Hey Deus Ex fans, I just beat DX: Invisible War and don't understand the hate

hosndosn · 1 year

"Compared to Deus Ex..."

It's been said over and over again: This is the main complaint. If you make a DX sequel, you will be judged more harshly.

I very much played through the game and loved certain aspects. They actually pushed the long-term choice elements and there are hints of brilliance left in the story (although the ending seemed oddly trashy).

It's just... less. Less game. Less RPG elements, less customization, less content, less depth, less atmosphere, less freedom of movement... It feels like they took DX1, added a new story and then cut half the content.

Last but not least this was the first time a PC version of a game was severely crippled because of the port from console. This game invented the term "consolized", it's the reason people started to get grumpy about it. They very much admitted that the RAM restrictions of the XBox were the reason for the claustrophobic levels. The interface doesn't recognize the mouse for even the most obvious tasks and is over-sized and low-res. There are less slots for everything... why? Because there are less buttons on a console controller. Ammo types, how messy... let's have every single gun, from rocket launchers to tranquillizer darts, use the same ammo type!

I say, it's worth playing and getting cheap in some bundle with DX1. But thinking of the potential wasted here, which is what most of the biggest critics are probably doing, is just painful.

TeethofBusey · 1 year

I don't like the shared-ammo system. I didn't care for the parenthesis-looking interface (personal preference, maybe). I hated how frequently loading zones interrupted the gameplay. I also remember being pretty disappointed from having high hopes for the game based on the trailer they released for it (which ended up being the intro, I believe).

I do, however, still have fond memories of playing the game. Those memories have been mostly buried since I've been on reddit for a year now and have probably been a little influenced by the masses here. I want to go back and play before DE3 comes out it to see if the loading times still annoy me or if maybe I just had a really slow CD-ROM drive when the game first came out.

killzegogglemedic1st · 1 year

Basically, DX2 had nothing that was equivalent to the following:

Stealthily scout around; find barracks or break room full of bad guys.
Throw tear gas grenade
Run in w/ Dragons Tooth and kill them all.
Reflect upon the unfairness of it all as you collect their stuff.

rampantdissonance · 1 year

One of the only things that hasn't been said is the aesthetic was really lacking. DX1 had a very minimalist depiction. Post industrial cyber punk, I guess you could call it. It felt adequately futuristic, but still grim and stark. Invisible War felt like they were trying to be as generic as possible in a sci-fi setting.

Ventura · 1 year

The game is average. Its not really bad, but its not remotely good either.

I've played the game till the end and to me it felt like a really small, linear and claustrophobic version of the original.

The story wasn't memorable, not like the original. The severely cut down content, the CONSTANT loading and all this was just so they could turn more of a buck on consoles.

People hate on it, because it has the responsibility of taking the Deus Ex story onward.

Its is very much like the Star Wars franchise, the new 3 films weren't all that bad to some fans, but hardcore watchers that grew up with the originals see them as a bitter joke to their past memories of the first 3.

No Invisible War isn't bad, if they didn't use the storyline of Deus Ex it would have probably silently died in time as an average FPS, but those that played the first do not forget, or forgive...

Now you understand the hate. Now stop rubbing salt in the wound.

abluecardigan · 1 year

It was heavily bastardized, but that's the nature of console games. Sorry, console players, but there's a lot less you can do with a controller totalling ~20 different buttons versus a keyboard. Even with literally every aspect of the game being simplified, it was still quite enjoyable. I'm not sure where the hate comes from, but I imagine it's more disappointment over how the sequel was so much less than the first. Weapon upgrading, dialogue, level design, biomods, the inventory, hacking, even ammunition... all quite simplistic when compared to the original. Deus Ex is praised for its gameplay options, and when so many are removed and Invisible War's gameplay is reduced to W + M1, people will probably get annoyed. As an aside, the loading every 45 seconds got old incredibly quickly.

I guess some people would argue that it's nostalgia goggles, but I played through Deus Ex for the first time about two months ago, and played through Invisible War immediately afterwards. Deus Ex is without a doubt of the finest games I've ever played. Invisible War just feels a bit unimpressive. There are very few shooters that come anywhere near it in terms of design or versatility 10 years later. Nothing in the game felt at all like a gimmick designed to extend playing time or make it slightly less dull, everything fit together perfectly and was an essential part of the game.

I'm also still annoyed by the entire Denton is Helios thing, as it feels lazy to simply combine all three endings when a few dialogue trees would have been enough to continue the ending you chose in the first game. KoTOR 2 did it fairly well.

I would list my other complaints, but it's basically everything in the game aside from shooting, which is one of the few things Invisible War managed to do better than Deus Ex - but then again, Deus Ex wasn't exactly meant to be played with standard FPS mechanics. There was something lost in the creation of the sequel, especially towards the end of the game where it devolved in to bullet sponge after bullet sponge, with few real options how deal with them. Shoot them or run past them invisible because they're just going to waste your time and your ammunition. Ick. What happened to being able to crawl through air ducts or set loose angry robots to do my work for me?

MsgGodzilla · 1 year

Console trash.

Axius · 1 year

I would say it's because compared to the depth and options of the first game, it felt like a console port. Not to mention when it first came out it ran pretty shite for me, which didn't help.

Now when I play it, it has a tendancy to just CTD for no reason. I don't think it WANTS me to finish it.

