Deus Ex

[TheMightyEthan]

So apparently according to the big Game Informer article, Eidos noticed that fans who played stealthily enjoyed the game more, so they focused on iterating the gunplay.

 

I just, I don't even...

 

[SomTervo]

The Thief reboot is far, far better than The Bureau. It's a very solid game.

 

And yes, the team who made the Thief reboot also made the broadly critically acclaimed Human Revolution.

 

My bets are that they dropped the ball so badly on the Thief game (in terms of okay sales + it nowhere near matching the phenomenal quality of the previous Thief games) that they had to return to a tried and tested formula.

 

Hence more Jensen!

 

So apparently according to the big Game Informer article, Eidos noticed that fans who played stealthily enjoyed the game more, so they focused on iterating the gunplay.

 

I just, I don't even...

 

 

Edited April 8, 2015 by kenshi_ryden

[toxicitizen]

So apparently according to the big Game Informer article, Eidos noticed that fans who played stealthily enjoyed the game more, so they focused on iterating the gunplay.

 

I just, I don't even...

 

 

I read that as them working on improving the weaker aspect of the game rather than focusing on it. Seems reasonable to me. Everything else I've been reading suggests that the multi-approach gameplay is still core to the experience.

 

The Thief reboot is far, far better than The Bureau. It's a very solid game.

 

And yes, the team who made the Thief reboot also made the broadly critically acclaimed Human Revolution.

 

My bets are that they dropped the ball so badly on the Thief game (in terms of okay sales + it nowhere near matching the phenomenal quality of the previous Thief games) that they had to return to a tried and tested formula.

 

Hence more Jensen!

Like I said, I'm fairly certain it was different teams within the same studio. Thief had been known to be in the works since before HR came out and I'm sure this has also been in development since before Thief came out.

[toxicitizen]

 
Damn it! Gonna have to wait until I get home to watch, my shitty laptop doesn't like youtube.

edit: I just did and it's SO GOOD!

 

Also, Steam page is up.

Edited April 8, 2015 by FLD

[IDDQD]

Well, what do you know, I've finished both Deus Ex and Human Revolution literally a week ago, and now they are releasing a trailer for the new one. Coincidence? I don't think so...

 

I'm hyped as shit. From what you can see in the credits at the end of trailer, same team from HR is working on it, so I guess it's safe to assume that there won't be any drop in quality. Also, I like how Jensen finally got it and went from never asking for this to embracing what he'd become.

 

 

 

I read that as them working on improving the weaker aspect of the game rather than focusing on it. Seems reasonable to me. Everything else I've been reading suggests that the multi-approach gameplay is still core to the experience.

I certainly hope so, because one of the best things about HR was the fact that you could choose to play it as Rambo or as Solid Snake and at no point either of these choices were favoured by the level design. It was just perfect. Sure, giving wedgies to enemies without being spotted tended to be more tense, but blasting away from double barrel or sniper rifle was also fun as hell, plus those weapon animations were sweet.

 

The Thief reboot is far, far better than The Bureau. It's a very solid game.

If I may throw in my 3 cents - I think it was really bland, actually. Controls are solid, I guess, hand animations were very nice to look at and I liked the attention to detail, but holy crap were those levels linear and boring or what? I think there are only two that I can remember - the whorehouse and the asylum. Rest of them sort of blur in my memory into one giant lump of gray rocks and rotten wood. AI didn't help either. I guess it's hard for me to get immersed when enemy actions and animations remind me of early Hitman games (in other words: they are incredibly stupid). And I'm not one of those haters who bash the game because it doesn't live up to the legacy or whatever. I never actually finished any of the previous Thiefs. I just think that the new one was mediocre at best and it's only redeeming quality was its production vaules.

[toxicitizen]

Also, I like how Jensen finally got it and went from never asking for this to embracing what he'd become.

"I never asked for this. But it's kind of alright, I guess."

 

edit:

 

If I may throw in my 3 cents - I think it was really bland, actually. Controls are solid, I guess, hand animations were very nice to look at and I liked the attention to detail, but holy crap were those levels linear and boring or what? I think there are only two that I can remember - the whorehouse and the asylum. Rest of them sort of blur in my memory into one giant lump of gray rocks and rotten wood. AI didn't help either. I guess it's hard for me to get immersed when enemy actions and animations remind me of early Hitman games (in other words: they are incredibly stupid). And I'm not one of those haters who bash the game because it doesn't live up to the legacy or whatever. I never actually finished any of the previous Thiefs. I just think that the new one was mediocre at best and it's only redeeming quality was its production vaules.

