Ross's Game Dungeon: Deus Ex - Human Revolution

Ross picks a side in Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
You can buy Deus Ex: Human Revolution here if you're interested:
af.gog.com/gam...
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[@boilerhousegarage]

The tint is actually lemon-lime, when it should've been orange.

[@WisteriaNerium]

I get the joke but lemon-lime is green.

[@tomplayss8388]

Andrés of the Dead limon lime is clear

[@WisteriaNerium]

@@tomplayss8388 Not the outside

[@daedalus6433]

I wanted lemon-lime. It gave me orange.

[@Abdega]

Andrés of the Dead Every party needs a pooper that’s why they invited you…

[@kademan13]

Even the devs knew it was too yellow. You can find cans of yellow paint laying around every city as an inside joke.

[@MrZiggy-sk2wg]

kademan13 thank god they put yellow paint as a joke around the city. Instead of, you know, *fix the shaders*

[@Kaelath_The_Red]

It's also because jensen's glasses tint everything yellow

[@genericwhitemale7028]

+Kaelath The Red mmhmm...

[@gestaltengine6369]

these kind of decisions are made by producers

[@youngimmortal4719]

+Kaelath the Red Dude, you're right. I wonder if there was a plan to allow you to deactivate those, that never got added?

[@SanAntonioJoker]

i just assumed the yellow tint was from adam's sunglasses

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Hehe, good thought.

[@SHDW-nf2ki]

honestly I never knew why more people didnt realize that

[@luxsupreme76]

Except in the beginning of the game, the visuals still had the same yellow tint, when he didn't wear any sunglasses.

[@SHDW-nf2ki]

Leo Burton possible dev oversight?

[@jettrooper3rd930]

Still a horrible design choice.

[@relicofanotherage]

I had honestly forgotten that Human Revolution was set before Deus Ex. Everything looks far more futuristic.

[@davidokeif8304]

Which is why so many scifi prequels fail to be convincing. The artists don't want to be constrained by the precedence set in the prior work. It just seems really weird, because in the the original Deus Ex, most of the architecture looks pretty similar to what we have now, which is likely what it should look like. In many of our current cities, the buildings are similar to what they were many decades ago, they were built in a prior time and only change if destroyed or upgraded. This made the original game more convincing, the clothing looks slightly different and some of the tech looks different, but it doesn't seem all that far off from what you'd think it'd look like. In DE1, they're wearing regular sunglasses, not magical shades that can automatically fold away into nothing.

[@PG19871230]

It is set during a golden age. The world in the original DX is in a much worse state.

[@horusreloaded6387]

They took a half step back in Mankind Divided i guess, i mean i saw people complaining about how Prague didnt look sci-fi. But there is also Golem city which is way too unrealistical.

[@neocodexx]

@@horusreloaded6387 Prague really felt like a real city. Nothing like Detroit. Detroit looks straight out of a game. The sequel was better in every way I can imagine. And this video made me realize why I didnt like HR that much.

[@user-yv8sy3gv2s]

Yeah it’s the same with the Star Wars prequels the technology looks far more advanced than that of the original trilogy

[@wisdompowerdonut1964]

13:37 "i am a disco king who is also attending a Mexican wedding." perfect.

[@McFlubberpants]

I find that Jensen's former SWAT team member's behavior is much easier to digest if you pretend that he's in love with Jensen.

[@bkgrila]

I never thought of this, but now I won't be able to forget it.

[@proteus2103]

Still unrealistic.

[@nedinnis6752]

Seriously, he sounds like a spurned lover instead of an abandoned work buddy.

[@bigoistin9125]

@Willem DaFuckedUp You meet Detroit Swat all the time?

[@Reoko77]

"Adam, I.."

[@WittyUsername816]

7 years left. Where my floating cities at, mankind?

[@copiumforthepeople]

Underground, according to Elon Musk. :)

[@awakeandwatching953]

well we got dystopian police state on the back of a pandemic so we in line with the 1st game

[@WaterMusic34]

@@awakeandwatching953 wasn't the Grey Death in Deus Ex secretly manufactured so that people had to depend on the government for a cure? Oh wait..

[@ChimpRiot]

The robots of 2026 will be able to build it within days. Don't worry.

[@CampGareth]

I can give you a hut on a barge?

[@seanbordenkircher7854]

This is the kind of thing that makes me appreciate Ross, not once in the whole review did he mention what literally every other reviewer mentions, which is the bungled boss fights because of the outsourcing. Not a peep on it, because it's been talked to death already. He talks about the FASHION.

[@J0MBi]

That's a good point, and you can see why - there's so much else going on with this series and the ideas it presents that the time is just better spent talking about other things.

[@viscountrainbows2857]

This is why we love Ross; he's off the beaten path at ALL times. That said, I actually do like the outfits but yeah, in the context of a Deus Ex game, it just seems so out of place. Gives the impression they hired Vogue consultants and avant-garde architects first, game designers second, and story writers last.

[@awsomebot1]

ngl as someone who only watches like 2 reviewers i have no idea what youre talking about lol

[@danielsurvivor1372]

He should've talked more about gameplay, not boss fights necessarily, but gameplay in general. It's a big downgrade from original game especially level design where the only way to have alternative path is vents. Hbomberguy review is a bit more balanced where he both tackled gameplay and story(he also didn't talk about bosses as well, he made a joke about how they're bad and moved on)thought I'm sad he never mentioned how unrealistic HR world is, but Ross did mention it!

[@danielsurvivor1372]

​@@viscountrainbows2857 They hired Balenciaga to design their characters 😂

[@TulipQ]

*Shows random homeless guy as mayor of Detroit* *Is probably legit*

[@TapKim]

@F.u.c.k Go.ogl.e go away

[@planescaped]

@F.u.c.k Go.ogl.e Ah, looks like a 9 year old just discovered what profanity is.

[@daedalus6433]

@F.u.c.k Go.ogl.e Says the guy with a default profile pic. You're the one who can't figure out how to change it.

[@TheAlmightyLoli]

Since you mentioned it, I'm praying for a Vampire the Masquerade episode.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Me too!

[@QuarianPaladin]

I was going to say the same thing

[@KyleGraveXx]

Oh yeah please, VtMB would be a joy to watch!

[@JoPeTuYaTroJoueY]

RagnarRox did a fantastic love letter to Vampire the Masquerade, in his last video

[@TheAlmightyLoli]

I just watched that Ragnar video. Definitely a good explanation on why the game rules.

[@LGR]

What a fantastic analysis, I thoroughly enjoyed this one! That whole segment about the fashion cracked me up... I attended a panel with the developers of the game, and they made a big deal about having dedicated fashion designers on their team. Really seemed like the fashion and aesthetic took a high precedence over other things (including believable in-game human beings.)

[@paul1720]

I thought that section was nauseatingly pedantic, not enjoyable at all. There was a clear narrative to bash this game, quite obviously.

[@Accursed_Farms]

Yeah, there's no denying they have talent, too bad I think they were designing the costumes for the wrong game!

[@DrMrPersonGuy]

I disagree. This "review" was abysmal, so many arguments pulled out of thin air on how people or things _should_ be. And simply calling dialogue with obvious character exposition "cringy"...

[@neonaofumi5572]

I kinda don't know what's realistic or not in fictions anymore. Especially when it comes to character behaviors. I mean my dad for instance, he got utterly distraught after he found out I got lost in the street. Not because he was worried about me getting into trouble, but rather because he was so disappointed about my incompetence and worried if I can live in this world. Another example is one of my friend who literally acts like an anime character with exaggerated mannerism. He is in his 20s too. Or take me for example, I do that anime head scratch gesture when I screwed up something lol. I'd imagine the world is full of "weird" people. It doesn't feel like it is, but most of us are hiding that side of us just to be accepted by others. I do believe in this, and so to me characters in Human Revolution didn't felt unrealistic for the most part. I did question why people in Detroit rioted over the augmentation thing, but even when I couldn't relate to some reactions from characters, I just accepted because I know there are drastically different people out there. Or maybe because I'm Japanese who doesn't fully understand the language. (if you couldn't tell that already)

[@UnfitElvis3rd]

Oh hey, just a crossover between some of the most intellectual (and some of my personal favorite) game reviewers of all time. Not a big deal or anything, though.

[@torylva]

Man, the whole thing with the cops being angry that you killed "vandals" really fucking hit me. Imagine in Die Hard if John McClane got chewed out by the police for taking down every terrorist solo and saving the hostages, because he shot Hans Grüber instead of being a "professional" and taking him alive, like how SWAT does with terrorist attacks...

[@arsenii_yavorskyi]

not that it makes the "vandals" thing any less stupid, but there may be a narrative reason for it. as someone else suggested in the comments, the SWAT guys complain regardless of how you handle that mission, since they're pissed off at the corporation bossing them around, so they essentially latch onto any reason to chastise Jensen.

[@marley7868]

@@arsenii_yavorskyi maybe but having the chracter sit there ant take it weak and given the bs cybermods for socials situations it's ridiculous you can't call them out on this with the game set up it's more than asinine when you wrack it up

[@RomanvonUngernSternbergnrmfvus]

@@arsenii_yavorskyiJC Denton was as brutal with his commentary as he was with combat this MC just takes it

[@sorrenblitz805]

Also it's not like Jensen has a license to kill or anything. He's just a corporate security guy, and a disgraced cop at that, it's surprising you even GET the option at the beginning to go full bore on them and that the game doesn't make you go non-lethal. Technically what he engaged in was Corporate sanctioned vigilantism which he won't get prosecuted for but Sarif is gonna have to grease some palms to smooth that over. Especially after he sends the same security guy/disgraced cop to essentially break into the police station AND the morgue and illegally inspect the body of the hacker. Let's also not forget sending this guy on a black ops mission to essentially kill government agents in different countries which includes killing multiple police officers in other countries which I'm pretty sure would be some sort of international incident if not an outright declaration of war. Legally speaking, everything Jensen does makes him a terrorist and Sarif industries technically a terrorist organization, and I'm surprised there arent feds blowing their doors off and storming the place by the midpoint of the game.

[@natalijalaonar8187]

@@sorrenblitz805 LOL lets not pretend corporations dont operate outsyde the law IRL. All the time. Way I see it, money IS the law. Sarif has money, and influence. Meaning he can do prety much what-ever he wants, including having his personal super-soldier assassin (Jensen). In the past it vas the Church. These days its the corporations. But theres always someone powerful enogh to bypass the "law" and get away vith it. Laws only apply to the poor and weak. Lets be real. If you got (enogh) money and influence, you can get away vith pretty much anithing. And in Deus Ex thats just more amplifyed compared to Real Life.

[@joshualavender207]

"This game wants to be Metal Ghost in the Akira Yellow Blade Runner Edition" ... hilarious!

[@amnesia998]

Classic.