G_Morgan · 1 year

It is a decent game. Just not a worthy success to Deus Ex. It is the same old bullshit (recently perpetrated by the SupCom team). Awesome game comes out and gains a following. A dumbed down second release is made to appeal to the outsiders who are wondering what the fuss is about.

The thing is we want classic games. We want to spend out time making quips about saving the planet with a crowbar, references to a non-existent cake and statements about needing more vespene gas. Deus Ex was a game this good. Deus Ex 2 wasn't. We had hoped for a classic.

If the fans have expectations of a classic then good simply doesn't cut it.

SlowClap · 1 year

Thank you. It is a good game. Not as good as the first, but better than most games.

I was mostly bugged that JC Denton was caucasian and there was no option to alter. Although he is an NPC in the sequel, I played black JC in the first game and it really took me out of the second. Not a big thing, but it stuck out.

baggytheo · 1 year

I liked Invisible War more than the original Deus Ex, even in spite of it's flaws. So shoot me.

grazzhoppa · 1 year

I also found the ending of Invisible War to be fantastic.

My issues with the game are technical.

The user interface was the worst I've had with an inventory FPS game - it was clearly made for low resolution TV screens. The inventory system was inadequate for the types and amounts of items you encountered in the game.
The "universal ammunition" gimmick was again a solution to cutting the game down for faster development/design - another product of it being a game designed for the XBox.
Loading times were ungodly slow; there were many, many loading areas. I found myself avoiding quests/missions because I knew I would have to suffer through 3 or 4 loading screens.

If they had spent the time to tailor the game for the PC before releasing to PC, it would've been parallel to the original in greatness. They instead took the technical and design limitations of the XBox and handed them over to PC users, which resulted in a mediocre PC game.

daysi · 1 year

On its own it would be an ok game, far from good, but not really horrible either. Compared to Deus Ex it's one of the worst travesties ever to grace a monitor.

heretushi · 1 year

At 10 bucks on Steam, I might try it. I remember playing the first one and getting stuck with a bug somewhere. I don't have the original anymore (and it was probably a copy anyway given I was in school and had no money for games back then). I'll probably buy the 20 bucks pack for both of them.

ClownsAteMyBaby · 1 year

I bought it preowned for xbox and the game froze at the beginning of every ending cutscene. I had played through it and enjoyed it but couldn't see the ending (any of them). Pissed me off at the time as I didn't have internets and couldn't just youtube it. I enjoyed the gaming itself though, although I've never actually played DX1 sooo....

Alternicity · 1 year

I liked DXIW, despite its flaws. Small level size was the worst thing, but it had plenty of cool stuff. I reckon the hate took on some momentum of its own, becoming the thing to say.

A revamped dx 1+2 in a new engine would be nice...the stories were wicked.

yogthos · 1 year

I personally feel the same way, it was a very good game, and the story was very enjoyable, so what if it wasn't exactly like the first one.

resonanttoe · 1 year

The main thing I didn't like about DX2 was the ending.

Great game and I can overlook the obvious porting cockups and a good story with dynamic choices that had impact. Loved that aspect. But then you get to the end and its a real let down of a finishing sequence. I would have like to seen a properly developed cutscene for each ending path. It would have given the game more replay value too. But after being lumped with effectively a screen saying.. Oh yes, JC did this because of you.. Congratulation... I felt no compulsion to go back and see the others.

Stickyresin · 1 year

I actually just got done playing it for the first time a few days ago. It held my attention long enough to beat it, which i guess is a good thing, but it just felt like a poor imitation of the first Deus Ex. Everything about it was inferior, even the enemy AI (which, if you've played DE, is saying a lot).

The hate comes from the expectation that the sequel to such a great game would be even better, or at least on par. Instead what we got is a generic shooter that claims to give the player choices because they threw in a few air-ducts.

szukai · 1 year

That's the whole point, the first game was really good. It's sequel was a big disappointment because it was sadly, worse than the first one in areas more than one.

If we don't make the comparison, then it's just another hybrid FPS.

[deleted] · 1 year

Same. I loved the story and my ending.

ponzicar · 1 year

There are three factors that made me enjoy the game. I played it on the xbox, and I hadn't played the first Deus Ex. Plus I loved throwing ragdoll corpses into dumpsters and basketball hoops.

SweatyArmpitGirl · 1 year

It's simply an average, underwhelming game. Not something people expected from the sequel to one of the best PC games ever, and expectations were fair given the hype built up about it.

The fact levels were miniscule compared to the original DX levels and that they absurdly simplified the interface/interaction annoyed me.

oldstoneface · 1 year

As "meh" as Invisible War was, I have a feeling it will be redeemed in comparison to DX3 .

BrewmasterSG · 1 year

One thing in invisible war's favor The possible ending mission of "Kill EVERYONE" made me so happy

DefaultGen · 1 year

I have a question why the loading screen is separates from the screen. I will go to different levels, the game will minimize while a loader loads the loading levels for the game to pop back.

klohkwherk · 1 year

I think it's a kind of Godfather: part III scenario - The game is actually great, it's just not on the same level as the original.

Kaith · 1 year

I would have to agree with you there. If you try not to think about its origins too much, you realize that it's actually quite a solid game. I lament the shared ammo, the lack of reloading, no weapon statistics, small level sizes - but when you get right down to it, it's a hell of a lot of fun. It's especially nice once you add a few high-res texture packs to remove some of the visual console-itis. Of course, still no fix for the eternity of loading screens. I'm still glad that I bought it.

alephip · 1 year

Now play "Project Snowblind" and see what you think.

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