some odds and ends after completing the game [contains spoilage - handle with care] - by Daxim
ignatios on 19/10/2001 at 12:11
Doc Oc! It's also the same guy from the old cartoon. Also, isn't Navarre from Russia? Her accent is almost certainly Slavic ...
... anyway, I finally finished the game today and I have quite a few thoughts on it. This might get fairly in-depth.
(1) Pacing - this is a mixed topic. At times the pacing in Deus Ex was spectacular -- in particular the first few levels. The first level provided the perfect learning situation and introduction to the game. Afterwards the pacing kept me glued to the computer, flipping between anti-terrorist action and debriefings at UNATCO HQ. Action, story, action, story, etc. After Lebedev however, things got a little less exciting. There was too much emphasis on infiltration and not nearly enough "story" levels. It certainly makes sense though since the bulk of the game is of this nature so I didn't mind. I liked Hong Kong the best (especially Versalife!!!), I got sick of Hell's Kitchen, and the rest was alright. That is, until Vandenburg. At this point, the enter-MJ12-facility-do-the-same-shit was getting really old. I really would have liked to have seen a lot more story-oriented scenes at the end of the game. There wasn't nearly enough stuff on the Illuminati either; they could have done so much with that ... and I was also really hoping to get back with the NSF and stage a military-like coup with them doing the fighting and me helping them behind the scenes. Too much solo action and way too many transgenics for anyone except those who played it closer to an FPS. I hated the ocean lab (sorry Shocklings) ... but I'll explain why in the next section ...
(2) Unreal - at times the game was absolutely gorgeous, Versalife in particular (that huge MJ12 sculpture you see in the opening movie). Okay, it was gorgeous all the way through. I can't think of anything that wasn't visually pleasing and totally immersive. However, it was far too buggy on my system (terrible voodoo2 drivers in win2k), especially in the ocean lab and area 51 (the large open expanse levels). The game would totally freeze, requiring a reboot (yes, even with windows 2000) sometimes 7 or 8 times in a sitting. This was unacceptable. Other glide games work great so I can't put too much blame on the voodoo2. This freezing, combined with the bad pacing of the end levels (except Area 51 Sector 4 -- that was great), led me to do a terrible thing -- I cheated. Yes. I made judicious use of God mode and summoned LAWs, mostly because I had neither the time nor the patience to infiltrate more stuff with a very unstable system. I just wanted to advance the story and get to the good stuff ... it all seemed to be building to a point where it would all come together and blow my mind ... but it didn't. Which brings me to my next point:
(3) The Ending(s) - having three endings kicked absolute ass. They were very suspenseful and fun to play, but the epilogue for each one sucked a lot. They really skimped out on the ending cinematics, especially since the opening one is superb (even if it gives too much away).
Overall I loved the game. The sound, music, and voice acting were all great, as were the graphics and gameplay. I just wanted to touch on those points above since they're not what I've read elsewhere and will probably stimulate some discussion.
I'm likey forgetting a lot that I want to say; hopefully it will come out in future posts.
Phydeaux on 19/10/2001 at 15:14
I think I have to disagree on the "Low replay value" bit. Even a great game like Halflife gets old after the second time, but Deus Ex never ceases to supprise me. 6 times completed, start to finish (and several dozen on second level--god damn that one's good), and it's always different. I find things I've never found, hear conversations I'd never heard, etc. Played it Schwartzenager the first time? Play it Garrett the second. The only (FPS) games anywhere near the level of replayability are SS2 and Deus Ex 2 (we can only assume...).
Where else can you spend hours shooting pool (drunk) in a dingy, smoke filled bar, and get shot at by the bartender with a sawed-off if you make trouble? Or shoot pidgeons out of the air with a GEP gun? Or get the entire UNATCO chasing a cleaner bot?
buglunch on 20/10/2001 at 00:46
2.Try with very different augs+weapons.
3.Hacking is just plain fun!
14.I kept waiting for more story usage of 'zyme.
16.Lasers ain't radar (of course).
23.Spiderbots and dumbass AI are the terrors.
24.Where exactly is this?
25.May be play on idea that Helios+Denton= close to literal Deus Ex Machina, not the dramatic convention.
26.Phosphorus rockets; yum! Saved and initialled with care and love especially for those buggers.
27.HW, IMHO.
34.Coding skills most likely needed.I'm only conversant w/UnrealEd.
36.Find two faves and crank 'em! (e.g. Stealth pistol and GEP or Sniper rifle and mini-crossbow).
37.Nein.
38.I did this: patch SP to taste and finish once at least, then patch for MP if desired.
Rock on.
D`JK on 20/10/2001 at 21:40
WP rockets work against the spiders?