[@KiraSlith]

36:40 onwards Wow... That actually makes an unbelievable amount of sense. They wanted to make a Ghost in the Shell game but only had the Deus Ex licence on hand. Cut a hand full of story beats, replace Adam with Major Kusanagi, re-dub a few lines, and you could totally call it a GitS game. All the augment tech other than the social augment is function for function identical to the augments in GitS, there's even a hacker who himself was hacked to be used as another hacker's remote puppet.

[@selemanecu]

well as for the original deus ex jc merging with helios nope has nothing to do with motoko merging with the puppet master just one example

[@YukonHexsun]

@@selemanecu To be fair the implications of that ending and JC's Helios merger are REALLY different but, yeah they definitely took the same concept. There's a lot of endings where beings fuse together in cyberpunk stories I'm noticing. JC/Helios, Motoko/2501, Wintermute/Neuromancer. Makes me think that last one I just listed is the ACTUAL reason why that trend got big.

[@TheMrDewil]

@@YukonHexsun Also Commander Shepard merging with Reapers in blue choice.

[@GeorgeMonet]

But it's nothing at all like Ghost in the Shell. Ghost in the Shell is generally smart and well written. The cyborgs are extremely competent soldiers and pretty damned durable. This game is poorly written and the cyborgs are just as weak as normal humans.

[@KiraSlith]

@@GeorgeMonet Nobody said it'd be a good GitS game. Hell, it's not even considered a good Deus Ex game. Also, they shred similarly squishy people in many of the games (RIP GitS:SAC First Assault Online, still the best tactical shooter I've ever played), and not every episode of the show was all that concerned with being "intelligent".

[@Momohhhhhh]

It seems like this game was part of the "your choices matter!" era, so they forced random NPCs to have dialogue about your tactics just to show that your decisions change things in the game. But that doesn't come off as natural, unfortunately.

[@Mrcrazy80]

Did someone say Mass Effect?

[@SuperArppis]

I haven't played the original game much. But I recall people praising it for that aspect, that the characters actually commented your actions.

[@vrapbrap]

What made the stuff in the original feel so much better was how it never tried so hard with the "your choices matter!" shit. You did what you did and the game changed accordingly without the game making a big fuss about it. Like if you walk into the ladies bathroom or not, if you do kill one eventual boss early or not (something you might not even realise you are able to do) and so on. The game rarely gave you an option box where you picked what you would like to do, instead you just did what felt natural and things changed according to that.

[@SuperArppis]

ProjectiluvOP I see. But I'd say that if you are the one dealing with the hostage situation, that affects the whole company, I'd say that's something people WILL talk about in the company. I think it's realistic in that example atleast. They will know what you did there and what the outcome was. :)

[@helios2939]

The whole hostage situation just seems to be a way the game really tries to shove in the fact that you can play through this game in a non-lethal fashion.

[@nadlug9199]

Regarding corpse dumpsters, i always just dragged them into the air ducts. Just imagining the conversation when everyone wakes up on top of each other in an air duct entertained me way too much to be normal.

[@brandonHines76]

they actually die if you drag them into the air ducts... seems like they didnt want you hiding them that well.

[@rampantsarcasm2220]

@@brandonHines76 i just played the game last night, no they dont

[@brandonHines76]

@@rampantsarcasm2220 well, in the hundreds of hours I've played they do... so idk what to tell ya

[@caav56]

@@brandonHines76 It has something to do with a physics engine. If you throw unconscious people from a big height or hard enough, they die. Seems like that, when you're dragging them into a vent, some part of their body twists just enough to change status from "unconscious" to "dead" as if from physics damage.

[@brandonHines76]

@@caav56 well I must have bad luck when I attempt that lol

[@PJKP82]

Weird body language, weird fashion and people not acting like real people? Yep, it's a Square Enix game, alright.

[@riotriguez5854]

I hate them so fucking much

[@KingLich451]

it's probably to do with Eidos, though.

[@Kokuyous3ki]

@@KingLich451 Yea, the french have a "weirdo" image thanks to quite a few of their fashion designers and french sci-fi movies. Honestly at first I've thought 12 Monkeys was french too... oh, wait...

[@KingLich451]

@@Kokuyous3ki i dont think all french people are like this of course, but some people that work on art in video games... well it isn't the first time happening. (the crew)

[@lionocyborg6030]

Kokuyous3ki Aren't Eidos a British company? They just have an office in Montreal, I'm sure they started in England back the mid 90s.

[@ReddRambler]

19:17 The developers get mad at you for using lethal force while also making their main character a guy with swords for arms, who can also shoot bombs out of his skin and punch through concrete walls. JC Denton had a neutral character design. If you told me he was going to sneak around the back or pull out a giant gun and shoot everyone I could buy it either way. Human Revolution gives you Robocop and then gets upset when you don't play the game like Thief.

[@Dennis-nc3vw]

I also dislike how there wasn't more incentive to use the blades. I know if you just knock someone out, NPCs can wake them up, but that fact pretty much never matters during the game.

[@ReddRambler]

@@Dennis-nc3vw They made such a big deal over the arm swords but they ended up being less practical than an ordinary knife.

[@SaltyFrenchFries]

Dishonored had a similar issue where you had a good amount of lethal weapons and sweet animations for stabbing people in the face but the game would try to make you feel bad for it. It was understandable from a narrative point of view but in practice, it sure was annoying.

[@Jessesloveshack]

To be fair, Adam Jensen never asked for this.

[@TaRAAASHBAGS]

@@SaltyFrenchFries >Play an elite assassin >Assassinate people >Bad Ending

[@rambles8370]

The story will actually kill the hostages of you stay too long the office

[@alext.5853]

Hostage taker can be talked down if i remember correctly

[@kalligthegrey7010]

@@alext.5853 Yep. And he gives you some nice security info for the FEMA base in Highland Park later on as a way of "repaying his debt" to you for letting him go

[@DanteCorwyn]

You can stun him as well if you're quick enough. Also, Pritchard is meant to be a dick (I stealthed my way through and instead of calling me Atilla the Hun, he calls me Ghandi). Just meant I stole all his stuff first.

[@nsa3679]

generic generic Sarif literally has spent 1B$ on Jensen.

[@nooneinparticular5256]

Now... That's not a bad attention to detail... but WHY AGAIN were the office people unhappy about the hostages surviving?

[@DoubleBob]

"Why do all these employees behave as if they know me and see me every friday for poker?" That's actually some very subtle dystopia going on imho. It wouldn't surprise me if in 20 years people were having some augmented reality display that tells them your name, position and other stuff, while corporate culture moves even further towards the fake facade of "this corporation is a family".

[@General12th]

Actually, I think that kind of augmentation would be quite nice and useful in the real world. Not dystopian at all. What would be bad about it? That's the kind of stuff you'd ask a stranger about right away, anyway.

[@DoubleBob]

@@General12th People who act like they know you, when in reality they simply see your profile simply makes everything shallow af. Also this will lead in a month to massive virtue signaling and you'll be forced to take cultural/political sides whenever some group wants to push their agenda and has enough influence to make it popular. It would turn every public place and everywhere you go into the American Psycho office scene, only that people actually say the correct names, when they act as acquaintances, while being little more than strangers.

[@General12th]

@@DoubleBob Eh, people are already shallow af. They take one look at your skin color, or your hairstyle, or what you're wearing, and they think they know everything about you already.

[@lionocyborg6030]

J.J. Shank That may be true, but said augmented reality display would just make it worse, plus it would be an invasion of privacy.

[@weneedaladder8384]

@@General12th there's a black mirror episode about this called Nosedive that I think sums up the problem of "seeing people at a glance" pretty well. Basically, everyone has ratings that are viewable to anyone who looks at them. Like in real life, most people view anything below four stars as trash. The episode shows how people have to be completely fake all the time to preserve their rating, since knowing what it is immediately colors someone's opinion, which prevents them from acting in any way that would potentially upset others. I'd give it a watch if you like dystopian sci-fi, or at least read a summary of it if you're mildly interested in the concept.

[@PressA2Die]

They Novelised Deus Ex Revolution. Its called the Yellow Pages.

[@mmirlas2820]

Ha

[@viridian6812]

Bob Pages?

[@VicariousReality]

And more than that, Adam Jensen's voice actor actually voiced a commercial for Yellow Pages; canon confirmed: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKaQhYCbi8R6grM

[@PressA2Die]

@@VicariousReality Oh wow, that's amazing. I had no idea that add existed when I made that joke. Must just be meant to be. Crazy spooky actually.

[@InsaneToats]

"Adam doesnt seem like a social kinda guy." PROCEEDS TO TALK TO EVERY EMPLOYEE

[@sorrenblitz805]

Yeah but if you play the game and do that Adam comes off as very distant and cold. Not mean exactly but like he doesn't really want to talk to any of these people.

[@thetruewisegamer]

@@sorrenblitz805 well to be fair kiryu from yakuza comes off the same but is quite the opposite......it like judging someone just on first impression is a bad idea

[@BioDomeWithPaulyShor]

18:11 I think that you're making a judge of Adam's character a bit too quickly. When you first start out as Adam, you notice that he's making little jokes, rolling his eyes, and in general is acting a bit more personable. After suffering the accident he starts to shut himself out from the rest of the world because of how much he's changed, mostly shown by the way that he keeps those dumb piss filter shades on even when indoors. There's a very real possibility that Jensen was a much happier person before the attack. As for people referencing you by name in your office, you've gotta remember that to everybody in that office, you're a guy who ran after terrorists who attacked your building with just a combat rifle, took out a bunch of them, got totally destroyed by some superhuman augmented people, got heavily augmented yourself, and are now going off to deal with a hostage situation. I'd say that pretty much everybody in the building would know your name and have some modicum of respect for you at that point. I'm not saying that they couldn't have made this distinction between pre- and post accident Jensen a bit more clear, but I don't think we have enough information at this point.

[@josha5933]

agreed, megans kidnapping would possibly be global news, and jensen being crippled would be well knowing around sarif industries, so people asking how you're doing after basically coming back from the dead is reasonable

[@Accursed_Farms]

Maybe, it's the sort of thing where by itself I wouldn't even mention it if there weren't dozens of other examples of the character behavior in the world being off.

[@thebravesirrobin.]

All of your points are valid but I think what's bothering Ross, and what bothers me a bit too, is the fact that everyone talks to you like you're their friend. It definitely makes sense that they would know who you are and be pretty friendly, but they're all just too friendly and too personal with how they talk to you.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Yeah. It's big indecent, and obviously, people would sympathize with their co-worker.

[@marianoclerici3986]

But it *was* pretty clear. You can see a signal of that by looking at the broken mirror in Jensen's apartment and the note that says that he had broken several mirrors already.

[@richardbarbaros5868]

Not gonna lie, I would definitely wear any of the Human Revolution fashion line. Especially when presented on the runway by Ross.

[@Xeotroid]

I didn't know I had F.lux installed.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

XD

[@Jupex]

Human Revolution with F.lux on. The ultimate piss filter simulator.

[@pakoti96]

I completely forgot that I have it on the yellowest setting. Ross should try it, and he'll never complain about yellow again!

