Zero Punctuation: Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
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It's amazing that so many gamers share the opinion on this:
A very good game, could've been better (true about everything)--has some rather obvious issues we all scratch our heads about, but in the end is worth the money and was good fun.
I also share that opinion, but is this because the industry has gotten so good at catering to our tastes safely--that is, just good enough to be good, but without them taking the risk that it might be great or fail? Or is it because we've gotten so used to games not being great that it no longer bothers us when it's more of the same but just a little different to justify buying it?
I think it's a bit of both of those. We all want our eye candy and our "deep" story and our great game concepts, but those things tend to also have luxury pricetags, which means no one's going to make that game and also have the game be any riskier than they have to. After all, they're not artists, they're in it for the money.
In all of history, people have never settled for less than they thought they could get. So I don't expect gamers to suddenly start lowering their expectations for games. Is our only hope then that the games industry (and it's doubly hard to imagine this when the word "industry" is used) begins to take more risks? I won't hold my breath, though--it's an industry, after all. It's only purpose is to make money.
I think and hope as technology advances that we pass out of the labor-intensive era into one in which a small group or even an individual can make a "good enough" game, and still focus on some aspect(s) that they can make challenging--be it story, or gameplay, or characterization, etc.
End ramble.
A very good game, could've been better (true about everything)--has some rather obvious issues we all scratch our heads about, but in the end is worth the money and was good fun.
I also share that opinion, but is this because the industry has gotten so good at catering to our tastes safely--that is, just good enough to be good, but without them taking the risk that it might be great or fail? Or is it because we've gotten so used to games not being great that it no longer bothers us when it's more of the same but just a little different to justify buying it?
I think it's a bit of both of those. We all want our eye candy and our "deep" story and our great game concepts, but those things tend to also have luxury pricetags, which means no one's going to make that game and also have the game be any riskier than they have to. After all, they're not artists, they're in it for the money.
In all of history, people have never settled for less than they thought they could get. So I don't expect gamers to suddenly start lowering their expectations for games. Is our only hope then that the games industry (and it's doubly hard to imagine this when the word "industry" is used) begins to take more risks? I won't hold my breath, though--it's an industry, after all. It's only purpose is to make money.
I think and hope as technology advances that we pass out of the labor-intensive era into one in which a small group or even an individual can make a "good enough" game, and still focus on some aspect(s) that they can make challenging--be it story, or gameplay, or characterization, etc.
End ramble.
First time I stopped a review due to spoilers even if there aren't any and it's all in good humor...
...BUT WE CAN'T TAKE THAT CHANCE!
Annnnywho. I knew he'd like it to a point, because the issues like boss fights are glaring. In the first boss fight, I was told of a non-gunplay tactic as my character was quiet and hacking-orientated however throwing explosive barrels a'la Donkey Kong isn't really an improvement.
...BUT WE CAN'T TAKE THAT CHANCE!
Annnnywho. I knew he'd like it to a point, because the issues like boss fights are glaring. In the first boss fight, I was told of a non-gunplay tactic as my character was quiet and hacking-orientated however throwing explosive barrels a'la Donkey Kong isn't really an improvement.
I have to agree with yahtzee here. DLC have been going crazy. Specially when most of them is just pure junk. This is something we can all blame on Microsoft. Before Microsoft made the xbox we got real expations. Which where better then the over price crap dlc we get today.
Second just like Yahtzee is saying. Game makers are spending way to much money on graphics and not enough time on game play/story.
Yes the game is good but it could have been epic. Sadly days of exclusive gaming has gone down the tolet. We all have to get the morden day orgy of half ass stuff. I still feel ripped off cause I am paying 60 dollars for games that can not even give me 100 hours worth of game play. Unlike the golden age. Where games where less then 50 and they gave you at less 250 hours.
Second just like Yahtzee is saying. Game makers are spending way to much money on graphics and not enough time on game play/story.
Yes the game is good but it could have been epic. Sadly days of exclusive gaming has gone down the tolet. We all have to get the morden day orgy of half ass stuff. I still feel ripped off cause I am paying 60 dollars for games that can not even give me 100 hours worth of game play. Unlike the golden age. Where games where less then 50 and they gave you at less 250 hours.
My point is that many gamers are not satisfied with that--they want it all: the eye candy, the story, the concepts--everything. And they want it to be top of the line. Minecraft is great--and it sold pretty well for an indie, but it's not going to usher in an era of multimillion dollar studios making pixelated games based solely on concept or story for low prices, is it? That would be too risky. And as can be seen, many people if not most people want the big budget release.
Until the technology is further refined, things are not going to change much. It's certainly not in human nature to want less of something, especially when they've seen what more they could be getting.
Until the technology is further refined, things are not going to change much. It's certainly not in human nature to want less of something, especially when they've seen what more they could be getting.
Theres only one complaint I have with the review. How was Deus Ex 1 any different with the post ending? People said a few lines, theres a quote, and done. You never see your world changed because of you. In this one, Jensen talks about why he chose what he did, then it ends.
And I can sort of see his reasoning in the ending, but again, Deus Ex 1 was similar, except it had a space between each. In DE3 3 endings were optional to get, so that was the trek between endings, just done sooner.
Other than that good review.
And I can sort of see his reasoning in the ending, but again, Deus Ex 1 was similar, except it had a space between each. In DE3 3 endings were optional to get, so that was the trek between endings, just done sooner.
Other than that good review.
As long as it's not new locations. Soon as it's new locations, areas, characters it's more development time. So you get the loooonnnnggg hallway crawls, or two hours of going through generic labs to pad the game where the plot is basically any found memo's or letter scattered around.Fronzel said:
I think that's why some of the indie mods have been so good for all types of games. Use an engine that's a year or two old, spend the time on gameplay and story development. Not that they have much choice on their budget.
