I had to take Deus Ex back to the redbox kiosk today. I was at the point where I could no longer justify paying $2 a night to rent a game. It was hard to return it. I was really enjoying myself. I did, however, have a few issues.

Something I hadn’t noticed for the first few hours was the way people move during conversations. For one thing they stand in place. Why aren’t we walking around when we converse? Secondly, why are they waving their hands about as if they’re robots. Once I noticed it I couldn’t stop from seeing it. It probably shouldn’t have bothered me, but it’s annoying. Oh, and they bob their heads around in an unrealistic manner. I wouldn’t have minded these things if I hadn’t seen games before it doing a better job.

As I said before, the game’s been a treat to play. It’s nice to have options. I’m halfway through and I’ve yet to kill anyone. I take to the vents when I can, stay out of site and choke people when need be. It’s almost as powerful a feeling as wielding a heavy gun and mowing people down. They don’t know I’m there, I’ve been inside their offices and on their machines and there’s nothing they can do about it.

The voice acting leaves a little to be desired. I feel like The Dude and Clint Eastwood were paid handsomely for their voice work. For a game that takes its story and setting seriously, they could have sprung for better voice actors. It gets better as the game progresses, which I find odd. It’s bad enough to be jarring, and that doesn’t bode well for immersion.

Maybe my favorite aspect of the game is the way side quests and main missions intertwine. This is something I feel has been unmatched since Oblivion. When side story characters or actions affect or help to decide main quest missions I feel like the world is cohesive, as if I’m making a difference. Who doesn’t like the feeling of working on a main quest and someone mentioning a job I completed or about me helping someone. I love that.

In short, I can’t wait to finally pick this game up again and finish it.

I had to take Deus Ex back to the redbox kiosk today. I was at the point where I could no longer justify paying $2 a night to rent a game. It was hard to return it. I was really enjoying myself. I did, however, have a few issues.

Something I hadn’t noticed for the first few hours was the way people move during conversations. For one thing they stand in place. Why aren’t we walking around when we converse? Secondly, why are they waving their hands about as if they’re robots. Once I noticed it I couldn’t stop from seeing it. It probably shouldn’t have bothered me, but it’s annoying. Oh, and they bob their heads around in an unrealistic manner. I wouldn’t have minded these things if I hadn’t seen games before it doing a better job.

As I said before, the game’s been a treat to play. It’s nice to have options. I’m halfway through and I’ve yet to kill anyone. I take to the vents when I can, stay out of site and choke people when need be. It’s almost as powerful a feeling as wielding a heavy gun and mowing people down. They don’t know I’m there, I’ve been inside their offices and on their machines and there’s nothing they can do about it.

The voice acting leaves a little to be desired. I feel like The Dude and Clint Eastwood were paid handsomely for their voice work. For a game that takes its story and setting seriously, they could have sprung for better voice actors. It gets better as the game progresses, which I find odd. It’s bad enough to be jarring, and that doesn’t bode well for immersion.

Maybe my favorite aspect of the game is the way side quests and main missions intertwine. This is something I feel has been unmatched since Oblivion. When side story characters or actions affect or help to decide main quest missions I feel like the world is cohesive, as if I’m making a difference. Who doesn’t like the feeling of working on a main quest and someone mentioning a job I completed or about me helping someone. I love that.

In short, I can’t wait to finally pick this game up again and finish it.

When I talk to someone I often don't really move around that much. Anyway, there are some scenes specifically the interrogation type dialogues that involve a lot of walking about from the character. Sarif, Taggart etc. some other big name guys.

Yeah, the five dialog animations are pretty terrible.

Some people can't multi-task, i.e. talk and walk.

Yeah, the animations when talking to people (mainly Malik in my time with the game) are a low point in the overall quality of the game. 

You guys are nuts, I quite enjoy Malik's robot hands.

You guys are nuts, I quite enjoy Malik's robot hands.

@Napalm said:

You guys are nuts, I quite enjoy Malik's robot hands.

That's because she's augmented. In all fairness it is 2027.

@emergency said:

When I talk to someone I often don't really move around that much. Anyway, there are some scenes specifically the interrogation type dialogues that involve a lot of walking about from the character. Sarif, Taggart etc. some other big name guys.

I'm more animated when sitting and talking than they were when standing. If I'm not sitting, I'm walking and talking. Maybe I haven't gotten there yet, but I've yet to see a conversation with walking and talking. There have been cut-scenes like that, but nothing where I am making choices in dialogue.

