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Deus Ex - Invisible War Demo Released

Posted by simoniker on from the try-it-yourself dept.

revmoo writes "The long-awaited demo for Deus Ex: Invisible War has finally been released! Blue's News has a comprehensive list of mirrors for the 224MB download, including BitTorrent via GameTab and another Torrent from FileRush." Initial feedback seems mixed, with echoes of the recent interview in which Warren Spector agrees with the observation that "complexity is not the same as depth" for this 'streamlined' sequel design.

5 of 47 comments (clear)

  1. Mixed reviews are right! by Txiasaeia · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I feel mixed myself about the demo. Yep, it's definitely Deus Ex, but there are a few things that seem "dumbed down" about the game. For instance, the inventory is ridiculous. Instead of a 8x8 square that DX1 uses, DX2 has this weird arc that you have to cycle through in order to access your stuff. Sound confusing? That's because it is. There are a couple other things that make it feel too console-ish, but on the other hand, it most definitely feels like DX1. Will I be buying the game when it comes out? That's really a tough one -- I loved DX1 so ya, I'll probably get it, but I really, REALLY hope they get those performance issues dealt with, as the game is pretty choppy in even 800x600 (Athlon XP 2000+, 512 MB DDR, Geforce 4 4200 128MB, WD Caviar Special Ed 8MB Cache 7200RPM, SBLIVE!); take it for what you will.

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  2. Not really sure what to make of it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I downloaded it last night (the Gamespy release got Bittorrented) and have played it through several times.

    It does drop you straight into the middle of the game, so I don't really know what's going on, but the glimpses of plot sound pretty interesting. It's impressively non-linear, too, especially for two tiny maps - but there are problems...

    A lot of the complexity of the original has been stripped out, and I'm not sure if that's always a good thing. One of the oddest changes to gameplay is the 'unified ammunition' - basically, all weapons use the same ammo, and if you run out when using one weapon you can't change to another.

    Another big change is the apparent lack of location-specific damage. You can't neatly and efficiently dispose of enemies in a stealthy manner, instead you have to keep shooting at them until they eventually drop dead, having alerted everyone else in the vicinity.

    Oh, and the electric shock prod is woefully ineffective. Ten or more shocks are needed to take down a guard, and is blatantly non-stealthy.

    The interface is very fiddly and uses large-print text for everything, which means reading anything longer than a sentence takes numerous pages. It might be like that because of the Xbox version and television screens, but last time I looked I had a PC underneath my desk, not a games console.

    The graphics aren't significantly better than the original - yes, it's got excessively sharp real-time lighting for everything, along with normal mapping and so on, but it really doesn't look hugely different, despite requiring a fairly hefty graphics card. Halo runs way better on my old, creaky PC than this.

    The AI is pretty terrible. I lobbed barrels at a guard for a few minutes without him caring, and even vaulted over the gate he was protecting without him bothering. I (eventually) shocked him unconscious with the prod and carried him inside, to drop him in front of the other guards. Yes, they became suspicious because of the appearance of this body, but never realised I might have been responsible, even when I threw the body at them, and then down the lift shaft.

    I really hope the demo isn't indicative of the final game - it shows some promise, but it seems too much of a step down from the original. A shame.

    1. Re:Not really sure what to make of it by Black+Hitler · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Actually there is location-based damage, but they've effectively made it completely worthless by "fixing" it so enemies can now take five or six shots to the head without going down. Their rationale was that they wanted fights to be longer. So much for stealth.

  3. Re:Response from the team? by Hott+of+the+World · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Im not sure about the realism responses, (I managed to use up all my ammo, it was just a demo remember)

    As for it being horrible to play, I had my fears, what with my 1.6ghz Athlon and 512 megs of ram.. But my Direct X 8 loving 4200TI played it great, a tiny bit choppy, but no slow down. I didnt have any trouble with any of the settings.

    I thought it was very close to the original, just not that complete (it was a small demo anyway). I didnt catch much of the story, but then again, that would take lots more of the missions. If I had to say honestly, I'd say yeah, they dumbed it down slightly with the ammo bit, and the AI probably could use some work, but I think it will be a fun game, and all the x-box owners can rejoice. It will probably make a great rental :)

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  4. Re:Not mixed by AllUsernamesAreGone · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Pretty much everywhere I've seen where people have been discussing this - from offcial ion store and eidos forums, through fan places like TTLG, and beyond - present the general consensus that Ion Storm have made a complete and utter mess of IW while the Thief fans are going insane about what this demo probably means for Thief 3.

    I'm beginning to think Spector has done a Daikatana..