Replaying Deus Ex

[@CaptainHandsome]

I don't know if anyone's corrected this already, but the way non-lethal weapons like the prod (which you should stick with and prod with) work is that, in the same way that the head is the insta-kill spot for lethal weapons - the small of the back right above the butt is the insta-stun spot for non-lethal weapons. I can't remember if this is also true for the tranq-crossbow but it definitely is for the prod. Also once you know that you should swap it out for the free baton you get from a corpse on Liberty Island asap as it doesn't need to be charged.

[@Cephalopod51]

I know I posted about this earlier, but I thought I should clarify how the weapons work again. With the riot prod, you need to use it on enemies while crouched from behind, and you have to aim it at their backs above their waists, not below. It sounds counterintuitive, but it does work. I can understand the confusion, after being spoiled by the taser from HR. When you knock out augmented enemies, which take much more damage, you need to use the fist aug which makes knocking them out easier. As for the crossbow, it's much more useful than you give it credit for. It's just that in this game, the crossbow is more of a hit and run sort of weapon, not an instantaneous hit weapon. That means you need to get out of the enemy's way and hide until the tranquilizer dart has worn them down. And the beauty of the tranquilizer darts is that it only takes one to knock an enemy unconscious. I just wouldn't recommend using it against more heavily augmented enemies, like MJ12 Commandos, Gunther, or Anna. I understand the complaint about the crossbow tranquilizer not being more effective. It would be nice with the tranqs would work the way Metal Gear Solid's tranqs. Still, it works very well for hit and run tactics, and if you save enough tranqs for abundant enemy missions and keep your head low (which shouldn't be to hard against DX1's enemies), all your enemies' numbers will dwindle. I've played DX1 so many times, I've learned how to distract enemies while shooting darts at another direction, and knocking them out easily with a baton. I'm glad to see you use the crossbow for distractions as well. And another thing. It's funny that you complained about the lip sync, because a preview for the game claimed that the developers were trying to do make the characters mouths be more in sync with what they're trying to say. I guess that's where the teeth come in while the characters talks.

[@dexterdextrow7248]

Well, actually yea, non-lethal dose add something, that being challenge. You know how you find the crossbow difficult to efficiently use? Yea, that's because it's supposed to be the harder alternative, being non-lethal. While the easy way being lethal with handgun or sniper rifle. So although unconscious won't wake up, the way to knock out enemies is harder due to the fact that you are limited in what equipment you can use. Actually kinda realistic when you think about it if you think about it, if I hit you so hard in the head that you dose of,or shoot you with bloody tranquilizeing substance then I certainly don't expect you to just wake up and be about just because someone shake you a bit. If you've ever tranqilized an animal then you'll know that you could basically throw it around the intire room without it waking up. (No, I haven't thrown about animals, but have partaken in other procedures, such as operating and birthing litters) Don't get me wrong though, the game has certainly aged, perhaps most apparent in graphics and AI. And the shooting and combat mechanics are notoriously bad, something that only the most fanatical or delusional fans would really deny. Hell, the recoil and accuracy mechanics were bad and obtrusive when the game initially came out, time has certainly not been helping that aspect of the game. But in the end I still believe that the game holds up rather well as a whole, despite the clunkiness of the gameplay.

[@Kaucukovnik666]

Sir, I don't appreciate you talking about this gem of a game as if it was a cute old relic of old when people didn't know any better. Let me address just a few points of its superiority to its recent sequel. Don't get me wrong. I did enjoy DX:HR a lot as well, I actually didn't expect it to be this good. Checkpoints are a relatively new concept in PC games, and they were never all that welcome as opposed to manual saving. I guess being used to games saving for you frequently makes you feel like a sissy when using manual save. Anyway, you can play DX both iron man or total chicken or anything between. DX:HR does indeed differentiate between killing and incapacitating, but does so by doubling non-lethal exp gain. Is it even a moral choice anymore? Compared to the original game, DH:HR maps are enclosed thrill rides filled with convenient waist-high obstacles and air ducts. After a while it starts feeling like every piece of environmental geometry is there for a specific maneuver you are supposed/encouraged to do. You can go through Deus Ex (mostly) without killing and it works for JC all the time. Pacifism breaks Jensen's logic in the first minutes of DX:HR (armed, but sneaking behind assailants on the very compound he's hired to protect, while they may have just killed his fiancee). When it comes to getting to places, DX has hacking, lockpicking or electronics. DX:HR has hacking, or no hacking (get mandatory passwords by other means and just forget the rest). The endings of DX are profound, no matter how campy the presentation is. Corporate wars of HR seem unimportant in comparison, especially since we already know the long-term outcomes. They wave the word "transhumanism" around, but it doesn't do much beyond criticism of inequality and prejudice. The A.I.s in Deus Ex enlighten JC about human-machine interactions. The news reporter in HR is an A.I., because that's what a Deus Ex game should have. She doesn't do anything for the plot a human character couldn't do. DX:HR plays incredibly smoothly, but in part it's at the expense of player's freedom and meaningful choice. The plot tries to be both relevant and faithful, but comes out weak. You seem to be nitpicking very hard when you cite one useless skill and one OP weapon as major annoyances. HR has several extremely OP skills including Jensen's built-in blades, and if you play with any efficiency, you'll be picking a ton of useless (or irrelevant to your playstyle) skills by the end.

