anybody hoping to play it as a run-and-gun they'd be out of luck. I think it's a fair comment; Alpha Protocol gave both options and allowed enough ammo for you to play it as an out-and-out shooter if you wanted.

The lack of power was highlighted as a bigger pain, in that you get 'pips' of power that can be used for the augmentations and the bars you have to eat to refill them aren't common either. This is somewhat mitigated by the fact that the first pip will always refill automatically over time, but the review pointed out that this just led to having to constantly wait around until it refilled if there were no power bars to eat in the area.

Now for those who love full-on stealth that's great; for those who like (very) occasional stealth (such as me) it'll make me think about it before buying - but it was only 1 review so I'll see how the feedback in here goes rather than rely on print mags.

[Valiant]

This is the only game I care about this year.

Little let down by the TV Spot after the amazing hype created previously by all the other stuff.

A little too short and sweet plus no grandiose music plus why are they advertising My World

Also certain narrative strands are eerily prescient of certain disturbances that have happened in the UK recently

[daveodeth]

He would have if he'd played DX.

[Wiper]

They're obviously referring to a different Darwin. John Darwin, the work experience kid down in marketing.

Edit: judging by the reactions to capwn's Molydeux thread, I should probably make clear that this is a joke.

[Vulgar Monkey]

See, the other weapos pack would be better for the stealth player (with the silenced sniper rifle), but that seems unavailable to us. Probably be future dlc, annoyingly. I mean, the game is either built with this stuff in mind, or not. But I wont do a dlc rant now.

I will say that I loved rocking the stealthy sniper route in the first one, so I hope you can still mod the other weapons with silencers and scopes etc. Be a bit silly if you can only silence your rifle by downloading a new one.

[Mr. Gerbik]

From what I've played of the preview version, the DLC didn't suit the game at all. You're meant to start from scratch and build yourself up. You even get to choose only one weapon story-wise for the first mission and have to make do. And yet if you have DLC then you'll be surprised to find massively overpowered weapons in your inventory right from the start of that first mission. I dumped the DLC weapons and played the level as it was designed to be played, I found it much better that way.

Fallout: New Vegas had the same thing to a lesser extent, starting you off with equipment and weapons in perfect condition. When it comes to such DLC in rpgs I always try to buy a version that doesn't have DLC but that is not always possible, which means I have to start off the game by dumping all that shit.

[Vulgar Monkey]

Do you know if the dlc weapons are just early 'unlocks' of stuff you'd get eventually anyway, or totally new?

Because it does just bugger stuff right up sometimes where they just dump them on you.

[Mr. Gerbik]

No idea, and I have no idea if they're definitely going to be implemented in the same way as they were in the preview version. Iirc the preview version was meant for the press and it came with a DLC sniper rifle, DLC shotgun, and some other stuff. I left it all on the roof of the first area in the mission and went on to enjoy the game, but I stopped straight after the first mission as I loved the game so much. I immediately bought it on Steam and have been impatiently waiting for the full version ever since. As such I have no idea whether I would have found the same weapons later on in the game - they were clearly marked as 'DLC' in the inventory screen though.

[Wiper]

Ha, I did wonder why my inventory was filled with guns once I'd finished the mission - I assumed I'd just picked them up in the course of the mission. Of course, as I refused to use any weapons in the mission, it would have made little difference either way

In further E.Y.E news: having played more of it, Deus Ex isn't a useful point of reference. If anything, I'd say Shadowrun - as in, the pen and paper RPG - is the closest thing to it. It's a game which is all about specialising in a far more fundamental manner than Deus Ex - I've not played it in co-op, but so many of the missions would clearly be massively improved by working as a team, with people taking mutually-beneficial roles. A heavy to draw and lay down fire, a hacker to subvert security systems and set up defensive perimeters, a psi operative to sow confusion, and an agent for recon and dealing with high-priority targets. And thanks to the opportunity to choose your equipment at will (unlike UNATCO or the Citadel Council, in this world special agencies actually have access to weapons...), there's ongoing versatility, even if your stats aren't ideal for the role. One level in particular, which involves defending against waves and waves of enemies coming through three points of access, would be amazing for a three-man team equipped entirely in heavy armour and with miniguns. Implacable figures, encased in heavy armour, mowing down the hordes with countless bullets - it sounds like Warhammer 40,000, but for me it mostly evokes Syndicate, if Syndicate had been a straight action game. I blame the miniguns.

[Epcotman]

I really dislike the jarring 1st person to 3rd person cover system.

[Wiper]

The simple solution to that is not to make use of it! Unlike certain other cover-based games, it isn't actually the only to, y'know, take cover - as in, there's a dedicated crouch button which will work just as well. Nor is it automatic. So if you'd prefer, you can spend the entire game ducking behind tables just like you would in a traditional first-person game.

[Mr. Gerbik]

I really dislike the jarring 1st person to 3rd person cover system.

If you're referring to DE3, not to worry - it isn't jarring at all once you get to play it yourself, it works surprisingly well in fact.

[Valiant]

So leaked code genius strategic move to foster interest and wet appetites or not?

[diggler]

I was always gonna buy a new Deus Ex no matter what, but the leak did put any fears I had at rest and confirmed its brilliance. More like a demo, I guess.

[Vulgar Monkey]

See, I'd have thought for the dlc guns and stuff a fallout NV system would make more sense.

Pay extra to get rare stuff immediately (or at least a similar equivalent to something that was kicking around in the wasteland), or don't and possibly find it mid game of your own accord, if you look around very thoroughly.

[Mr. Gerbik]

Yeah in Fallout NV it wasn't so much that it went against the story that was being told, more that it was just plain annoying. Starting such an RPG with 1337 loot and teh r@re stuff is the equivalent of getting an achievement for pressing start after firing up the game. Luckily I can either turn that shit off or just dump all that stuff, but I'd rather buy a vanilla version to begin with and be done with it.* In any other genre it would make fuck-all difference to me.

*unless the DLC also includes an extra quest and/or area, in which case I feel like I have to have it - sigh...

[Vulgar Monkey]

Yeah, but I mean, at least in FNV it wasn't gamebreaking. It was all basic kit (10mm pistol, leather armour etc) in a slight variation of what you would find in most places anyway.

In DEHR, they've given the impression that these guns are immensely powerful, and will not be found elsewhere in the game.

If they are available normally at some point, that makes the imbalance less severe, but would piss off the pre-orderers for not being told. They really should be much clearer about this stuff.

The silenced rifle and auto grenade launcher (and probably the shotty) could well be unique, whereas stuff like the satchel charges and lock hacker would surely be standard fare?

[diggler]

Monster patch out for EYE btw, could be a good time to dive in if you've been holding out.

[Wiper]

Figures that the moment I finish reviewing it they patch the bloody thing... I guess I should see whether they've fixed any of the major flaws, then re-edit my review before trying to sell it.

[Monkeyboy]

I really dislike the jarring 1st person to 3rd person cover system.

It worked like a charm in Rainbow Six Vegas. So I don't see why it can't feel right in Deus Ex.