I somehow missed that bit earlier but I have to throw in an edit here. I'd argue that the production values were one of the areas where the game failed the hardest. It looked good enough but it was a technical mess at launch and there are many indications that they had to scale some presentation aspects back significantly. For example, the loading screens show concept art of a rioting city but in the actual game the closest you see to that is two dudes watching another dude get lynched. Clearly something got left on the cutting room floor.

 

Where the game truly shined was its mechanics, imho. It was Thief through and through. Moving and sneaking as Garrett felt as good as it needed to. The various tools at your disposal didn't provide as much depth as previous games did but it was still in the same spirit.

 

As for linearity, that depends what we're talking about here. Some levels were more linear than others and admittedly a little too scripted. But it's not like the old games were open-world or anything. Granted, it was a far cry from the first two games where the maps felt like they were designed as real places rather than as game levels. But most areas in the new one still offered multiple paths you could take, some stealthier than others. You just had to look for them.

 

But honestly, not to start a thing here, but I never really understood this obsession the internet has with non-linearity. It's not like linearity is inherently bad or anything. I'll take a deliberately crafted linear experience over one that's open just for the hell of it any day. So it's possible I'm simply less sensitive to it, I guess? But, I mean, something like Grand Theft Auto seems as linear to me as anything else. You're still going from point A to point E the same as any other game. Giving you agency over the order in which you go through B, C and D doesn't really make the experience particularly richer for me.

Edited April 8, 2015 by FLD

[deanb]

http://deadendthrills.com/gallery/?gid=111

 

Pretty game. Amazing ceilings.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

http://deadendthrills.com/gallery/?gid=111

 

Pretty game. Amazing ceilings.

 

This was a good test for Project Spartan's scrolling and oh man it feels nice. I felt like I was just browsing the page on a tablet.

[SomTervo]

 I read that as them working on improving the weaker aspect of the game rather than focusing on it. Seems reasonable to me. Everything else I've been reading suggests that the multi-approach gameplay is still core to the experience. 

snip

Like I said, I'm fairly certain it was different teams within the same studio. Thief had been known to be in the works since before HR came out and I'm sure this has also been in development since before Thief came out.

 

 

That's fair enough, it sort of makes sense. And indeed may mean really great things for the potential of Deus Ex MD.

 

And yeah, seems reasonable re gunplay. It was okay in DE:HR, but not great. The stealth was okay but not great either, tbh – it was the excellent level and encounter design which elevated both mechanics far above the sum of their parts. A slightly rethought approach to both could be a gamechanger.

 

The Thief reboot is far, far better than The Bureau. It's a very solid game.

If I may throw in my 3 cents - I think it was really bland, actually. Controls are solid, I guess, hand animations were very nice to look at and I liked the attention to detail, but holy crap were those levels linear and boring or what? I think there are only two that I can remember - the whorehouse and the asylum. Rest of them sort of blur in my memory into one giant lump of gray rocks and rotten wood. AI didn't help either. I guess it's hard for me to get immersed when enemy actions and animations remind me of early Hitman games (in other words: they are incredibly stupid). And I'm not one of those haters who bash the game because it doesn't live up to the legacy or whatever. I never actually finished any of the previous Thiefs. I just think that the new one was mediocre at best and it's only redeeming quality was its production vaules.

 

 

It wasn't a great game, but it was better than The Bureau - that was mainly my point.

 

But yes, they dropped the ball very badly on the main story missions. Really poor stuff.

 

Thief only really reaches its potential if you forget the story levels and, from the final act, just do the side missions in the open world. Like 20 of them get added when you've almost finished the campaign (another really stupid design error). The side missions are almost all better designed than any of the story missions (similarly to AC Unity), and feel really immersive because they've got a great sense of place in the city. The city level design matches Arkham City's at a few points in these side missions.

Edited April 16, 2015 by kenshi_ryden

[toxicitizen]

Thief only really reaches its potential if you forget the story levels and, from the final act, just do the side missions in the open world. Like 20 of them get added when you've almost finished the campaign (another really stupid design error). The side missions are almost all better designed than any of the story missions (similarly to AC Unity), and feel really immersive because they've got a great sense of place in the city. The city level design matches Arkham City's at a few points in these side missions.

Yeah, the side-missions were the best part of Thief, unfortunately. Most of them were smaller but more open maps and felt like you were actually robbing a real place. More in line with the old games. And the Bank Job DLC was straight up the best level out of the entire game. It was nowhere near the brilliance of the Bank Heist mission from Thief II but it's the closest the new one ever came to recapturing that.