[@LHudson]

I'm not saying that HR doesn't have flaws or niggles that can get in the way, in fact some of the stuff you have said is pretty much part of something I recently discovered about HR, but the point of this video is to see how this game lives up to today. It's about revisiting something not as it was, but what it is now. I appreciate the words though, really helpful summing up some of my arguments regarding HR :)

[@TheWayoftheSith]

+LHudson Would be cool if you could do a full playthrough of GDMX and Terminus Machina Deus Ex mods..

[@GamingKeenBeaner]

Other than not understanding how certain weapons work this is a good analysis of this game. You have to keep in mind that in the era it was released there was literally nothing like it. Yes it hearkened back to System Shock, but it was its own game from the very start. It has shooter, RPG, and adventure elements all inside a level design structure that allowed for dozens of different ways to solve the challenges of them. You can play through with a "kill em all" attitude or you can go stealth or any combination of such that you desire. It had all this flexibility of gameplay but it also had this rich and deep back story upon which it was all set. The little details alone were sometimes just amazing. This game has everything from protecting stray cats from a greasel to sneaking in to a dance club to talk to a socialite. You can play through it as a murdering psychopath or a kind Samaritan. You can steal constantly or play more honest. You can focus on being a slick hacker or you can just rage around like a bull in a china shop. Sure there are lots of games that do that these days, but they basically learned these important lessons from Looking Glass Studios and their expat designers that moved on to Ion Storm. I have to say that the recent Human Revolution and Mankind Divided are incredible contributions to the franchise. Even Invisible War is a good game in its own way, but a good game that was ultimately killed by the absolutely stupid decision to make it compatible with console systems. Invisible War had excellent plot points to it and even some good gameplay features, but suffered from levels that were beyond tiny and what truly felt like very rushed development. If it had not been part of such a beloved franchise it might have been scorched less by critics at least. Some of the devs involved with Deus Ex also went on to make Project Snowblind, which is also a really fantastic game with similar design philosophy that until Human Revolution was arguably the most obvious spiritual successor to the original(even if not plot-connected).

[@qinlongfei]

This is video is very similar to how I felt going back to play Morrowind after Oblivion and Skyrim. A badly aged game (and I don't mean the graphic, with some graphical touch up Morrowind look much prettier than Skyrim's attempt at photorealism) that's deep routed in old school video game design that can be very hard to get into by players who are spoiled by newer innovation, but has a deeply charming core when one does manage to get pass some of the older and tedious school of design philosophy.

[@domagojkersun9630]

I would take an old school game every day in front dumb casual triple A games we have today. Today everything is an "RPG", lol.If Skyrim didn't have the insane modding community Morrowind is still the best TES game I played. I didn't play Daggerfall.

Just wanted to say great work all around, loving the channel and always happy to see an update.

[@alexwagstaff3189]

Please, I know these things are time consuming to create, but you've gotta bring out more content. You're just too good a content creator to stop. I love your videos

[@MrStevo808]

LHudson, I'd like to see you do a 'replay' or 'retrospective' video on System Shock 2 now :) And Thief. And Thief 2

[@Overrated447]

Right there with you, I'll give anything that's considered "cyberpunk" a fair shake. I'm really betting on Cyberpunk 2077 to be one of the greatest RPGs of all time.

[@domagojkersun9630]

Your comment didn't age well.

[@brunocar02]

great video, but for the love of god, dont play revision, play GMDX instead

[@MrStevo808]

Can you explain why? I heard GMDX causes problems with uninstalling it

[@asianbronyman]

Quality work, keep up the good stuff :)

[@tydendurler9574]

Cyberpunk is so good because it's more or less our future. Period. Western, Fantasy etc...all just Tales... Don't know what's so hard to explain there.

[@CSM100MK2]

You have a new subscriber. But god damn it's strange how many game analysts are Irish.

[@LHudson]

I’m English :3

[@soloseven007]

This a game review of Deus Ex, blaiming it for what the game industry couldn't achieve back then... surely not a a game replay!

[@winwinwe]

Oh no dude. Oh no. The prod has to be used twice to knock someone down. Didn't the manual say that? It is exceedingly old school in its design in begging you to keep that on hand.

[@LHudson]

For some reason, if I aim for the taint behind them they drop instantly. It's odd :p

[@Cephalopod51]

Actually, you can knock enemies out with a single use of the prod and one swing with the baton. You just have to be crouched, and hit them from the waist up from behind when they're not looking. Of course, augmented characters are harder to knock out, requiring either multiple hits or being maxed out on melee and fist augmentations.

[@ieatvirgins]

That's called a "stealth attack".

[@choppermuscle6358]

mirrors edge soundtrack hmmm

[@HunterTinsley]

lol

[@ohamatchhams]

I love your profile pic :3

[@Fran-zx5xy]

Zero punctuation much?