That's cool, though I would never have thought fire particularly effective against robots. Hence me never trying that, I guess :)
buglunch on 20/10/2001 at 23:54
It's the gift that keeps on giving if more are coming at you.Yessirree, bubba!
Keeper Hellzon on 21/10/2001 at 16:07
Quote:
Originally posted by Bogeyman:
<STRONG>Anna Navarre is supposed to be from Israel, btw, if my memory serves me.</STRONG>
Israel? Never saw THAT in the game. Myself, I thought she was supposed to be russian. Or maybe french. (Well, you HAVE heard the terrible french accent in SS2, right? ;) )
Lilacs and Nettles on 27/1/2002 at 01:21
Miscellaneous followups here:
Non-eutactic vs. non-eutectic: these are two different terms. "Eutactic" has meaning in the context of nanotech research: see <a href="http://www.foresight.org/Nanosystems/glossary/glossary_e.html#Eutactic" target="_blank">http://www.foresight.org/Nanosystems/glossary/glossary_e.html#Eutactic</a> for a definition. The NEB's are nanotech-based devices capable of functioning in a chaotic, "real-world" environment, as opposed to a "clean", eutactic environment. Also, as far as the term "spreading", popular usage of it probably comes much more from Neal Stephenson's _The Diamond Age_ than Deus Ex.
Anna Navarre: The thing about her being Israeli is mentioned in her bio on the Deus Ex website, but never in the game.
Grundbegriff on 27/1/2002 at 01:44
Quote:
Originally posted by Lilacs and Nettles:<br /><strong>Anna Navarre: The thing about her being Israeli is mentioned in her bio on the Deus Ex website, but never in the game.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Incorrect.
Lilacs and Nettles on 28/1/2002 at 02:09
Quote:
Originally posted by Grundbegriff:<br /><strong>
Incorrect.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Er...which bit are you claiming is incorrect? From the US version of the Deus Ex website:<br />
<br />Name: Anna Navarre<br />Rank: Colonel<br />Nationality: Israeli<br /><br />(This is in the Flash site, if you click on "Art" at the bottom, and then on "Characters" in the upper left and click through till you get to Anna.)
As for it being mentioned in the game, I've never heard anything about it in several play-throughs, and a search through all the .U files in the system directory reveals no occurences of the string "Israel", so I'm pretty sure it's not referenced in the game at all.
stimpy4919 on 7/2/2002 at 20:26
Hiya Daxim,
Was wondering where you’d been hiding – your absence in the SS2 forums was the cause of much concern… :cheeky:
Anyway glad you finished DX and in the main I’m pleased to see you enjoyed it :)
Comments / answers to some of your comments…
Quote:
Hey man! Where's my background story?! Isn't there supposed to be a background story in the manual?
Background story’s in the opening sequence and picked up as the game progresses…
Quote:
Low replay value for me - very story driven. I'll replay it in a couple of months when I will have forgotten most of the details - or immediately if one of you can confirm that a higher degree of difficulty changes the game in a significant way. Maybe it becomes more fun if I go on a mad allies killing spree, thus cutting myself off valuable extra supplies.
Low replay value? – come on… :confused:
DX has probably the highest replay value of any game I know...
You want low replay value try playing Red Fuct-ion :eww:
The plot is unaltered by the higher skill levels as it really just alters the damage levels making things harder, that said there’s so many ways to do things in the game that you should easily get three or four good replays out of it
Quote:
The ocean thingie was very Shock-like. I liked that one most. I liked the roof hopping level 2nd best.
It was supposed to be… Harvey Smiths on record somewhere saying that Ocean Lab was the design teams tribute to SS/SS2, similarly the Paris Cathedral area is also a loose tribute to another LGS classic: Thief :)
Btw… when Icarus first phones you in the DuClare mansion don’t you just think SHODAN???
Quote:
What's the vindication for the game's title?
A good explanation can be found at: (
http://www.matthewmiller.net/html/games/Deus_Ex_Religion.html)
Quote:
What is the best order in modifying my weapons? Which weapon should receive ugrades first? Should I concentrate on 1 weapon or spread my modifiers between them all?
Full skill on Sniper Rifle is pretty awesome and rather useful when bypassing cameras...
Quote:
All in all the game has very few flaws and but oh so many fine delectable things. It will always be revered among my top 10. But will DX part 2 suck in very much the same way like Highlander 2 sucked? (You see, the story is basically over.)
Nope… I very much doubt it will suck…
Warren Spector, Harvey Smith and the rest of the ISA team (including many ex LGS’ers) have enough integrity, skill, talent etc. to deliver a first class product – personally I can't wait for it to be released but I know I’ll have to (booo! :( )
Still I have a strong suspicion that Thief III will be released first (i.e. Winter 2002) and that should hopefully keep me going till DX2 :thumb:
Now to find out if Caprice has finished the game yet... :)
Laters...
*Stimpy*