[SomTervo]

Need to play that DLC.

 

On topic, i think later this year is going to be a stunning season for gaming if DE:MD comes out then. MD's potential is so high anyway

[TheMightyEthan]

I'm guessing Mankind Divided isn't coming out until next year.

[toxicitizen]

I thought it was confirmed for 2016 but I can't find anything right now. But yeah, I doubt it's a 2015 title.

[Hot Heart]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2015/04/20/art-director-shows-us-the-hidden-world-of-deus-ex-mankind-divided.aspx

[deanb]

 

New trailer. Gonna go hunt down some gameplay (assuming some was shown)

 

There is a tech demo video though:

All I care for in looks on this is it has good ceilings.

[deanb]

You can grab shiny full 1080p raw HDness via torrent of the 25 minute gameplay demo here:

http://www.gamersyde.com/download_deus_ex_mankind_divided_e3_demo-35057_en.html

 

I'll be giving that a watch later

[deanb]

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/08/11/deus-ex-mankind-divided-is-the-star-wars-original-trilogy-of-game-ceilings/

 

Sounds like it's going to be losing out on the ceilings

 

http://imgur.com/a/FDAbV

[deanb]

 

A Let's Play of Human Revolution by the devs. They can be kinda brutal on their game, though a lot is comparing it to Mankind Divided.

[deanb]

https://youtu.be/eJkzcQDqbpE

 

Release date of 23rd Feb. With some bullshit pre-ordering thing where if you get enough "tiers" they'll release it early for pre-orders.

 

I want to pre-order, but not play into this kind of poop.

Edited August 31, 2015 by deanb
S-E pulled thier PS4 version of the pre-order vid.

[TheMightyEthan]

Well, guess I'm not preordering this game.

[Mr. GOH!]

Why does this affect anyone's decision to preorder? I mean, preorder bonus 'goods' are of almost universally shitty quality and are tacky, valueless nonsense, whether DLC or physical. I mean, who loses sleep over deciding between a dumb art book and a dumb soundtrack?

 

Yeah, the preorder campaign is stupid, but that's of a piece with all preorder bonuses ever being stupid. If you care about the extra shwag, well, you might get it without paying more if enough people preorder. If people don't preorder, no skin off your back; you got the base game at the base game price, no harm, no foul. 

[TheMightyEthan]

Because they're basically holding the whole game hostage for preorders by saying they'll release it earlier if there are enough of them.  That seems much shittier than just being like "ooh, you get a special outfit if you preorder".

[Mr. GOH!]

Again, so what? It's four days. It's whether you have it the Friday before versus the Tuesday it's currently scheduled for release (at least in the US). since the vast majority of AAA games are released on Tuesdays in the US, it's not like you're hurt if the early release tier isn't unlocked. I also am skeptical every retailer will either have the copies ready for early release or not break street date anyway. 

 

I just think this whole thing is a tempest in a teacup. It feels gross and bad, but I don't think it has any real negative effects for the consumers.

[Mal]

Early release is just silly. At the very least, have it release early (if it unlocks) for all so that people don't feel left out and dodging spoilers. Publishers get their money and no consumers aren't left out to dry. Having the early release behind the pre-order is just as, if not more, shitty as stores breaking street dates since it's the publisher doing it. Dodging spoilers for MGSV has been very fun, it would've been more fun if it was sanctioned by the publishers.

 

I guess what I'm saying is that don't try to divide your consumers. Power-up packs (MP only, SP ones are just fucking with the balance) and exclusive missions are irksome enough in that regard. Don't have to make it more gross.

[deanb]

I've updated the above video.

 

Here's the official page:

https://www.deusex.com/augmentyourpreorder

 

Tier 1: one of three weapon/clothing packs. Usual stealth, attack, "classic" (gets you the HR trench coat).

Tier 2: digital art book/part of the OST

Tier 3: Mission (okay one here since I was unsure if the mission would be an either-or thing)

Tier 4: Comic book/novella

Tier 5: 4 days early

 

Best I can tell you don't need to pre-order to get these. I've just logged in and clicked on the stealth suit thing and now I have 1 of 5 rewards. Just pre-ordering as a collective helps increase which teirs unlock. Seems weird.

 

Oh now I've looked a bit: You can sign in, pick what you want. Your pre-order will come with the DLC code which will unlock what you've chosen. I guess it kinda bypasses the whole "retailer specific pre-orders" stuff. Not sure how you'll be able to unlock the Tier 5 thing that way though, unless they go "only give out pre-orders 4 days early" and I can see Steam cocking it up somehow).