Anybody playing Deus Ex?

It’s apparently a cyberpunk shooter/RPG that just came out, and is now eating everybody’s brain:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6IOeY5BzTo&feature=related

…including Penny Arcade’s: the site keeps crashing every time I try to get the link.

Anyway: is it any good?

10 thoughts on “Anybody playing Deus Ex?”

  1. Played the original (still a classic) and loved it. Pre-ordered this at a discount. Haven’t started it yet (been busy with other stuff), but all the comments are that it actually captures the spirit of the original almost perfectly. Apparently has some flaws (read the Ars Technica and Rock Paper Shotgun reviews), but everyone’s giving it 90-95% scores. So, I’m going to say “yes” 🙂

  2. I’ll go along with that and give it a yes. A Gamer buddy of mine is playing it and likes it, alot. He was running ZoneAlarm and it conflicted with that so he had to get rid of ZoneAlarm and go with Komodo. Just thought you’d want to know. By the way my Buddy and I are old cyberpunk people and he said it’s a good example of the Genre.

  3. Yes! (only about an hour in so far, though). Did not play the original, and was going to hold out but Amazon has the Std PC edition for download (really, just a Steam code) for $35, so I surrendered to my weakness. Looks oh so nice, and so chuffed I can just max all the settings. 🙂

    If you’re on steam, I’m on there too (same name).

  4. Giant Bomb(.com) has a Quick Look that features both 360 and PC versions and is over an hour long, that could help you decide too.

  5. I’ve played about 24 hours of it and it’s pretty darn good. What it is: it’s a linear RPG (you end up in an area, do all the quests, finish the main quest, go to new area). There’s lots of quests, lots of sneaking, and lots of neat places to find and discover. It’s a stealth and hacking simulator with decent (but predictable) writing.

    What it isn’t: it’s not a shooter. Yes, it has guns and you can modify said guns. You, however, are fragile, squishy, and bullets make you fall down very quickly (with the worst “death sound” I’ve ever heard). Even the “Dermal Plating” upgrades don’t do much more than prolong your death a few seconds. It’s not a sandbox game. You can’t really go wherever you want, unless it’s in the area you’re questing in, and you happen to want to go there.

    I don’t know how authentic it is to the original, how authentic it is to the cyberpunk genre, or any of that dross. I do know that the environments are very believable, very well designed, and make the suspension of disbelief very easy.

    You might find this link informative; http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=12674

    I’m enjoying it, but various hints in the dialogue and writing are foreshadowing a breakdown in the story. I (SPOILER ALERT, KINDA) rolled my eyes when a Major Character (no seriously) mentioned the Bilderbergers and another famous conspiracy nutjob group in the same line (I’m not kidding). Your character, quite seriously, then responds with “The Illuminati?” I almost turned off the game right there as that much rote stupidity just about crashed my system.

    Other than the “Conspiracy!” angle of the story, it’s solid. Like I said, I’m enjoying it, with the exception of the occasional story line forays into the hand-wavery of the conspiracy angle. I recommend it.

    1. The Conspiracy stuff doesn’t worry me: I like that stuff on aesthetic grounds, at least up to the point where people start babbling about how it’s all because of the Joooooooooooos.

  6. Genius Bonus question: does anyone know what well-known painting an early scene in the trailer is a pastiche of?

  7. @Moe

    Well, from what I understand, never having played any of the previous titles, the Conspiracy stuff is supposed to be a major hook for the series. I just wish they’d come up with something new instead of trotting out the old standbys. So, it’s not a big sticking point, it just made me choke a bit on the sillyness after so much awesome.

  8. @Brian

    The easy part was “Rembrandt”. The style is distinctive to the point of unique.

    The painting in question is “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp”. And now, my geek head will explode…

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