While I respect the points you make I have to disagree with alot of them.Knobody13 said:
First off, although it may seem like there is only one way to do things there is actually quite alot. for the very first mission when augmented, I found twenty ways to get through the first area (the area with only four guards). Secondly you have only played Deus Ex HR by yourself, which is already caused bias in your arguement. I, however, have seen two other people, besides me, play this game and the difference is actually quite jarring.
I was the more adventurous one who doesn't like people to know I was there, the one who likes "imaging the security guard stomping on his hat" as yahtzee put it, so I looked around and found a crate that allowed me to go around on the rooftops without anybody seeing me.
The second person was more like you. He would take out guards by knocking them out and explored very little.
The third was the action hero, killing everyone. It was here when I noticed the big difference, which comes as little surprise. The big surprise was that this was the casual CoD player, and he had no problem with the cover or the aiming from cover as you claimed was a problem; my buddy was popping of headshots like crazy and jumping around as the AI coordinated attacks and flanked as one or two would give supressing fire.
The second arguement you had was the stealth gameplay as the AI would go along fixed routes. However I really don't see the problem with this. Planning your attack and remembering the enemies routes are the key to a stealth game as it increases the satisfaction of success. Having an enemy notice his buddy wasn't there when timed would just turn satisfaction into frustrartion as his buddy turns around and gives you a buckshot sandwich.
Another thing, which I doubt you have done, is the satisfaction of outwitting the game when you say throw a box against a wall to attract attention and taking out the loner. This is goes into the creativity factor that the game has, and trust me I have used many different tactics besides 'throw box at wall'. Such as opening a door when a guard is looking and throwing a dead body in a corner so a guard will eventually see it when patrolling on his route.
Next is the kill/knockout difference. True, not killing them get you more points, but they can be woken up if spotted making your stealth life more difficult, seeing as you probably have the knockout weapons only which, in combat, is shit. Not to mention that the alarm would go off.
The second to last counter arguement is the takedowns. While I agree that stabbing someone is less noisy than beating someone into a pulp in real life, this game mechanic is based on the stealth non-lethal and the combat lethal. As stated in the above paragraph, stealth based players rely on non-lethal weapons while combat based players aren't really that worried about being caught because they have a minigun and frags.
Last but not least is your 'unbalanced' XP system. Look I not going to smooth ball it. You are just plain wrong, almost as if you had not given it much thought. It's simple, Combat is much easier and you don't have to worry much about surprise foes picking up their comrades. Stealth on the other hand is much riskier and takes much more time. Like I said much earlier I've seen the difference myself and combat is quicker and you pick up a fair amount of ammo, while stealth is the polar opposite. It is only natural that the XP system should be the same.
I'm not trying to change your views or anything, but you did say you wanted a discussion about it. Oh and before I forget, I also noticed the repetitve animtions
