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Prognosticating Deus Ex 3
Deus Ex is a big deal(tm) for PC gamers, and the news of Deus Ex 3 now being on the way is well worth celebrating. Rock, Paper, Shotgun takes it to (perhaps) an unhealthy level. Kieron Gillen starts with the brand-new trailer, analyzes the imagery from the piece, and jumps off into an intensely detailed theory session about what the newest chapter set in our dystopic future might entail. "In a list, the themes are fairly striking - we hit the primary icons of the human body and perfection in nature, with Da Vinci's work as the perpetual primary shorthand. The other trend is that of social upheaval and prejudice - the signs are all deliberately retro, harking back to the more obvious prejudice and societal injustices. The key bit relevant to the plot is the Biopolitic vote of 2027, which places it twenty-five years before the start of the first Deus Ex game. Which would imply prequel or (as an outside bet, which is a shame, as it's my preferred option) alternate time-line story."
Yes, you can dance to Radiohead.
...if and only if they promise it's not going to be some half-assed PC/platform mutant like Deus Ex 2. :P
I loved DX1, and finally got around to DX2 (after avoiding it for a long time). It wasn't that great, but also probably not as bad as it was made out to be (dashed expectations and so on).
But it is true that so far, the quality of DX games has been directly proportional to the involvement of Warren Spector. Since this next one doesn't involve him at all....
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But I'm afraid that at the moment both are still overwhelmed by fear.
The most interesting new rumor today: I see that someone at Wikipedia claims to have noticed "coop" as one of the listed features on a Deus Ex 3 whiteboard on the Eidos Montreal webpage. This could mean, in decreasing order of probability:
A. Cooperative multiplayer was an idea they were tossing around but eventually dropped when they realized how much extra work it would be for the designers.
B. The "storyline" is so noninteractive and linear that it can be played either in single player or coop without too much extra work (i.e. they're just using the "Deus Ex" name to sell more copies).
C. They're managing to take the complex universe, huge multipath levels, engaging writing and interactive branching of the original Deus Ex story to make something which is just as brilliant but which still works seamlessly when you and your friends/significant other play together.
I'm pretty sure C can't be true... I mean, the "Baldur's Gate" games only pulled it off because even the single player game included a party of characters... but I WANT TO BELIEVE.
Deus Ex - Warren Spector = don't really care. Especially not enough to read another pretentious article by that anal wart Kieron Gillen.
Rob
Geeks have something better to do that geek out about something geeky? Whaaaaat?
All the techniques ever used to make men moral have been themselves thoroughly immoral... (Nietzsche)
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"Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief."
Geeks have something better to do that geek out about something geeky? Whaaaaat?
Yeah, we have to finish our grammar- and spelling-naziing before we are allowed to do that. :P
Why all the DX2 hating? I remember picking up the xbox version for cheap a while after it was new and it still seemed pretty fun. I thought it was fairly comparable to the first game and didnt seem as dumbed down for consoles as Bioshock was compared to System shock 2.
The only thing you can conclude from this trailer is that video game trailers are now being generated by the same VoiceOver 3000 Random Voiceover Writing Machine that seems to generate every film trailer. All that's missing are the phrases, "In a world where..." and "Now, one man must..."
Arr! Read The Government Manual for New Pirates!
Have to disagree with regards to gameplay. Common ammunition in DXIW: suck. Weapons: suck. No skills system: stupid. Less biomods: dumb. Biomod efficacy: ranges from complete uselessness to moderately useful - sucked. Real choices actually effecting outcome, few and far between and more near the endgame. Weapon modes, a lot of mutual exclusion and mostly suck. Ammo consumption of the useful weapons: alarmingly high, even with mods. Hacking terminals defocused - dumb. Encumbrance / inventory system - complete trash, it was a horrible setback going from DX to DXIW in terms of game play with the total loss of a useful inventory system. Readable content related to the storyline (newspapers, computer hacks, etc): complete trash in DXIW. Depth of world (desire to look under every pillow to find everything: nearly zero in DXIW )
I have never seen a game fo from such highs in DX to such horrible lows in DXIW. Everything that made DX great was either excluded or nerfed in DX.
They seriously would do well to simply update the DX to UT2004 or better, and simply add content with the same characters, and forget what they are doing now. I have little faith.
Without Warren Specter, this thing is doomed. I really feel bad how they are destroying the Deus Ex name and how they cater to horrible console play.
Legalize the constitution. Think for yourself question authority.
I stopped liking that game after I asked for Deus Ex II for Christmas. I asked my mom for it, and she whapped me across the face hard.
I was completely shocked and scared by that, until I realized that asking my mom for "Deus Ex II" sounds a lot like I was asking to "Do Sex Too".
What kind of fucking name is that for a game? Right up there with Windows Sex Pee.
Considering the games are all about Conspiracy Theories, is it really so wrong to examine everything about the game *as* a conspiracy theory?
I'm going to stay reservedly interested until I see more, like a proper demo. But I won't discount it outright just because Spector's not involved. After all, neither is Witchboy, which can only be a good thing.
True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
If you loved System Shock, maybe. I'm a big fan of Deus Ex, it was one of the first games that left a mark on me. And I can't think positively of BioShock. All that ever comes to mind are its flaws.
Perhaps I just hold games like that to different, higher standard.