[@Rorschach003]

"I'm not even questioning all these capabilities are possible" *Jensen turns invisible* Ross is a master at visual humor

[@sorrenblitz805]

Optical Camo is possible. Right now we have it as large panels and blankets that can be used to obscure objects like tanks. But in the future? A cyborg could have microrefractive plates in the skin. Realistically you'd probably be unable to move and it would drain your cyborg body's energy like crazy though.

[@b0om2k]

According to the game, augmentations were invented in 2007, so my guess would be that this is a sort of alternate universe to our own world where technology and corporate interests were effectively unrestrained. This could explain things looking overly futuristic. The ISSUE is that this is supposed to be 20+ years BEFORE the original game, and yet things look like they could be 50 years AHEAD of that game. Now sure, you could argue that this is a result of technological stagnation and even regression following the Aug Incident and the millions of deaths caused by it, but I think it's probably just more likely that the game designers wanted to make a different game but had to give it a Deus Ex skin.

[@malkutahk]

>alternate universe >corporate interests were effectively unrestrained mfw

[@GeorgeMonet]

But why not just set your game further in the future if you want it to look more futuristic?

[@xxfalconarasxx5659]

Maybe, but this still doesn't jive well with the original Deus Ex. The devs expect us to believe that Human Revolution is a prequel to that game, despite the drastic difference in artstyle.

[@brandonmorel2658]

I think this is why everyone chastises you for killing the vandals: the devs want the player to play non lethally and stealthily. You yourself said that Deus Ex1 is played better like a ninja. Eidos took the Thief part of Deus Ex and made it the objective best approach. They took Paul's attitude towards Jc killing his comrades and made every person react like he would. In Deus Ex 1, Paul was the only one that reacted like this and he had his reasons, and unatco actually encouraged JC to be trigger happy. It was a nice and neat dichotomy that made the player doubt the good guys he was working for. In Human Revolution the writers are too clumsy to replicate this.

[@selemanecu]

umm okay but why is there a new game plus mode I wonder? And I don't mean to sound harsh but there are people that encorage you to murder other people or against it and just one small unimportant example which I do kinda wish Mankind Divided took advantage of in HR the example that I mean is the dlc you can take a third option but no one tells you this gotta figure it out yourself and you can only do the trick in MD via sequence breaking...

[@ArvelDreth]

@@selemanecu I was gonna say, if that was the intent, it was very badly executed.

[@MegaRazorback]

I have taken those vandals down via the non-lethal route and well...i got fed those lines the cop spouted like i HAD gunned them down even though i only used the hand to hand and the stun gun that i kept from the first mission that lets you take a non-lethal approach.

[@IrrationalDelusion]

The cops position could be understandable, because they aren't as super augmented to become invisible and perform non-lethal takedowns. Superweapons bring responsibility. Still they wouldn't know how badass augmented Jensen is.

[@Ziomaletto]

>Paul was the only one that reacted like this Why do people forget that Sam Carter chews you out as well if you're trigger happy?

[@mustekkala]

I once decided to play as a psychopathic mass-murderer just to see if it affects anything, well it made me fail few quests but even after i had killed off the whole population of Detroit nobody gave two shits about it. I literally murdered every npc in that game that was not unkillable and still quest givers were just fine with that.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

But what happens if you do that in the original DE?

[@Maximus0451]

+Hemang Chauhan More or less the same thing.

[@Nethan2000]

In Deus Ex you can kill most civilians, but it's explained with UNATCO being notoriously trigger-happy, so we may imagine they cover it up and blame the terrorists. Most friendly NPCs you couldn't logically get away with killing are invulnerable. Later in the game you're seen as a terrorist yourself, so we can assume you're hiding you identity.

[@brytrann]

If you murder everyone in the police station, there will be a news article about it. That seems like the only impact of being a mass murderer in the game.

[@mustekkala]

BRYANTGAMING In Human Revolution? Must have missed that.

[@xxxdumbwordstupidnumberxxx4844]

In the game, they do actually have in the lore an act that essentially boils down to, 'hey, if you're a veteran who lost body parts, join back with the military and we'll give you augments,' which is a good pitch, and is also used to explain why Sarif industries has so many military grade augmentations being produced.

[@giantidiot31]

Seems like it would be a money hole to me. The VA is already way overburdened. Imagine twice that plus augmentation repair/maintenance. Both in the field and post retirement. Does it say how long they have to serve before they're eligible for augs? Is it like space marines, where they're decorated with weapon and armor the longer and better they've served? Plus, just because they give augs to vets doesn't mean civilians can't join up still

[@Emidretrauqe]

@@giantidiot31 Remember, though: It's a program for retired combat veterans, not new recruits. They're paying tens of thousands for new sergeants and leadership positions, which are worth more. Also, what if the VA decides not to cover their neuropozyne shots after they get discharged? Wouldn't be the first sob story coming out of the VA.

[@acceptnosubstitutions4353]

Computer powered by screaming Women? That stinks of Square.

[@acceptnosubstitutions4353]

Art Gil Dunno man, heard the processor is an Intel.

[@thepickles8833]

That stinks of Overfiend 2: Legend of the Demon Womb

[@Gam0rDude]

The Hyron project was a primitive precursor to Daedelus, Icarus, and helios. Look it up.

[@dubspool]

No that's Konami

[@dubspool]

+supercormey it's built from the tears of its programmers and glued together with pachinko machines

[@GeddyRC]

I can’t explain to any of my friends, but something is just mystical about Ross’s game reviews. I rewatch these all the time. Something about his presentation always has this eerie undertone that I just love, and he always goes off the deep end at some point and talks about some crazy shit. I’m such a late arrival to this channel, found it like 2 years ago, but man it’s been a treat going through all his new stuff.

[@arkle519]

It's appealing because it's casual. Ross doesn't do flashy things, over the top personalities or much editing. And his format isn't review or critique either. It's just a retelling of thoughts any gamer has while playing a game, kinda like r/showerthoughts. It's the fact that he's literally just an ordinary guy doing something he enjoys without amping it up that makes it appealing. It's not something you find on YT anymore. I like to think of it as a spiritual successor to AVGN's original format which was kinda the same.

[@SuperArppis]

Wait. YES nurses. I'm a nurse and it would help ALOT that I could be able to lift people up easier and have stronger back. We do a lot of physical work in our profession and loads of nurses suffer from backpain and such. So augs would help there. Then we could have somekind of HUD-display, that would analyze the patient's heart rate, blood pressure, sugar levels, ect, ect... so we wouldn't have to carry meters around all the time when we need to take those. Also seeing right away patient's medication would be a great boon. And having that social mod would be good with difficult patients, we have a few of those. So augs would help a lot when it comes to being a nurse. Some of these issues were actually covered in another game called "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance", where in one CODEC call they discuss the benefits of cyborgs in civilian work.

[@thepickles8833]

Augments would help pretty much every job. People get tired, need breaks and doing the same repetitive motions causes that. I could see janitors have special arm attachments that would improve productivity, or chefs having new ways to handle food that gets too hot or difficult to prepare.

[@SuperArppis]

The Pickles Exactly. I think he glossed over the professions a bit on the video bit too fast there. Augmentations would help quite a bit at my work atleast.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Amm... it maybe a bit personal, but since you are medical field, I'd like to know your thoughts on transhumanism, and if they could help out patients in your hospital

[@bryangutierrez6679]

Yeah but, would you chop off your arms so you can be a little bit more efficient at your job ? i mean , i would because i would trade off my puny human flesh for sick ass ciborg augs in the blink of an eye but i don't think that is a sentiment that most people share.

[@dooplon5083]

Well let's be honest here, if you're a. use and you can do it (maybe you have a few missing limbs or something, I dunno) then it's still something to consider.

[@camramanful]

I can tell you straight up that all the bizzare anime body language, the weird ass overblown fashion and weird dialogue comes directly from squeenix's hand in this game. Look at any modern final fanatsy and then look at this game, the similarities are shocking.

[@Athanatoi]

That screaming woman computer always making me horny

[@MoskHotel]

Except the final fantasy games are really made from Japan. With Deus Ex, I really want JC Denton back as the main protagonist. Adam Jensen is just boring as hell.

[@jm_draws7253]

not really in this case, the art director of the game at the time used to post a lot of inspiration stuff on his blog...and all the fashion in the game comes from actual bizarre fashion shows, with polygon clothes and all that. They really dig that

[@michaelbatashov2468]

jm_draws How many of those bizarre fashion shows have clothes that are practical for a regular Joe's everyday life.

[@jm_draws7253]

but you know that's not the point right?..to have practical everyday life shows? anyway, i have zero interest in fashion, but i do like what they did in the game, as art direction. the golden color and the flamboyant wardrobe are visual metaphors of a society entering a second renaissance, about to go beyond the limits of the human body thanks to the nano technology. they are infatuated with themselves, proud, thinking they are more than mere humans...but this opulence doesn't last long as we see in the end, when it all crashes down. of course, nobody is forced to like it though...i think it was bold and far more enjoyable than yet another grey game like many others.

[@TheScawer]

"Tinting should be like a spice, save it for a flashback sequence." ... am... am I using spices wrong?

[@General12th]

Wrong kind of spice. Some nice kush will give you a real sweet "flashback sequence"... and a pounding headache the next morning.

[@Kletterhase]

He who controls the spice, controls the universe!

[@youngimmortal4719]

@@Kletterhase The Tinting must flow.

[@rightwingofthenuthouse3232]

Quick comment in the augmentation uses and jobs. Marik comments that she had a neural augmentation to help her fly. Based on the amount of augmented people you encounter, I'd say instead of 5%, it might be closer to 15% to 20%. Also, for Detroit having limited water and other issues, Sarif is heralded as the man who saved Detroit by sinking a fortune into it and bringing back industry, which would increase taxes or at least the amount the city gets back from it's people. Off topic, though. There are more augmentations than Jensen has, which is an important point to make. There are ones that let you fly better, hook up into giant robots, and disappear from sight. All not really useful for work, but the variety seems to hint at more useful augs.

[@Ashalmawia]

that's true, there would probably be a lot of mundane augs that the player has no interest in obtaining but the average person could benefit greatly from

[@TwistZero]

Even the bartender girl in the Hengsha sidequest. She mentions that her colleagues paid for augs to make them better at spinning drinks or whatever.

[@LutraLovegood]

And there's a woman who took a loan from a shark because she needed the augs to compete with the rich kids who got them with daddy's money.

[@katier9725]

@@LutraLovegood From the comments made it seems that she specifically got the CASIE aug. Which is actually pretty bad due to sheer abuse potential.

[@TheMrDewil]

I think that Malik also mentioned having discreet implants that aren't exactly visible, and with that Ross's job narrative falls somewhat flat. Yeah, as was mentioned, there are tons of different augmentations out there, it's just that Jensen was built specifically for infiltration and combat.

