Deus Ex HR gives hope to gamers everywhere

The new Deus Ex game is great. What makes it so great? It's great because it has the balls to do something that most games these days don't: stick to its roots. Sure, there are minor changes here and there, but Deus Ex is a game that recognizes it came from somewhere. The developers didn't act like they were geniuses from heaven here to bestow upon us their vision. No, they knew that there were already a lot of Deus Ex fans so they did everything with the fans in mind. Eidos Montreal (and their owners, Square Enix) could have easily given us yet another Bioshock wannabe and slapped the Deus Ex name on it.

But no. They actually did their homework and made a very good game.

Why does this game give hope to gamers everywhere? Four reasons:

1) Deus Ex HR shows that some developers actually CAN do a franchise reboot properly. This same team is handling the upcoming Thief 4, and after seeing how gracefully they dealt with the Deus Ex IP, I can't wait to see what they do with the Thief franchise. Heck, it even gives me a glimmer of hope that other upcoming franchise reboots like Tomb Raider and X-COM might actually....be decent

2) Deus Ex shows that a new studio can do incredible things. We are so used to sequels made by the same handful of game developers. The industry is always abuzz about Bethesda's new game, Bioware's new game, Activision's new game, Insomniac's new game, etc. etc. But here, we see a completely new and unproven developer step up and tango with the big boys.

3) Deus Ex shows that things from the past are just as good today. It shows that when you make a first-person shooter, you don't have to go the Call of Duty route just to make a game worth it. It shows that there are good ideas from past eras of gaming that we've forgotten, and maybe it's time to explore them again and reevaluate how fun they are.

4) It shows that there's a glimmer of hope for Square-Enix. Yeah, they're piddling away their Final Fantasy franchise, but at least they're willing to support intellegent developers like Eidos Montreal. Bravo, Square-Enix. If you do this well with Thief 4 and the new Tomb Raider, then you will have won back a bit of my trust.

[nskrishna2]

Agreed
HR is a great reboot and sure as hell a GOTY contender this year....
Frankly, I was a bit scared that this reboot was gonna destroy all those memories with Deus Ex, but I had no idea this would be such an awesome reboot....Square Enix is getting back on track now...at least...I hope they are

[BiggCMan]

I have heard amazing things from the new game, but more so from the original. I have never played it actually. Would you say that I would be able to get into this game without playing the original games, or is it highly recommended for story purposes?

[Ducky]

HR is a prequel, so playing the first game isn't necessary.

There's a few things that reference the future (i.e. DeusEx1) but it's mostly self-contained.

[dedicatedtogamers]

If you play the first game and you pay attention to the storyline and the details, then DE:HR has a TON of little details that will really resonate with you.

That said, DE:HR should be fun to play on its own without playing other games in the series.

[evrfighter]

prequels and reboots are entirely different btw but other than that good read

[Otheros00]

"and their owners, Square Enix"

I disagree with this. This game was clearly in development way before they got bought. If it was up to SE it would become another cod.

[JellyJelly]

It's not the publishers who develop the games. Deus Ex is made by a team called Eidos Montreal and is only published by SquareEnix.

[Ducky]

"Deus Ex HR shows that some developers actually CAN do a franchise reboot properly."

I don't consider HR as a reboot of the franchise. It's a prequel, and it changes a few things, but it's still a DeusEx game.

---
What pleased me so much about DeusEx was that it was a proper DeusEx game. It felt like a game made by the same team that made the original.

When I first played DeusEx, Thief and SystemShock2, I was expecting them to be the future of the FPS genre. Choices and freedom... yet for some odd reason FPS games have degenerated back to their linear corridor-shooting roots.

Eidos has been on a roll lately. They had a hand in ArkhamAsylum, JustCause2 was awesome, and now HumanRevolution.
I'm not to keen on the new Hitman game, but I have faith that they're smart enough to know what they're doing. Their only problem is that they've made some pretty atrocious games as well (such as Kane&Lynch2)

[JellyJelly]

"Eidos has been on a roll lately. They had a hand in ArkhamAsylum, JustCause2 was awesome, and now HumanRevolution."

Again, credit should go to Rocksteady, Avalanche and Eidos Montreal for making those games.

"I'm not to keen on the new Hitman game, but I have faith that they're smart enough to know what they're doing. Their only problem is that they've made some pretty atrocious games as well (such as Kane&Lynch2)"

That would be IO Interactive, who are the devs behind Hitman and Kan & Lynch. I actually enjoyed Kane & Lynch 2. It was short but great in co-op.

