If you have been reading this site for a while, you probably know I have an aversion to paying full retail price for videogames. So much so that I created it as a tag: Day 1 Embargo. Why pay $60 for something when it will be half off (or more) three months from now? It’s not like we don’t have 50+ games in our Steam backlogs anyway, right? Better to avoid the hype and save money.
Oh, hey, what’s this:
In the gibberish language of Twitch, let me say: H Y P E B O Y S.
Adam “I didn’t ask for this” Jensen is back. Michael “holy shit this music is amazing” McCann is back. Out of all the game worlds I have experienced in the last few years, the one presented in Deus Ex: Human Revolution has been the most authentic and immersive. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to state that there is something about Deus Ex in general that presses all the right buttons for me. Cyberpunk morality all day, erryday.
Seriously, have you seen the “movie” trailer for Human Revolution? Still gives me chills.
So, yeah. I shall be preemptively lifting my standard embargo on new games for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, whenever it is that it finally gets released. Because I want to believe. I want to believe so bad it hurts. Hurts like Neuropozyne withdraw.
The animations in Human Revolution were so off, so uncanny valley to me that I could never get into the game. Also given how often it is used, I found the voice acting more distraction than bonus as well. It’s too bad, because gameplay wise it wasn’t horrible and what I saw of the story seemed interesting as well.
It really is too bad, as I thought it was one of the best FPS-with-3rd-person-elements games to have came out in recent memory. There were some balance issues and counter-intuitive design (maximize XP gain by knocking out guards and then killing them), but overall it was a fitting entry into a groundbreaking series and one to bring it to modern audiences.
As much as I like HR and hope this is a return to form for Eidos Montreal, I’m annoyed to see Jensen again. I feel like his arc was nicely concluded and a new protagonist would provide more freedom for the story.
Although I’m fine with Jensen again – even though it invalidates all the endings – it’s a completely valid point that they could/should have gone with someone new. The only problem I can think of is that it would require them explaining who this new super-soldier is, how they got all the best augments, their backstory, and so on. That’s kinda their job, of course, but I see the usefulness of using Jensen.
Plus, you know, we get more of that amazing, gravelly voice.
But anyways, I’m also wary of the kinda “save the world action film” vibe I got from the trailer. That’s a hoary old tale, and I don’t find that as satisfying as a character driven drama.
The best thing about Jensens story in HR was that it started as a personal one of vengence and justice, the “giant evil world conspiracy” stuff didn’t trod on our toes the moment we walked through the damn door. We got a good feel for how small, vulnerable, and expendable people are in the scheme of things, but before all the conspiracy stuff seeps in that appears to all just be the natural order of things. That technology has cheapened the value of humanity. Which is pretty much what you want in a cyberpunk anything.
Going full bore “THIS SUMMER. ONLY ONE MAN. CAN SAVE THE ENTIRE WORLD. FROM THE ILLUMINATI AND THEIR FIENDISH PLOT” loses a lot of the noir feeling that helps makes cyberpunk an interesting genre. And I’m afraid that is what we’re probably going to get.
Did you happen to play the original Deus Ex? Because that was as on-the-nose conspiracy and saving the world as you can get. If anything, this is a return to form for the series as it sets up the original title(s).
“Save the world” is kinda rote and cliche, of course, but that has long since stopped bothering me. I do agree with you HR was more compelling for its noir elements. It’s just… well, I grade this series on a massive curve and would take anything I could get.
In An Age 
The animations in Human Revolution were so off, so uncanny valley to me that I could never get into the game. Also given how often it is used, I found the voice acting more distraction than bonus as well. It’s too bad, because gameplay wise it wasn’t horrible and what I saw of the story seemed interesting as well.
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It really is too bad, as I thought it was one of the best FPS-with-3rd-person-elements games to have came out in recent memory. There were some balance issues and counter-intuitive design (maximize XP gain by knocking out guards and then killing them), but overall it was a fitting entry into a groundbreaking series and one to bring it to modern audiences.
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As much as I like HR and hope this is a return to form for Eidos Montreal, I’m annoyed to see Jensen again. I feel like his arc was nicely concluded and a new protagonist would provide more freedom for the story.
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Although I’m fine with Jensen again – even though it invalidates all the endings – it’s a completely valid point that they could/should have gone with someone new. The only problem I can think of is that it would require them explaining who this new super-soldier is, how they got all the best augments, their backstory, and so on. That’s kinda their job, of course, but I see the usefulness of using Jensen.
Plus, you know, we get more of that amazing, gravelly voice.
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I kinda thought his voice was annoying myself.
But anyways, I’m also wary of the kinda “save the world action film” vibe I got from the trailer. That’s a hoary old tale, and I don’t find that as satisfying as a character driven drama.
The best thing about Jensens story in HR was that it started as a personal one of vengence and justice, the “giant evil world conspiracy” stuff didn’t trod on our toes the moment we walked through the damn door. We got a good feel for how small, vulnerable, and expendable people are in the scheme of things, but before all the conspiracy stuff seeps in that appears to all just be the natural order of things. That technology has cheapened the value of humanity. Which is pretty much what you want in a cyberpunk anything.
Going full bore “THIS SUMMER. ONLY ONE MAN. CAN SAVE THE ENTIRE WORLD. FROM THE ILLUMINATI AND THEIR FIENDISH PLOT” loses a lot of the noir feeling that helps makes cyberpunk an interesting genre. And I’m afraid that is what we’re probably going to get.
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Did you happen to play the original Deus Ex? Because that was as on-the-nose conspiracy and saving the world as you can get. If anything, this is a return to form for the series as it sets up the original title(s).
“Save the world” is kinda rote and cliche, of course, but that has long since stopped bothering me. I do agree with you HR was more compelling for its noir elements. It’s just… well, I grade this series on a massive curve and would take anything I could get.
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I am really curious what they plan to do about the endings dilemma…hope it is not too cheesy :/
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