[@Cyfrik]

So essentially, what Ross is saying is that Human Revolution is to Deus Ex what Prometheus was to Alien. >Despite taking place earlier along the timeline, the technology is way more futuristic and less grounded in reality, which causes continuity issues. >The story is bland and uninteresting. >The characters don't act like actual people. >Annoying color filter. >It feels like they didn't actually want to make something that was part of the same franchise, but were pressured by the corporations to do it.

[@darkrain491]

And Halo 4 and 5 by 343, minus the Prequel element (unless you include their retconning) 343 may genuinly like and enjoy the games they make, and their games aren't necessarily bad (cept 4) but they aren't Halo

[@kyleofbones9338]

Except Prometheus had the same director as the original.

[@fwg1994]

I wonder then why I love HR and pretty severely dislike Prometheus. Perhaps because unlike the Alien franchise, I started with HR, and I'm still in the process of getting to DX1. I was waiting around on DX Revision to play DX1, but then that seemed to have a mixed reception as to the changes it made, and now my timeline for playing DX1 is kind of whenever I finish up the games currently on my plate. It might also be a few key moments where I felt the central theme of DXHR really resonated. Might also be because I did a few things differently from Ross, and felt the reactions to those decisions more believable. Also probably because I kept my interaction with random npcs to a minimum, and got a sense that trans-humanism was an issue people were concerned about, but not the issue people were concerned about.

[@The_Blog]

+fwg1994 I recommend GMDX. It stays very faithfull to the original design philosophies, but fixes allot of annyoing smaller bugs or other things and already contains the New Vision and HDTP textures and models.

[@reNINTENDO]

In regards to your last bullet, you hit the nail on the head. Ridley Scott didn't want it to be a prequel, at least by the end of it, which is why it has a very different feel. Originally it was very much an Alien prequel, with Xenomorphs and all that. The script was largely completely rewritten once Ridley Scott decided he wanted to go in a different direction. That's why I'm really annoyed by the sequel to Prometheus having Alien in the title, and that's probably completely due to corporate pressure. I feel like the characters largely act like actual people, but Prometheus is one of those movies where people like to dig really deep into it to tear it apart while simultaneously not noticing really obvious stuff it's telling you. Like that one scientist reaching for the worm thing and getting his arm broked. People say that's unrealistic, but the dude is a biologist who just found the first alien lifeform ever seen by humanity. He's gonna be curious. Was what he did a mistake? Hell yes. But people have died from much dumber decisions.

[@psychotripnerdstuff]

I actually really liked how everyone seemed to know Adam at the company. It made it sort of feel like home and made me actually care about it. It is a bit strange how EVERYONE seems to know him personally, but I just assumed that was a typical game scaling issue. So, in "reality" the company is far bigger and not everyone is on a first name basis with you, but the people Adam happens to run across are all people he at least knows in passing. The whole situation really helped sell the world in a way, as it made me care about the company I belonged to than I probably should, which suits the universe's corporatist, borderline anarcho-capitalist society, where who you work for matters more than what country you belong to. I never really questioned the commentary on augmentation either. If anything I found it a bit too obvious. There's plenty of examples in the game, especially in China, where we see how important augs are to get by. They help you think faster which helps you do your white-collar job more efficiently, they make you stronger, which helps you do your blue-collar job more efficiently, but only rich people can afford them and you become reliant on a single pharmaceutical company for the rest of your life just so your body won't reject them. Those are some PRETTY BIG social issues right there. All in all though, I love Ross and I loved this video.

[@bitterleafcastle1552]

Plus, Adam was technically killed in the attack, then had most of his bodyparts replaced by mechanical analogs and survived because of that. So, he probably was quite spoken of among other Sarif employees and it's natural that everyone knows him. And also, I think that EVERYONE freaking out about augmentation is also not so far fetched, since it's a common thing for masses to fixate on some "hot" topic and make a problem out of it. Like, remember the "Violent video games harmfull for children" talk? Or hey, the 'robots taking our jobs", that Ross made a video on? Yeah... I can totally see the media catch on fire over something like augmentation technology.

[@Gam0rDude]

It's not even the size of the company, really. Just the section adam oversees.. so they probably do frequently at least see him in passing.

[@TheWaywardLlama]

When there's a shooting/attack at your office, I've got to imagine that gives you a bit of notoriety. It's been a while since I played but most of the other people in the attack were assumed dead besides Jensen, right? that would lend some celebrity and a make you a bit of a community rallying symbol for your coworkers.

[@DaisiesTC]

The problem with that is it's entirely unrealistic. My friend's dad works as the ethics officer in a company, and his friend is head of security. Almost nobody knows their faces, and only other higher ups know them personally. Even in their own building. Head of security especially gets very little interaction with other employees in the company.

[@ts8668]

Its unrealistic because Adam doesn't have the personality to make it believable.

[@TheZALGOisCOMING]

the coworkers are familiar with adam because he's the talk of the office. he got almost killed by a terrorist attack, converted into the company's top augmentation project, and now he's out of hospital as some kind of ultra-aug supersoldier just in time for the next terrorist attack. half the office probably had a hand in upgrading him, the boss must have sent dozens of company-wide memos and emails. he's also a long-time "rival" of the head IT-guy, and a rivalry between head-IT and head-security is bound to get attention as one emails "we updated our servers for more security!" and the other reply-alls "that doesn't mean you people can get lax about security on your end, stop emailing your passwords to each other!" oh, and his girlfriend just so happens to be one of the top researchers there (groveling, remember?), who is about to be a key person in a trial that will affect the future of the company and everyone who works there it's really no wonder his name is on everyone's tongues

[@TheZALGOisCOMING]

the part where they're immediately informed of the details of your mission and call you out for it though, you're spot on there

[@THE_BATLORD]

You'd be surprised how apathetic people can be even if it's as ridiculously overblown as Jensen's.

[@assteepee]

Also Ross says the way it plays out makes it seem like they're all buddies with Adam and that they all play poker with him on Friday night or something. But I think that's not the case at all. My immediate impression was that these people are all phonies. You don't know any of them but they all pretend to know you because of the reasons mentioned by Behind TheWall. They're all "wow Adam, so glad to see you, it's awesome you're here!" Yeah? Well if you're so glad how come you had no clue I was showing up today, or do any of you assholes know what I've been up to this whole time? Or how my recovery has been going? No, because none of you bothered to call because none of you even know me. And Adam is happy to keep it that way.

[@Accursed_Farms]

Oh I'm not trying to argue they could know OF him, but there's a difference between hearing office gossip v. acting like you're personally friends with the person. Like if you were to meet Chuck Norris today, you wouldn't casually call him Chuck or Norris like you're known him for years, you would say "Hello, Mr. Norris." It's little things like this that add up in the game.

[@TheZALGOisCOMING]

i suppose, the first-name use is a bit personal, but i figured they were just trying to be welcoming/sympathetic to the coworker who's back from hospital i don't think that's such an unusual office dynamic in that situation, not that i'm an expert on situations like this or office life in general

[@YugiSupersaiyan]

Having seen this episode, I went through the first mission without killing anyone. The cops still complained, but it was about having to wait, and the fact that the leader got away, not recognizing my cunning in convincing him to release the hostage (I ran out of Tranquilizer Darts). So no matter what, they complain.

[@kilomillensimus9379]

Yeah, it's presenting your corporate security taking precedence over their actual enforcement of the law. They're meant to be pissed at you - every cop in the game has an antagonistic relationship with Jensen, who used to be one of them but now makes the big bucks for the man who owns the city, and has a billion dollars worth of augs in him to boot.

[@bruhman9262]

@@kilomillensimus9379 that's some dumbass shit lmao, it's not how people act.

[@XanthinZarda]

Actually, Bob Page probably has all three types of augmentation. That is, Mechanical augmentation, Nanotechnological augmentation, and Physiopharmaceutical augmentation. And yeah, Deus EX - HR was a casualty of the piss wars of the later 2000s.

[@briancahill9594]

"Piss Wars" sounds like something that should be about something far more heinous than just "What kind of filter should we drench our game in to make it seem like a real peoples place?" lol

[@XanthinZarda]

Brian Cahill Well, it's only urea.

[@Diamond1234548]

"better start practicing your stealth approach" lmao dev I see you talking through the NPC

[@KingLich451]

the whole point of deus ex types of games having multiple choices, leaving player free to pick whatever they like. and not freaking judge them. İ really found that part just breaking the 4th wall in a bad way.

[@Dennis-nc3vw]

There was so much of this in the game.

[@Anonyomus]

I really liked this game and there were connections to the first game. But I really feel that this game should be seen as alternative universe to DE1 setting. But I'd blame Square Enix for tints and anime behaviour. They did the same with Hitman Absolution and almost fucked both franchises, even though both are fun and decent games.

[@memesjack3615]

What anime behaviour in Human Revolution?

[@Rugg-qk4pl]

@@memesjack3615 things like how in the beginning scene the researchers are bowing down to the girlfriend lady, and later on the weird hand on back of head thing, can't remember his name.

[@katier9725]

Also Barret, it's just not clear why the heck he tells Jensen the actual adress of his employer. I really wish the Tyrants had more presence and go into their personalities, like for example Barret might be something of a honour fanatic who tests Jensen with that suicide attack: if he survives he's worthy of the knowledge, and if not... well he wasn't. Instead Barret just comes across as a total buffoon because LITERALLY EVERYTHING after his boss fight wouldn't happen had he said anything else or just kept quiet. That is terrifyingly bad writing.

[@Sercil00]

I find it interesting how he points out that the game encourages you to take your time and explore, whereas the story urges you to speed through it. That's Max Payne 3 in a nutshell. You're supposed to take in the details and explore at least a little, but most of the time, either Max himself or another NPC will have multiple voice lines asking if you have gone insane dilly-dallying around. As in, you can literally stop and watch the news and a cartoon, while the building is swarmed by hostile mercenaries.

[@audiosurfarchive]

The brilliance of MP3s story takes advantage of you being misdirected and fixated on smaller character dynamics.

[@GeorgeMonet]

Well Max is insane.

[@drifter402]

That messed up my first playthrough of Dust an Elysian Tail. I didn't do any sidequests and even never went to an area you have to go to to get certain upgrades. The entire story has this urgency to it. You get to the end boss and you cant explore once you best him. You have to start a new game.

[@kieranhurst8543]

The right costumes in the wrong game can make all the difference in the world

[@tyrongkojy]

I personally like the piss filter. Gives it a style, and I like me some style.

[@WFoong98]

It gives the game identity,

[@TheFaisalano]

Yeah idk what's the issue here.

[@weldonwin]

And its not like this hasn't been done before. The Matrix movies used colour filters all the time for example, its used to establish mood

[@Glibbers]

It also gives me some nice headache after playing.

[@Gam0rDude]

I dislike his argument towards imagining every game from 2011 with a yellow filter, as well. It's a bit strawman-ey. I can still understand why he doesn't like it, though.