[rjgbyrne]

I love Kane and lynch 2 as well... I think youre a mushroom chopping Mario lover mate! Ha ha! If the new womb raider and shitman are half the quality of Deus Ex the will get my dollar just as they did with the excellent k&l2

[soundslike]

The only thing holding HR back from a 100% true Deus EX experience, is the start of the game. They should have dunked you in the midst of the overwhelming options immediately and told you to learn to swim. That first couple of hours in the original Deus EX of "REALLY? HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO....oh, ok." doesn't come until after the "prologue". Thats really the only complaint I have with the game though.

Even in the old linear corridor shooters you at least had mobility.

actually even Wolfenstein 3D was open-but-directed with all of its secret areas and locked doors.

and I will defend Kane and Lynch, lol. Its just a highly misunderstood game. Its funny that people are getting all hype about that heist game coming out, considering...

[Godmars290]

As someone missing turn based combat and surrealism, something other than first person perspective, Deus Ex does not show hope for me. Just to opposite in fact.

[Tony P]

I agree in a fashion.

Deus Ex was already half a shooter from the jump. The transition is not so difficult. All they had to do was keep in most of the elements which made it unique for the original fans.

But try to update something classic that doesn't have shooting or isn't action-based and you get the disparity of X-COMs and Dragon Age 2s.

[Solidus187-SCMilk]

well I dont see how you can expect deus ex not to be a FPS when it has always been one. They have added a TPS mode too. It is a Stealth FPS/TPS RPG, and not a typical FPS.

But if you dont like FPS at all then you wont like Dues ex.

[Godmars290]

I made a comment in general. And in general it seems that FP, 3D and realtime gameplay are being overly focused on. To the point other types of game making for "main" titles are being forgotten. Regulated to XBL/PSN.

Got nothing against Dues Ex, but as Tony P says X-com fans would likely want to see something turn based and isometric.

[Ramses3]

I don't know about you guys, but I am totally pumped for the new thief game!
Although if they change the view to 3rd person I will cry.

[Rashonality]

IO Interactive should learn a lesson about not ignoring what make the game great and what the fans are expecting rather than publicly stating that they don;t care about what the fans think.

[Hicken]

I was with you until the hate on Final Fantasy. I still have yet to be disappointed in one. That's just me, though.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Final Fantasy has been like saturday detention after FFX.

[Hicken]

Never had that, so I don't know what it's like. What I DO know is that I haven't been overly bothered by any of the changes in ANY FF. Perhaps a big part of that is because I had branched out beyond FF at the time of X and everything after it; with experiences from different franchises fresh in my mind, maybe I was more able to accept the changes than others.

Whatever the case, I found XII to be the most complete title of the series (that I've played and finished). X-2 was interesting for its view of a recently saved world struggling to find a new identity in the face of its primary support pillar being destroyed. XIII gave me a sense of despair as everything I did to rebel was ultimately exactly what was expected of me by someone who wished to use me to destroy the world, and engaged me in battles in a completely unique way.

Inbetween all these games, I played .hack, Xenosaga, Persona, Valkyria Chronicles, and others. The changes from the FF "norm" hardly bothered me.

[shadowboricua]

Tomb Raider? Was Tomb Raider ever good?

[Fez]

The first 3 have great nostalgia value for lots of folks, me included, but actually hasn't stood the test of time.

I would recommend the tomb raider trilogy though, anniversary is brilliant, legend was pretty fun but yet to play underworld. Great collection.

[bunfighterii]

I'm really itching to get into this game. I bought it on Sunday and between work and girlfriend, I haven't had a chance to get past first mission yet. Can't wait for the weekend!

[Odion]

My concern is if the next game will be as good, Dragon Age was a great homage and back to the roots of what made RPG's fun and exciting, and the game sold great and was a critical success. And yet Dragon Age 2 comes around and they cut the meat off of most of the stuff, they took away some of the depth in combat, the customization with armor and weapons, the open world.

[Solidus187-SCMilk]

Im really happy with how this game turned out. The original is one of my favorite games ever. After the somewhat of a letdown that the second DX game was, this game is finally the sequel that the first game deserves.

Single player FPS are my favorite type of game and Deus ex 3 is a great game for me. Its exactly the type of FPS I want more of.

edit--I was worried about them adding the 3rd person to the game, but they did a really good job with that and made the 3rd person controls as good as full fledged 3ps.

To me I just use the 3ps instead of peeking around the corners like in the first one on PC, but mostly play it in FPS still.