Since we don't seem to have a general game recommendation thread going (or at least haven't had one in the last year or so), I figured I'd create one just for this game. Both because it deserves it, and because it's a successor to a legend.
After having enjoyed the original Deus Ex thoroughly and being disappointed in its sequel, which was made by a different team and didn't deliver, I had low expectations of then-upcoming third game. Although
the trailer that got me acquainted with the game was mildly impressive and well-directed, it didn't tell much, if at all, about the gameplay, or direction, or anything at all, really, except having nice music (again, in the particular trailer), and putting the game into perspective of the Deus Ex universe's timeline. By then people had already started joking about DX3 being targeted at even stupider general audience than DX2. So I put it off until release to monitor some peer reviews from fellow players and see if the game is worth getting.
So, the release time has come... and to put it shortly: the success was unexpected. Completely. It's not as original or groundbreaking as Deus Ex was in 2000, but, to be fair, it's impossible to top culturally significant works after they'd already become contemporary classics. So what is it that Eidos Montreal and Square-Enix have made? They've made a kickass game that does justice to the name Deus Ex. I'm honestly amazed a contemporary AAA-grade title could captivate me so much that even after having completed the game I'm still reeling from the experience.
Wow.
So, to avoid spoilers and such, I'll sum up the most important aspects in comparison to the original DX:
— the gameplay has become more stealth-oriented, think Metal Gear Solid 2;
— as usual, you can solve most tasks in at least two different ways;
— the game is longer (subjectively at least) and there are more sidequests;
— attention to small details and the amount of obscure references is at least as high as in DX;
— as with the original, there are some augmentations that make the game
much easier, and there are those completely worthless;
— the music, while not as memorable as Alex Brandon's on the whole, is ace;
— many events, such as takedowns, Typhoon activation, or Icarus-assisted landing, have animations, that, while unskippable, are very cool (the takedowns have around 15 or so variations depending if you want to engage one or two opponents at once, or if you want to deliver a killing blow);
— there are lots of MGS series-quality FMV cutscenes;
— there are now shops where you can not only buy, but also sell equipment;
— melee weapons have all been abolished in favor of takedowns;
— individual weapon type skills were also abolished in favor of more general skill trees, and the available arsenal has been drastically reduced (12 weapons + a handful of explosives);
— level design is even better than in DX in both tactical and visual aspects;
— there is auto-regenerating health now that slowly kicks in when HP is below 100; in general the game had become somewhat easier.
Decide for yourself whether those are better or worse. There are no major annoyances except poor mouse cursor detection in the hacking GUI. I haven't encountered any game-breaking glitches so far, either.
I'd rate this game 9/10 upon the initial playthrough on the PC version,
Give me challenge difficulty. I'll definitely return to it sometime later and attempt to complete it in other ways. The first playthrough, completionist-style, took me roughly 30 hours of pure play.
(I think I'm going to replay the original game after this, just to refresh my memory. :D)
[EDIT]
Done so. Changed the mark to 8/10.
The girl to the left is my old friend and a crewmate. Behind is the Dniester, overflown after several rainfalls in the Carpathians. Here's a full-size version.