[@gamesretweets9979]

Ross: "Most of you watching are gonna live to see 2027." 2020: "We'll see about that."

[@lionocyborg6030]

Games Retweets I read that second part in the Gman's voice, considering Ross does Freeman's Mind.

[@Czar_Steve]

4 years left to go

[@Tarik360]

I feel like we've mitigated the oil crisis concerns somewhat but it does seem true that we're still vulnerable to any shortage especially now. This composite age we live in means we got a way to go before we unravel any dangerous complexity ahead of us so that we may live simply again.

[@FoxyAlice93]

2027: the year we build Midgar

[@emilykwolek1667]

and yet, square only gave themselves 16 years to go from final fantasy 14 to 27 and make their own prediction come true. 5 years later and we're just now getting 15.

[@ArkhanNightman]

The funny part of that Final Fantasy easter egg is that SquareEnix ended up having to register Final Fantasy 27 as a thing, because copyright is silly.

[@emilykwolek1667]

i'd say that's normal, but don't they already have a copyright on "final fantasy" as a series in general?

[@ArkhanNightman]

It's probably just some kind of standard practise because copyright laws differ from country to country and there are many ways to exploit it.

[@Lt_Voss]

If Final Fantasy 27 actually has the main character with that design, I might actually buy that game just because they stuck to their whims from decades ago, despite not really liking the series much at all.

[@TP-rs5zl]

I'm impressed you just became a trendy fashion reporter like it was your bread and butter, you go Ross! *Fashion music beats in the background*

[@One3673241]

"Food prep and serving: No" Yes. Cutting up vegetables at light speed and being able to serve the entire restaurant using just your upgraded Cybernetic arms? Come on, the benefits couldn't be more obvious.

[@guyincognito7188]

Is the second part suggesting one waiter with arms that branch like a tree, carrying dozens of orders out at once and batch delivering to half the clients at a time? Cos, while I like that image, I can't help but wonder how this person would take this tree-like setup through the doorway from the kitchen to the dining area, without dropping or smashing half the meals. And how they would navigate the (presumably still fairly cluttered) kitchen at all.

[@One3673241]

+Guy Incognito There's always a period of adjustment, but it could be addressed.

[@goldcreeper7376]

Have you ever seen an actual chef cutting vegetables in a fast & precise manner ? Thay's a skill real people can acquire and that is taught in schools, not that rare or special. Taking that into account, would it be worth a big monetary investment when the sector is already interested in hiring competent people ? The answer's not really. The average cook couldn't afford them and the high-class chef would either prefer their arms because they are very skilled and don't want to risk getting worse or they make the change because they can afford it, but we're talking about less than 1% of workers here

[@One3673241]

@@goldcreeper7376 Many times, and it can be done even faster with robotic arms - that's the point. It's the difference between kneading dough by hand and using a stand mixer, times 50.

[@alexandrehenrique7203]

@@One3673241 ...so just use a machine for it, instead of removing the arms of a guy, then making him take medication that will probably come out of the company paycheck for it? like, i get what you are saying here, it COULD help, but its better to just go buy a blender

[@blackout295]

This character body language. No, this animation straight up looks like it's out of postal 2

[@lionocyborg6030]

Dany _the_penguin Walton Simons: "Nothing personal man, but you're fired."

[@brandonmorel2658]

@@lionocyborg6030 Proceeds to desecrate the corpse of Vince.

[@lionocyborg6030]

@@brandonmorel2658 “This can’t be good for me, but I feel great!”

[@brandonmorel2658]

@@lionocyborg6030 Postal 2 is basically the most quotable game of 2003.

[@lionocyborg6030]

@@brandonmorel2658 There’s also Tomb Raider 6. That fun little gem has some real meme worthy lines as well, especially as the game wasn’t properly completed thanks to Eidos screwing over Core Design.

[@letspretendwerealive]

HR is a well-made game for what it is, but when you're writing a Deus Ex game and have nothing interesting or insightful to say about the near future, it's a problem.

[@aprofondir]

They have one thing to say : racism bad

[@TheRadioSquare]

Lmao og Deus ex is good because it had well written quests and a lot of player choice. It doesn't offer anything that other sci-fi fiction can't offer.

[@lepidotos]

I have more to say with my NationStates nation.

[@josephgilboy6259]

@@TheRadioSquare other than a deep dive into conspiracy theories, something that no other major publisher is willing to do

[@TheRadioSquare]

@@josephgilboy6259 The circus is two blocks down.

[@instanceapp7952]

"What about dumping cups of nutmeg into your dish? You'll kill people!" I absolutely love the delivery of these lines. :D

[@blueshit199]

Thank you for this video. Human Revolution needed some criticism.

[@thebadger4040]

Jesteś wszędzie :L

[@AGrayPhantom]

But I didn't ask for this.

[@AGrayPhantom]

The game looks like it has good mechanics, but there's one thing that bugs me a lot. I was watching a roommate play it once, and he was in a building in Singapore. He had been caught, and alarms were raised. Then he went through a loading zone, and was in another part of the same building... but there were no alarms, and everyone were sitting at their desks as if some crazy American cyborg hadn't been shooting up the place a few doors down. This one thing is such a huge disappointment to me.

[@HarryPearce7]

Which points are missed, "muh augmentations"?

[@LSD_93]

Agreed: HR, like New Vegas, gets fuckloads of praise, while the mass of issues are ignored... ...but the video focussed on some really inane stuff. The yellow tint was annoying, but it's not like this is the first game to do it. Every game since ~2010 has had garish forced post-processing filters to hide the lazy old-gen console textures. The real issues with HR were mostly ignored or glanced over. The dialogue system was rubbish. The combat was kinda crap, but the real problem was like with Alpha Protocol: the stealth was hilariously easy, and absolute shit. Then you've got quests with simple binary choices, restrictive maps, simplistic upgrade system, and of course the repetitive gameplay

[@Thesavagesouls]

I loved the game, but the devs were clearly more fans of Metal Gear Solid and anime in generals than Deus Ex.

[@TheMrTangamandapio]

One of the things you said about Augs not taking over jobs, and you comparing it to previously existing top 10 jobs, you forgot to take into account that Augs might create previously unheard job positions (like extreme building environments like the Hengsha Pangu) Granted, the game did in fact skirt around the issue, but hey, thought it would've been nice for you to mention it :) Great video as always, Ross.

[@TheMrTangamandapio]

instead of building a boring building, make an extreme building the boring building industry dies, the extreme building industry thrives (theoretically)

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Hmm... interesting

[@dr_lazer4694]

But wouldn't extreme buildings be more expensive than boring buildings?

[@Jesse__H]

The character interactions make a lot more sense if you choose to play as the super stealthy non-lethal Adam 100% of the time. It really feels like the developers assumed everyone would do that. Now, **I** did that, and had a good time with the game ... but if you're not gonna make the guns-blazing Adam make SENSE narratively, why even put it into your game?? It's like they felt obligated to give you the choice, but really half-assed the choices they didnt think were the "good" ones 🙄🙄🙄

[@virtueofabsolution7641]

Living in Oklahoma we have felt the results of fracking. I dunno maybe it’s a coincidence but since fracking started we having her experiencing 1.5-2.0 earthquakes since then.

[@Yusuke_Denton]

There was another big one just last week! I think it's a combination of the fracking and unsteady fault lines that would have gone off eventually. In a different region it wouldn't have the same effect.

[@nonesuch6833]

The stockbroker says she can do her job without the augment, but not anywhere near as well as the richer people who have it, severely limiting her prospects despite the fact that she's worked much harder than them. She can only afford it off the Triads, who then naturally exploit the hell out of her. I do agree the game over-emphasizes augmentation and engages with it clumsily, but that side mission is where the possible issues with augs are presented most presciently and worryingly, so it seems unfair to say it doesn't answer the question.

[@TapKim]

@F.u.c.k Go.ogl.e go away

[@selemanecu]

heck it basically ties into what ross was saying about the rich people in the video to the first deus ex they have money influence and connections and the poor what kind of choices do they have at the end of the day?

[@YukonHexsun]

The problem is they don't do enough to establish what exactly the augmentations are doing that makes them better. Rapid stock trading? We have computers for that, you don't benefit by jamming it into your fuckin head. Frankly stock brokers don't have the kind of job now that they used to so it's kinda weird they used her as the example. Stock trading is all automated RIGHT NOW.

[@wheeledjustice7381]

Your fashion show was probably the best thing I've ever seen on this show. I never realized everyone dressed so similarly.

[@SPARTANTROOPER]

The problem with the augmentation theme in Deus Ex is that it tries to be a racial tension commentary a lot of the time, especially in Mankind Divided.

[@childrenofcod5866]

i agree, they take what in the original game was a question of transhumanism and tries to compare to historical racial oppression, which i dont feel is comparable, sort of the crap david cage pulled with the androids in detroit become human.

[@ajeje1996]

I agree when it comes to Mankind Divided, in Human Revolution I didn't notice it all that much, so I wasn't as bothered

[@greenleafwilliammetts6557]

@@ajeje1996 idk what to say about mankind divided. Nice game, but can they lay off more of the shit augs get so it is at least believable

[@peterszigeti8801]

Ross, a point that you and possibly the game missed as well: if we have the technology to augment humans, we have the technology to replace most jobs with robots. Cashiers, office staff and other minor bureaucratic jobs would disappear in favor of computers with superscanners (sth like the imaginary technology used for the artificial eyes), sparking off even more competition for the remaining jobs. Also, given your valid concerns about the price and personal sacrifices necessary for augmentation, it's quite likely that augmented people would not be the supermen of the future, but the super-slaves of the future. For example, you apply for a job as head of corporate security. The corporation says our conditions for hiring you are that you get this list of specific augmentations. The corporation will generously pay for these augmentations (or give you a loan for them), and then you become tied to the corporation through 3 different ways: (1) debt obligations to repay the corporation for the costs of augmentation; (2) needing the immune reaction suppression meds that the corporation (or a subsidiary, or a partner comparny) produces; and (3) the software updates/"hidden switches" that the game features...

[@mistahsusan2650]

That's it I'm becoming Amish and rockin' a ZZ top beard...

[@YukonHexsun]

Honestly if you went that route, it would start feeling like a Shadowrun game. I'm not against that necessarily, I dig Shadowrun, but seriously, the first thing that came to mind was the cyborg workers who get skill-soft implanted into them so they can do whatever task is needed. Or, have their entire personality and memories re-written to act as a meat puppet whore in fetish brothels, which is also a thing in Shadowrun. Yeah you're absolutely right to bring that up, it's an interesting and dangerous road.

[@bensosnowski1128]

I disagree. There is a difference between making an arm that can punch through walls, and making a robot that can flip burgers. The augmentations are more about material science, nanotechnology, and making them rejection proof (biochemistry/biomedical engineering?) The robot that replaces a worker is easy to build. Very easy to build. But is a fucking nightmare to code and execute properly. Look at the brick laying robot for example. In order to simplify the machine, it can only place in a strait line. It still needs humans to monitor and maintain it, to set it up, to feed it bricks and mortar, and to readjust it accordingly. Even when machines are made to replace humans, they arnt that impressive, and do not replace humans entirely.

