I love the original Deus Ex. It's probably the best single player experience I've ever had on a PC. It is the standard I hold for RPG/Action adventure hybrid games. And while there are some games that have delivered on better the pure action elements, and some that have delivered more on the story side, I don't really think any game other than maybe MGSV has given me the same degree of tactical satisfaction in terms of being able to take different approaches to get the job done.
But for some reason I just can't get into the modern incarnations of the genre. Doesn't matter if it's the new DXes, or Dishonored, or Prey (which granted is more like Bio/System Shock) something about them just doesn't grab me. And Beyond my complaints about specific art and story side elements, like Dishonored 1's freaky Victorian cartoon people and DX's really dippy handling of the augmentation/discrimination metaphor, I think part of that might be modern game trends.
To put it simply... Deus Ex was not a very pretty game, even at the time it came out. Part of that is because it's from that era of 3D games where you need a degree of insane creative genius to look good (MGS, Vagrant Story). But because of that, it really gave the feel of being built for utility. Levels, weapons, and abilities were all about giving you creative options for dealing with your tasks.
I try Dishonored and the S-E DXes and there's just... too much of an emphasis on things looking cool instead of feeling cool. You have incredibly OP "cinematic" looking abilities (that are then balanced by really dubious resource management systems). And I think that something about this sort of thing echoes throughout the whole of these games' design. I never feel like I have the same amount of options I can take. Scenarios feel more tightly constructed.I just don't have the same feeling of being able to choose whatever approach strikes me as most amusing in the same way.
I get more of that oldschool feeling from games like Breath of the Wild or MGSV or Farcry 2 than I do from the new Deus Ex games. And that makes me sad because dammit I really love DX1.
It's also a shame that Rockstar is so addicted to their super heavily scripted style of mission structure, because there'd be plenty of chances to do cool shit like that in their open world games if they embraced player freedom... instead of embracing cinematic "coolness"
But for some reason I just can't get into the modern incarnations of the genre. Doesn't matter if it's the new DXes, or Dishonored, or Prey (which granted is more like Bio/System Shock) something about them just doesn't grab me. And Beyond my complaints about specific art and story side elements, like Dishonored 1's freaky Victorian cartoon people and DX's really dippy handling of the augmentation/discrimination metaphor, I think part of that might be modern game trends.
To put it simply... Deus Ex was not a very pretty game, even at the time it came out. Part of that is because it's from that era of 3D games where you need a degree of insane creative genius to look good (MGS, Vagrant Story). But because of that, it really gave the feel of being built for utility. Levels, weapons, and abilities were all about giving you creative options for dealing with your tasks.
I try Dishonored and the S-E DXes and there's just... too much of an emphasis on things looking cool instead of feeling cool. You have incredibly OP "cinematic" looking abilities (that are then balanced by really dubious resource management systems). And I think that something about this sort of thing echoes throughout the whole of these games' design. I never feel like I have the same amount of options I can take. Scenarios feel more tightly constructed.I just don't have the same feeling of being able to choose whatever approach strikes me as most amusing in the same way.
I get more of that oldschool feeling from games like Breath of the Wild or MGSV or Farcry 2 than I do from the new Deus Ex games. And that makes me sad because dammit I really love DX1.
It's also a shame that Rockstar is so addicted to their super heavily scripted style of mission structure, because there'd be plenty of chances to do cool shit like that in their open world games if they embraced player freedom... instead of embracing cinematic "coolness"