For me, its more that characters seems afflicted with a mild palsy in dialogue scenes - either that or they are stimmed up and jittery (hey, it is a corporate-dystopian cyberpunk future). The heads and hands seem *twitchy* as they move.

To me it seems like they had to take parts of Jensens bladder when they augmented him because when he talks to people he jumps around like he really, really need to go to the bathroom. Quite funny in a way but just ridiculous when they're talking serious business.

I have to say aside from Portal 2, this is my favourite game of 2011 so far.

This is the best game of 2011, or easily one of the best, the only better game in my opinion might be Skyrim. So show some respect damn it!

Stiff animations especially the faces are one of the things I noticed even in the demo. It's a valid criticism after many games have done them so much better, Witcher 2 for example.

One must keep in mind however that this is the studio's first major project and they were a bit more concerned with trying to make the game that both honoured the original revered Deus Ex and was also aproachable by todays crowd.

Hopefully by their next game they will have learned a thing or 2 and improve the aesthetic part of the dialogue to match up with the great mechanical part of it.

@Tennmuerti said:

Stiff animations especially the faces are one of the things I noticed even in the demo. It's a valid criticism after many games have done them so much better, Witcher 2 for example.

One must keep in mind however that this is the studio's first major project and they were a bit more concerned with trying to make the game that both honoured the original revered Deus Ex and was also aproachable by todays crowd.

Hopefully by their next game they will have learned a thing or 2 and improve the aesthetic part of the dialogue to match up with the great mechanical part of it.

I suppose the excuse could be made that they were developing a game that is a prequel to a 2001 game. Thereby granting them permission to include terrible animations. That just seems a little too dedicated.

@Coreymw said:

@Tennmuerti said:

Stiff animations especially the faces are one of the things I noticed even in the demo. It's a valid criticism after many games have done them so much better, Witcher 2 for example.

One must keep in mind however that this is the studio's first major project and they were a bit more concerned with trying to make the game that both honoured the original revered Deus Ex and was also aproachable by todays crowd.

Hopefully by their next game they will have learned a thing or 2 and improve the aesthetic part of the dialogue to match up with the great mechanical part of it.

I suppose the excuse could be made that they were developing a game that is a prequel to a 2001 game. Thereby granting them permission to include terrible animations. That just seems a little too dedicated.

That's not a good excuse imo :)

@Coreymw said:

@Tennmuerti said:

Stiff animations especially the faces are one of the things I noticed even in the demo. It's a valid criticism after many games have done them so much better, Witcher 2 for example.

One must keep in mind however that this is the studio's first major project and they were a bit more concerned with trying to make the game that both honoured the original revered Deus Ex and was also aproachable by todays crowd.

Hopefully by their next game they will have learned a thing or 2 and improve the aesthetic part of the dialogue to match up with the great mechanical part of it.

I suppose the excuse could be made that they were developing a game that is a prequel to a 2001 game. Thereby granting them permission to include terrible animations. That just seems a little too dedicated.

That's not a good excuse imo :)

Eh, I didn't really mind the way they move since every game does it. I am pretty sure the gesture were they scratch the back of their head is lifted straight from Mass Effect. I thought the voice acting was really good for Jensen but Sarif is spotty at a few times with certain words and Pritchards reactions to things are a little poor also.

@ShaneDev said:

Eh, I didn't really mind the way they move since every game does it. I am pretty sure the gesture were they scratch the back of their head is lifted straight from Mass Effect. I thought the voice acting was really good for Jensen but Sarif is spotty at a few times with certain words and Pritchards reactions to things are a little poor also.

Every game doesn't do it though. It's inexcusable and looks terrible.

@ShaneDev said:

Eh, I didn't really mind the way they move since every game does it. I am pretty sure the gesture were they scratch the back of their head is lifted straight from Mass Effect. I thought the voice acting was really good for Jensen but Sarif is spotty at a few times with certain words and Pritchards reactions to things are a little poor also.

Every game doesn't do it though. It's inexcusable and looks terrible.

@ShaneDev said:

@Coreymw said:

@ShaneDev said:

Eh, I didn't really mind the way they move since every game does it. I am pretty sure the gesture were they scratch the back of their head is lifted straight from Mass Effect. I thought the voice acting was really good for Jensen but Sarif is spotty at a few times with certain words and Pritchards reactions to things are a little poor also.

Every game doesn't do it though. It's inexcusable and looks terrible.

You mean recycle the same conversation animation over and over again for NPC. Yes, lots of game do it and apart from the club hands in Deus Ex they don't look much better.

I still shudder when I recall Dragon Age 1 & 2 hands.

Those are way worse. brrrrrrr