[@bensosnowski1128]

Péter Szigeti kzbin.info/www/bejne/aF65g2d_mKmbjpI This is the brick laying robot

[@ChiotVulgaire]

See, that would make for a REALLY GOOD Deus Ex story: The tension between a genuine new technological age that is being leveraged by corporations for greedy purposes and the desire for freedom in a time where people can get superpowers. That creates an interesting theme of freedom vs. prosperity, as people with augments would be well off, but they'd essentially be sacrificing their personal selves for the benefits of corporate leaders, while unaugmented people would have to fend for themselves, unwilling to take part in a system that ostracizes them for their unwillingness to comply. It would also introduce a better setting for a real CyberPUNK story. I'm tired of always playing a military/police type in a setting where the most interesting characters are supposed to be the outcasts of society. Cyberpunk 2077 already looks set to fix this at least.

[@McgoganLives]

I remember reading that the yellow tint to everything in Human Revolution was meant to be symbolic, implying that the world is in a 'Golden Age' of technological progress and augmentation.

[@legohanknaruto]

What Ross said about the prequel being more futuristic than the original is a complaint I share with many series that do that for example in Star Wars how come we have all this sleek and fancy tech in the prequels/old republic while in the original trilogy everything seems run down and bulky?

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Yeah, but Star Wars had it's original creator behind it. HR was a totally new team.

[@DolanDuking]

Turns out being an oppressive empire meant there needed to be budget cuts to fund the massive army

[@Neuttah]

Also, going back to the Star Wars examples: The most egregious example, the military of Naboo is known for polishing their equippment more than actually *using* it, from what I remember. And what you see is probably the Palace Guard, rather than rank and file troops, if they even have any. In the original trilogy, the rebellion had to settle for what they could get for as long as possible, and the Empire was probably busy running around, quelling all dissent at a moment's notice. Whole thing is also about 15 to 30 years into a civil war-type scenario at that point. It depends on perspective. As for Deus: You start the first game running around ghettos, before progressing to top secret bases and labs while HR starts you off in the modernised core of a reviving city (with a convenient bit of habitation for the janitorial staff, I guess), then quickly ships you off to the HQ of your boss' largest competitor. JC tended not gravitate towards big flashy corporate centres like Adam did. Aaaand then there's the whole 'world crashing down' thing.

[@Myzelfa]

Everything's run down in the original Star Wars because they've been under the heel of the Empire for like twenty years and basically everybody's dirt-poor and has to make do with obsolete devices.

[@clyax113]

That argument I can't quite believe. Even run down technology resembles some of what it use to look like. So why is it that, in the past prior to the Empire, sure it looked nicer, but why is the *technology itself* seem of higher quality (Note: I'm not sure why, but this comment seemed a tad snarky to me, and that's not what I'm going for. I'm genuinely asking why this is the way it is. Pardon me if my tone was misunderstood)?

[@1x4x9]

I originally came to this channel by way of Jim Sterling recommending Ross' piece on Games As A Service, and ran into the Game Dungeon segments. After watching literally 2/3rds of the videos I have a whole new respect for the work he's done. Seriously, this guy deserves the popularity that PewDiePie gets. Keep up the good work, man!

[@nick8052]

I thought everyone here was watching for years, no idea there were new viewers coming in lol

[@ethanphilpot7643]

You should watch his Freeman's Mind series. Some of the best writing in any machinima series ever

[@Dr.Oofers]

Wow, man, I’m glad Ross got a shoutout, he does deserve the attention for his Freeman’s mind series, and game dungeon series.

[@inurokuwarz]

I did a playthrough of Human Revolution where I killed every single person on the map and nobody commented on it. In the original, Manderley chewed me out for knocking out a street punk that was threatening a girl.

[@turbofrog_froggy]

Ross! I've been rewatching the Deus Ex series and sending it to all of my friends. This is some of your best work, and I come back to it often. Now that I've played Mankind Divided, I'm 10X as interested in hearing your take on it. Hope to see that episode someday. Thanks for all of the laugh, thoughts, and the consistently great content.

[@TheTber123]

The Wayne Haas guy at 23:30 sounds more like Jensen's angry ex-boyfriend. Anyone else thinking that?

[@SolyomSzava]

"We essentially have a slow apocalypse heading towards us"... yep, that sentence is very prescient looking back from 2020. And the dumpster fire is just getting warm.

[@fireflocs]

I mean, the game's tagline was "It's not the end of the world, but you can see it from here."

[@DancerVeiled]

2021 here, it's kinda hot right now.

[@rustyshackleford1508]

Don't call it a grave. It's the future you chose, after all.

[@CassandraFortuna]

@@rustyshackleford1508 I would ask "who chose this who isn't a millionaire or billionaire" but this is the same timeline where people are taking horse dewormers instead of just getting a damned prick in the arm because they're scared of microchips. And then those same people get on their GPS-enabled smartphones to complain about said microchips with their legal names.

[@rustyshackleford1508]

@@CassandraFortuna Ah, I see you bought into the fake Rolling Stones story too. How's it feel to not have two brain cells to rub together? Even before it was revealed to be fake, even a passing understanding of how triage works and some common sense would tell you that no ER in the world prioritizes minor overdoses over gunshots.

[@mikesfx]

"Not only do I look like I live in the Capital Region of the Hunger Games... but I am also a productive employee" LOL

[@Wannabe_Baby]

Going back and watching all of Game Dungeon again, Ross' take on world events from these Deus Ex episodes (the military-industrial complex, corporation tax, employed vs self-employed, the oil shortage causing a slow apocalypse) makes me want to hear his take on Covid-19. I'd love to see a pandemic-themed game on this show.

[@TurboNutterBastard]

The Grey Death in Deus Ex covers that.

[@thewardenofoz3324]

"pandemic"

[@LutraLovegood]

@@thewardenofoz3324 You got a better word, mister dictionary?

[@thewardenofoz3324]

@@LutraLovegood you'll get your word when you FIX THIS DAMN DOOR 🚪

[@DarkCloudGather]

Most critical discussion of Covid-19 is banned on KZbin. There is only one narrative allowed and even then it is a risk to discuss the subject. Truly sad, but that is the world we live in these days with these "leaders" on top.

[@Dizbulance]

Ross: "...Same goes for the look of the cars. Good guess, probably wrong." - 2016 Elon Musk: *"AYY , CHECK OUT THIS CYBERTRUCK, FAM."* - 2019

[@spartan117ce]

ironic, he designed it to be all hard edges on purpose to fuck with the trend of curves everywhere we have today, but i have no doubt low skilled designers will steal his car design, add curves and incidentally start making HR cars, but with real logos on the front. Yes very good i too desire cars somehow uglier than nissan leafs

[@Michael-Madrid]

try again with the use of ironic.

[@spartan117ce]

shoo shoo grammar nazi begone

[@YukonHexsun]

@@spartan117ce "Somehow uglier than Nissan leafs" Oh friend you can get far, far uglier. The Fiat Multipla exists.

[@statiq1941]

@@spartan117ce Don't make a competent comment and then fall apart at valid criticism, just learn from it and stop butchering English collectively.

[@hideakiakio6698]

The most tragic thing about this is the original game is slowly being forgotten.

[@brandonmorel2658]

The og Deus Ex has had a kind of resurgence for supposedly predicting our current state affairs. There are some things that actually really spot on but the grey death thingy is a Nostradamus kind of thing where the prediction is very vague so it can kind of fit in every time period.

[@DeadManSinging1]

No its not. Don't make up issues to be upset about

[@bajscast]

@@brandonmorel2658 I think people like to focus on the idea of the original deus ex 'predicting' things when it was just based on conspiracy theories that came before. Stuff comes in cycles and there are a lot more people who _think_ they're conspiracy minded because they've got some basic ideas about NWOs and whatever, when the original deus ex was a lot more subtle than just 'everything i don't like is controlled by da joos'. You see it with covid, people make great leaps about the idea that every medical practictioning country is just agreeing to have a specific narrative about a disease, and the disease can in the mind of conspiracyheads both be purposefully manufactured while also being weak enough that we should just ignore it Really the reason deus ex has had a resurgence is because it's really funny

[@Clero77]

10:38 "Ah yeah, I'm sure they'll be finishing this up in, what, 11 years now?" Actually, you can overhear people in Hengsha saying that the Pangu (i.e., the 'second floor' of the city) took 12 years to build, so yep.

[@whitehorse8558]

@Merciless Freak Never

[@whitehorse8558]

@Merciless Freak You are. I am you

[@Web720]

... In Detroit??? Yeah doubt.

[@narnbrez]

@@Web720 hengsha (where the multi-layered city is set) is near shanghai not detroit

[@TheHylan143]

I was really hoping Ross would throw in the guy from the first game screaming and running towards the camera one more time at the end.

[@GlitchyKittenCrew]

"and the prices of gas are low at the time of this video" haunting words from the past.

[@_Digishade_]

"Why do people know him?" As someone who works in Security, if Adam is head of security and he's any good at his job, he'll know people - probably damn near everyone - and those people will know him. This actually makes a lot of sense, from a job standpoint. Employees *should* know who the head of their company's Security division is, especially one as massive and financially flush as Sarif Industries.

[@garfunkel6975]

But they do not work in Security. They are just random office drones, ranging from cleaners to catering to admin clerks to whatever. No organization that I've worked for - that has had a head of security - has done things the way you describe.

[@white_tulip]

@@garfunkel6975 I think we're forgetting the fact that he happens to be one of the few survivors from the Sarif attack. As far as the employees know, Adam risked his neck to save people and nearly died in the process. Chances are low that anyone at sarif won't know who he is.

[@IAmCaligvla]

It's almost as if Ross has literally no clue of what he's talking about...

[@Pan_Z]

Head of Security & recently recovered from a terrorist attack by going through heavy augmentation. Even if you didn't know Jensen personally, you'd probably talk about him.

[@ToastyMozart]

He's also the guy who shot like a dozen cyborg terrorists, got almost-killed being a hero, and then turned into RoboCop Presented by Sarif Industries. It'd be weird if someone at the company _didn't_ know who he is.

[@syncmonism]

That fashion segment made you seem like you know way more about fashion than I ever expected, and was extremely well done.

[@JimJava007]

I can confirm Deus Ex: The Fall is a complete shitpile. Imagine hacking off about a fifth of Human Revolution, reducing the complexity by about 25%, and slapping a "To Be Continued" on the end- that's about what happened.

[@CyborgSodaCollects]

We never got a follow up...I feel like square enix was really on to something with this mobile episodic side story. I'm sure if they tried again with today's mobile hardware,but it probably wouldn't be too profitable.

[@JimJava007]

@@CyborgSodaCollects I feel like the "episodic storytelling" pitch is inherently flawed because most people don't WANT their games to be like that, given the choice. You're never going to see episodic games on a wide scale for the same reasons books don't get released one chapter a week.