Same here although i was very close to the end. I paused it finished the game and went back to watching. Yes the end of the game is stock footage but I really liked the whole package, even the end felt complete to me. Although Human Revolution has its faults I really enjoyed it and it's a superb game. The boss fights are much less than they should have been but as a whole I am very glad I played Human Revolution and anyone who decides against playing it is cheating themselves.figday said:
And as usual very good review Yahtzee
Ya the grade system was a bit of an issue, I had every single aug i was even vaguely interested in about 2/3 of the way through the game. Some of them were just ridiculously pointless. Like the one that lets you take down 2 people at once, I can think of less than half a dozen spots in the entire game where that would even be possible. Or the one that adds cones of vision to the radar blips that are already directional arrows.
I also really hated the energy system. You have 2 power cells (you can upgrade to 5), that deplete at varying rates as you use abilities. A cell regenerates over time, but only if its not fully depleted. Depleted cells can only be recharged by eating the relatively rare powerbars scattered around the world. Except for your last cell which will regenerate even if fully depleted. But since only one cell will ever regenerate without the use of consumables it renders the upgrades that provide additional cells nearly useless. The only benefit that they provide is allowing a single extended use of cloaking. Thats annoying but makes sense, cloaking would be pretty overpowered otherwise. The goal is to only ever to use the cloak in 5-6 second bursts so that you don't drain the cell completely and it recharges, saving your energy for an emergency or a particularly hairy bit where 30 seconds of invisibility is worth it. Fine, decent design. trouble is take downs and wall breaking instantly use an entire bar. So unless your already on only 1 active bar using them is essentially a massive waste of energy. This might not be a problem on lower difficulties but on hard i used literally every single consumable i found in the whole game, and that was despite skipping past nearly every breakable wall, and avoiding take downs at all costs.
I also really hated the energy system. You have 2 power cells (you can upgrade to 5), that deplete at varying rates as you use abilities. A cell regenerates over time, but only if its not fully depleted. Depleted cells can only be recharged by eating the relatively rare powerbars scattered around the world. Except for your last cell which will regenerate even if fully depleted. But since only one cell will ever regenerate without the use of consumables it renders the upgrades that provide additional cells nearly useless. The only benefit that they provide is allowing a single extended use of cloaking. Thats annoying but makes sense, cloaking would be pretty overpowered otherwise. The goal is to only ever to use the cloak in 5-6 second bursts so that you don't drain the cell completely and it recharges, saving your energy for an emergency or a particularly hairy bit where 30 seconds of invisibility is worth it. Fine, decent design. trouble is take downs and wall breaking instantly use an entire bar. So unless your already on only 1 active bar using them is essentially a massive waste of energy. This might not be a problem on lower difficulties but on hard i used literally every single consumable i found in the whole game, and that was despite skipping past nearly every breakable wall, and avoiding take downs at all costs.
You need to click QUOTE at the bottom right of someone's post so they get a message saying you replied, otherwise a discussion is impossible.The-Fletch said:
And I agree, it looks very mediocre, I'm waiting for a sale too.
Ever heard the term "harsh, but fair"?
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To be honest, I think Yahtzee was a bit to fair on it, but hey.
The original keeps its title as the best game ever. Moving on
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To be honest, I think Yahtzee was a bit to fair on it, but hey.
The original keeps its title as the best game ever. Moving on
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You should definitely bother with it. There are certainly flaws and most of the things he mentions are indeed problems, but he doesn't really speak much of the incredible abundance of things that were done right.The-Fletch said:
Human Revolution feels like what PC games SHOULD BE LIKE, even if it does have a couple of flaws.
It really isn't mediocre at all. The attempts to highlight the negative qualities (especially in light of the number of glowing reviews) have really give it a bad rap. It's reasonable and it's worth pointing out that the game isn't perfect, but it makes it sound as if those completely overshadow all of the the positive qualities of the game. And the positive qualities far outshine any negative qualities.CardinalPiggles said:
Despite the handful of problems, I would say that DXHR was easily the best PC game I've played in the last year or so.
Yahtzee's complaints about the bosses only applies to the second one that has no real tricks to it. The first one can be killed without weapons (there are poison gas canisters and explosive cannisters lying around. toss a poison gas one which will stun him and follow up with an explosive. Then repeat)
the second boss just involves running around and shooting, so this is the bad one.
the third boss though does have a turret hacking thing. you can grab hacked turret from a bit earlier in the stage and bring it into the fight. if you do it right the turret will do all the work. You just have to not die.
the second boss just involves running around and shooting, so this is the bad one.
the third boss though does have a turret hacking thing. you can grab hacked turret from a bit earlier in the stage and bring it into the fight. if you do it right the turret will do all the work. You just have to not die.
I do agree with the boss fight thing, as does everyone and their mother besides that one article trying to say that "sometimes you can't get what you want and the game tells you that here." But otherwise, this is one of my favorite games now, hands down.
Also, Pritchard totally gets the stick out of his ass eventually. You can tell because he quits hating on Jensen after a while, and they turn into sort of "snarky buddies" or at least "snarky acquaintances." But maybe I just think Pritchard is the man.
Anyone who takes Yahtzee at full face value here and decides to skip the game, is really losing out. It's not the Perfectest Game Ever, because none of them are, but I'd say you should kick it up a few million notches in priority.
Also, Pritchard totally gets the stick out of his ass eventually.
You can tell because he quits hating on Jensen after a while, and they turn into sort of "snarky buddies" or at least "snarky acquaintances." But maybe I just think Pritchard is the man.Anyone who takes Yahtzee at full face value here and decides to skip the game, is really losing out. It's not the Perfectest Game Ever, because none of them are, but I'd say you should kick it up a few million notches in priority.