[@CyborgSodaCollects]

@@JimJava007 Fair point. Those live service games seemed to keep raking in the dough 🤢( look at what's happening to Ass creed series). It's a shame we'll never see a follow up on mobile to the fall. companies that experiment always have my respect in this market.

[@richardharrow2513]

Tbh I really enjoyed playing The Fall on my phone back when it came out. It was pretty impressive for a mobile game. But then some genius at square enix decided to release it on steam, and of course people hated it because on pc it pales in comparison to HR. So they looked at steam reviews and went like Well, the game was a mistake, no more sequels. I was pretty disappointed by that. If only I knew that they would do the same thing with the main series. Mankind Divided is a great game begging for a sequel that will never happen cause SE wasn’t satisfied with it’s sales. I’m honestly happy that IO Interactive have managed to leave SE and the Hitman series didn’t met the same end... Hey, anybody remember Sleeping Dogs?

[@xenulus5282]

"Lawyers have weeks to go over decisions we have seconds to make." Hmmmm, I like that.

[@AgentDanielCross]

Same problem you face in SWAT 4

[@nbr1rckr]

@@AgentDanielCross no joke. Thought about this quote multiple times playing through that game

[@thousandpagesofmadness]

Watching the part about oil when oil futures are literally in the negative. Fun times in 2020.

[@lepidotos]

They're still on track for 2030 being at least $125/barrel, it's just that the pandemic made it so few people drove.

[@chaptap8376]

Just because the demand is low doesn't mean the supply is high. It just means the dwindling amount we have wasn't profitable for a while.

[@aldovk6681]

Did you just say.... you know what? nvm the oil barrel will cost 140 in a few months anyway

[@Gam0rDude]

I have a few criticisms of your Criticisms. First, as for people not behaving realistically.. Those scientists are frazzled. They're going in front of the US senate in a few hours. They're probably just clinging to the stable, strong Megan for support. That, and Megan is a conniving bitch. As for your ex cop buddy... His wife left him. He got kicked out of the swat team. He blames himself. He now works a desk job, as a broken man. Add two years of at least needing some support.. that can melt any man. As for people liking Adam.. Well. He might be cold and distant. But, in the game, he cares despite his demenour. I think these people just like him because they sense they can trust him. That he'll try and do the right thing. He just wants to help. And.. as for the cops, and people judging you for killing. You're a man who can punch through walls, go invisible and win 2v1 fistfights without a scratch on you. You can see through solid objects, and fall almost a mile in the air and land safely. They know what you're capable of. And they probably don't like that you're using those fancy augments as implements of death. Otherwise, Detroit and Augmentations. Sarif rebuilt detroit. Detroit is a city, now entirely focused on manufacturing augmentations, rather than automobiles. Crude mechanical augmentations have been a thing since the 1990's in the deus ex universe. Only now, are they truly like this, though. The reason everyone in detroit is talking about Sarif, is because he'd recently completely changed the face of detroit with the augmentation industry. He essentially owns detroit now, and most everyone owes their livelihood to him. Explains the architecture and wardrobe too. Sarif OWNS detroit. He probably just had them rebuild those buildings, with those aesthetics. To make people think "shit. This is the fucking future" which would no doubt make them think "I need to embrace the future." Which could increase his sale of augs. Hengsha is the seat of Tai Yong medical. They probably have a similar thing going on with the two story city. Augmentations give people massive advantages. For instance, you pointed out that culinary fields don't benefit? There's a guy in mankind divided that has antimicrobial hands that don't leave a trace. Imagine that guy as a cook. He wouldn't have to waste time washing his hands between dishes, and he could work faster and more confidently, as he couldn't cut himself. Imagine a stock marketeer with a probability calculator in his head that responds to his thoughts. CASIE augs are always useful in any sales position. Combining them with natural skill only compounds your ability further, and allows you to directly read people based on physiological signs. Imagine a person in a manager position in a retail store, with smartvision. They could do paperwork and stock, while at the same time keeping an eye out for shoplifters and people who need help. Any tech support job - either hands or a direct neural interface with the computer would be a massive advantage. It's outright shown in the game what hackers can do to computers. How easy it is for them. Beyond that, there are augs that improve your general health, your ability to focus and learn, and really affect your cognitive abilities. Just as Megan said in the beginning, "Mechanical limbs are nice and all. But it's neuroprosthetics that really promise the future. Think faster, move quicker.." I'm paraphrasing. Just having more vitality or an ability to focus longer would allow any person a massive, massive advantage in almost any field. Infolinks. Imagine being able to make skype calls in your head at any point in the day. Instant communication, anywhere, quicker than even a cellular phone. You've got to imagine the implications in increasing human capabilities, before judging the game for not directly showing you them. Then you'd probably complain about how it's shoving it down your throat, even more. The main reason this game focuses so much on augmentations, is because in the Deus Ex timeline, it's around this point that the golden age of human augmentation occurs. It's right before the mechanical apartheid. It's a huge, huge part of the first Deus Ex's story.

[@MugenScythe]

This about hits the nail on the head. And to follow up on the aug focus, it's just also to provide how big of an impact nano-augs will become.

[@Gam0rDude]

MugenScythe Reminds me of that document on nano-augs in the first DX.. "The Straight Skinny, Joe Greene, Midnight Sun"

[@fwg1994]

If I remember correctly, I think the cops give you lip about not dealing with things more succinctly if you go the nonlethal route. I think they are just giving you lip because that should be their job. Could be wrong on that, but I feel like the cops complain about what you do, regardless of what you do.

[@Zekyb0y]

Mind-machine interface isn't very polished on Deus ex (a good example of a fully developed Mind-Machine interface example would be the cyberbrain on E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy), on the frist Deus Ex, the important difference between the augmented agents and the engineered aumented agents (like Walton Simons) is that they could merge whit machines to the advantages of an augmented nervious system, so most of the augmentations for normal humans only limits to the clasic body replacements (legs, arms, eyes), normal people cant be augmented whit calculators or other kind of neuro-aumgentations on their brains on the Deus Ex universe, acording to the frist Deus Ex, if it was possible on Human Revolution, then it would be cannon breaking and too fantastic and disconected from reality because of the complexity of the brain (that's why cyber eyes are so hard to develop on the real world).

[@dantekb43]

This guy gets it.... This guy REALLY gets it.... Thank you for point this stuff as your opinion, cause it's what i felt answering when i saw the video I don't know if Ross will ever see this or even answer to our comments, but here goes a complement... I agree 100% with Ross on two points: 1- that this game is too egocentric towards Adam, it really feels like the world goes around whatever Adam is working at the moment... 2 - They don't show ENOUGH conflicts or reasoning on why augmentation is such a big deal, the game leaves you to imagine (like you did in your comment) topics which augmentation would fuck up morality and society. However, I have to point out a problem (at least in my opinion) in Ross' behavior in this review... It feels like he divided the aspects of this game in two boxes.... a "good stuff" box and a "bad stuff" box... but instead of exploring and using the best parts of the good box, he proceeded to put a giant rock inside the bad box and vigorously smash it against his head many times so that he isn't able to forget the bad things! So some of those the stuff that weren't supposed to be AS BAD as the metaphorical giant rock inside the box, becomes amplified because of the repetitive focus on those bad things... What do i mean by that? Let's take the wardrobe choices/yellow filter/building designs as examples... Yes, depending on your point of view, they can be put in the "bad stuff" box, Ross isn't completely spewing bullshit, but at the same if you keep smashing against your head the ideas of "Oh no, it's a prequel to the glorious original Deus EX, so it has to be even more down-to-earth than it was" or "It's just 10 years into the future, so this is completely bullshit on what the future is going to look like, and it must look like artistic, but realistic"... it will become MUCH WORSE that they are supposed to be.... I always looked at it as this game's unique feel and identity, because if it tried too hard to be "realistic", it would end up becoming generic as hell, so I liked the choices made by the artists here, even though they can be classified as bad! I'm not trying to damage control with which I'm about to say, I'm just trying to be sincere! I L O V E Ross' work! His game choices are the best, cause I'm an old DOS-era gamer and modern game design is trying REALLY hard to make me hate modern gaming (online DRM, DLC festivals, Microtransactions galore, games void of content [I'M LOOKING AT YOU BATTLEFRONT]).... although i agree that he's right throughout most of this review, I also think he's being too rough on the game...

[@alexanderchippel]

For some reason this game feels like it was made in Japan. I don't know what it is, but it just feels "eastern," as opposed to the first game's "western" feel.

[@brandonmorel2658]

Its weird, Mankind Divided "fixes" that. no futuristic fashion, no filter, more grounded, though it still focuses on augs.

[@kakizakichannel]

Definitely weird considering Deus Ex had an equal number of anime influences. Isn't Square Enix only the publisher? It's not a Final Fantasy game.

[@Bluecho4]

Another thing about Augmentation: this game sort of misses a big point, vis a vis the far bigger concern of Mechanization. In the future, it's more likely that the big problem taking people's jobs will be the trend of cutting out the human element entirely, and just using robots for industry. We're already seeing it, and the issue will only get worse as robotics and AI improve. That's another reason why the Augmentation obsession in Human Revolution rings hollow. Its economics is not only wonky, it's also a moot point. No companies are going to bother with augmented workers, if they can dispense with the "worker" part of that equation, and just use machines. If the game was dead set on having an in-universe conflict over augmentation, it would have been more realistic to have augmentation's opponents be up in arms for religious or cultural reasons. Because human beings have a habit of disliking things that are new and strange, and they sometimes take stances for irrational reasons. Better yet, have the best of both worlds, and have the in-universe talking points...that are ultimately moot in the narrative, because full blown mechanization is the true cause of economic unrest. That the opposition to augmentation is a result of lots of misinformed people assigning blame on augmented people, rather than on corporations, for the loss of jobs. All because those same corporations - led by the Illuminati - have created a propaganda campaign that diverts public attention away from those corporate interests and onto a minority group. That the whole Augmentation plot is a smokescreen to mask systemic problems, to tragic results. It would not only be more interesting, it would also directly mirror real-world events, and play into the themes that the original Deus Ex had. Those terrorists in the future had to come from somewhere, right? Whether it's from disaffected normals, marginalized augmented, or both.

[@YukonHexsun]

I like the idea of a public deluded into thinking augs are the problem, rather than job automation. That makes more sense, and while some might think at first that you couldn't trick people into believing that... Fox news exists. Fox news and other media sources like them have convinced people of insane shit, and even when the world is saying they're nuts, they keep rolling with it. I'd add a small layer: When I look at stuff like robots replacing jobs, I've got two solutions. The first is just moving towards a post scarcity economy, or at least a heavy welfare state with a UBI. Other solution is actually augmentations. Not fuckin mecha arms and stuff, that doesn't mess with the economy unless we're talking about augmented warlords with hideous military grade stuff (which I absolutely want to see as a thing in war torn regions). No, I'm talking about significant neural enhancement. Augmented workers can work faster and smarter, literally out-thinking everyone else. You've automated my accounting job? Cool, I integrate the automation script into my mind and run it as a subroutine, aided by human creativity. I am now better than the script, and a frighteningly efficient worker. Some jobs that simply need to get done and don't benefit from significant quality increases wouldn't work for this. Like, increased quality of accounting will just mean you need less accountants. But anything abstract will absolutely be aided by this. Creatives could benefit immensely, PR reps and spokespeople would be perfectly skilled, and seriously difficult technical tasks like engineering, medicine, the sciences, and programming? The fusion of machine-level speeds and human creativity would make automation nothing but another tool. Question is, would that reduce the number of workers so you just have a few super stars? The income inequality gap would widen a ton from this. My idea steps further into Ghost in the Shell type stuff, this really wouldn't be a good thing to put in a Deus Ex prequel. Your idea is more grounded. But, just something that sprang to my mind.

[@YukonHexsun]

@Stix N' Stones No, that's silly. Mainstream media is a bit more sinister in the sense that it lies by omission, but Fox News literally, statistically, lies more. Not just fox's actual news but also the opinion news shows that get more views than the news, and even then the news is dishonest. Seriously, look up comparisons from independent organizations of these news sources. CNN sucks but it doesn't straight up lie to you like Fox News. Fox isn't the "opposition", it's an echo chamber of delusion that has contributed to a solid chunk of Americans living in a completely different reality than the rest of the country.

[@graysaltine6035]

@Stix N' Stones Was glad to see someone wrote this. The "FOX news" meme is a bit ten-years-ago. Sorry GreatYukon but FOX didn't have a reporter sniff a backpack with "sarin gas" on it or deliberately film the wrong side of an oil carrier... It's sad to make the assumption but I find people who still harp on FOX tend to wear their political affiliation on their sleeve.

[@YukonHexsun]

@Stix N' Stones I don't go off my own personal experience, I'm going off independent studies. Compare CNN and Fox on Politifact. You should never completely trust any news source, but if you honestly think Fox is "telling the truth to power" or something while CNN is full of shit... well that's a line Trump and the GOP have been pushing for a long time. I will acknowledge CNN lies sometimes, and I don't excuse those lies. I do not watch or read CNN. If a news story hits, I tend to look at multiple sources because often news sources will selectively focus on certain parts, the kind of thing CNN does more rather than blatant falsehoods. You're just sorta claiming that CNN is a lying machine. If the rate of dishonest that CNN exhibits makes them a lying machine to you (which is fine), then Fox is even MORE so full of shit. To hell with for-profit corporate news, I say.

[@YukonHexsun]

@Stix N' Stones In light of recent events with Warren, CNN and Politico participating in the blatant and corrupt smear campaign against Bernie Sanders, I'm revising my position. Fuck CNN because it's acting as an arm of the DNC. Still annoyed by the insult but y-know, internet.

[@elijahjarman2837]

I blame Square Enix for the body language. Too.. anime esuq

[@brandonmorel2658]

The thing is that Square is only the publisher, the developers are entirely responsible of the body language and such. I doubt a representative of Square would come to Montreal to say "WE WANT ANIME BEHAVIOR, ARIGATO". Though is kind of weird that people in Montreal would do such thing since the body language thing is more eastern than occidental. Maybe they shared development with Square's other companies that are Japanese, who knows.

[@no_misaki]

I think that entire critique is a pointless nitpick . The so-called "anime body language" consists of just the one scientist in the opening sequence (coming from someone who finished their 1st playthrough last night)

[@retroartist9186]

@@no_misaki nah, the caracters are full weaboos alright, this gaem is BS

[@silverblank1139]

I really liked what the art director did with triangles and diamonds. Incorporated these structures in textures, models, everything. Also the game being a conspiracy on illuminati fits it perfectly.

[@plasmabat718]

The yellowness of the game was symbolic of a "golden age" or renaissance that humanity was entering. Now whether that was worth it or not, I don't know.

[@briancahill9594]

Ooh, that or a new Gilded Age, where everything seemed hopeful but was actually sitting on a powder keg atop a pile of shit (kind of like the period in the US right after World War 1 and before the Great Depression)

[@selemanecu]

@@briancahill9594 well one thing I liked was that you still get to see the same homeless people you saw in the first Deus Ex all over Detroit and Shenghea

[@psychronia]

It seems that the number 1 quality Ross values in a game is its immersive ability. This means continuity errors, unsupported suspension of disbelief, and gameplay aspects that make them seem too "gamey" are the biggest problem for him. It's reasonable, and I can totally get behind everything he says about Human Revolution, which seems so obsessed with creating a gameplay mechanic that it becomes mechanical gameplay. That said, I personally enjoy games as a sort of escapism, so I sometimes get uncomfortable when the game is *too* rooted in reality with too much basis. When a game becomes too real, all the crapsack worlds come to life and it feels unpleasant. I always considered myself the guy that would not only accept life in the matrix, but would plug myself into the matrix within that one that was rejected as "too perfect to accept".

[@PlungerMettaur]

The one thing that I hate the most in games is when the game gives you a choice between lethal and nonlethal, but then heavily chastises you for taking the lethal route why give me a choice then "But feel bad though" it delegitimizes multiple playthoughs via forcing you to only play one way in RPGs like this, thats a cardinal sin

[@smokingone]

The game: "you can go lethal or non-lethal, here take this submachine gun" Me: "was that a question?"

[@fatherhill8731]

DE:HR in my opinion is a phenomenal game. Everything you say is definitely valid and i see no faults with your reasoning. What it comes down to is i guess we play games in entirely different ways. HR was actually my first Deus Ex game so on my first run through i wasn't bothered by any of the inconsistencies because i had nothing to compare them to. of course going back i can see the weaknesses in the story but in the end i look at each game both individually and as a part of the overall series. in the overall category it definitely misses the mark. As a contained story however, I think it's as good as you're going to find in the era it released in.

[@ArkhanNightman]

Same here. I was more immersed in Human Revolution than any other game released at the time.

[@Accursed_Farms]

Yeah I never said it's a bad game (though I seriously don't like them tinting everything), but I think it has a lot of problems if it's supposed to be a prequel.

[@bkgrila]

I also enjoyed HR a ton, despite playing the original first. What worked well in HR allowed me to overlook what didn't work so well. I considered it more of a soft reboot than a direct prequel, since HR was much more fantastical and didn't really have any direct connections to the plot of the original. Sure, it had Bob Page in the intro, but he's diabolical enough to exist in more than one universe.

[@PokemonHaloFan]

Same here. While I did play the original Deus Ex first I did greatly enjoy playing Human Revolution. It was a fun experience with solid game play and if it's contained in it's own game a rather good story. Maybe viewing the game as a reboot for the series is a better way to look at it. I mean compared to the run and gun military shooters that are flooding the market and the unchanging assembly line of game design that most companies seem to be following I found DE:HR a breath of fresh air. Same with Dishonored.

[@tdcsguy]

This might be the most controversial thing one can say about DX:HR so please don't kill me or burn my house down or anything, but I actually liked the visual style of this game. It really builds a cool and unique cyber punk world. But it also lends from the best: I was sooo reminded of Blade Runner when I first went into Adams apartment.

[@inspectorcake9637]

CRUFIFY THE HERETIC-kinda, it does look good, but the piss shade and Detroit being a metropolis ruins it completely.

[@Shiroi0moi]

Same thing. I absolutely adored the visual presentation of the game and was baffled when someone pointed that out to me as a complaint for the first time.

[@TheSamgo]

@@inspectorcake9637 They fixed the shade I'm the directors cut, and what about Detroit? You really can't use it as a point, since in the game it was chosen by Sarif as HQ of his company and so he can revitalize the city in some sort of tax Haven and pr move

[@marianoclerici3986]

I love it too, my friends. I love it too.

[@matternicuss]

It does look cool at times, but it's just a case of being too much for too long. If the piss filter was used sparingly, no one would be complaining about it.

[@Mausso]

+Accursed Farms I know that the color tinting makes this a limited palette. It was intentional because they wanted a Gold and Black color scheme and presence throughout the game. I believe the "gold" part was a meta reference to this being the Golden Era of Human Mechanical Augmentation. Also, Gold and Black are contrasting colors. Gold appears more rich in the darker atmosphere and black appears darker. Since they are contrasting, this could be a reference to the game's inner conflict of Naturals vs. Augmented. Especially when you consider that the people who reject augmentation symbolize this by wearing neo-gothic attire (Eliza). If you look at it this way, Augs are gold (Golden Era) and the Naturals are black (neo-gothic) and the constant plastering you in the face with Black and Gold is just a not-so-subtle reminder of the conflict. It really does keep the maps from appearing unique. They all look the same. You could make an argument that this is to represent the Illuminati making everyone united under their control, or that the aforementioned conflict is world wide, but it's weak. Overall, it is an interesting idea, that as an artist, I like the unity of it. The colors take on a Wagner-esque leitmotif. That being said, as a gamer, I totally get where you are coming from, and there could have been more subtle ways to do this without blasting your eyes out in a gold and yellow haze.

[@brandonmorel2658]

As simple as making the Augs wear the weird clothes and the Naturals wear more down to earth counterparts.

[@nihilblue9669]

I dont mind the gold colors that much but coming from a game as colorful and vibrant as the original Deus Ex I have no idea why they didn't make HR a spiritual sequel to the original

[@littlejuliuscaesar8920]

I think Ross should review the new Hitman games. His sense of humor and those games’ sense of humor would fit nicely together.

[@mercoro]

It's funny that in the first DX game augmentations are starting to develop, and in DX:HR that it's supposed to be the PREQUEL, augmentations are developed enough to make public riots and are accessible to all people. Square Enix clearly doesn't understand a lot about technology and time progression.

[@sorrenblitz805]

Different styles of augmentation. In the first game Nano-Augmentation is the new hotness. In HR, it's just biomechanical prosthetics. Deus Ex 1 even mentions that some people still get the old mechanical augmentations over the new nanotechnology stuff

[@Dennis-nc3vw]

Augmentation become taboo after Deus Ex: Human Revolution. In the original Deus Ex there are references to how "mech augs" are discriminated against early in the story.

[@BlazeDeval]

Ross, I don't think you get the whole thing about Wayne Haas. He isn't just 'suffering a little PTSD' or 'having trauma issues', he's a completely broken man. Not cracked, but in pieces. He became addicted to drugs (strong painkillers), lost his job while his life turned to shit. If anything, he's doing somewhat "decently" for a person with such a degree of PTSD. Usually they end up dead in their house with a bullet through their head and a stomach full of pills.

[@Komnen0s]

Ross was being critical of Wayne not because he's a cop who has PTSD, but because Wayne is badly-written. You can write a cop who's traumatized by what he's seen, but this is not the way to do it. Wayne's dialogue is so over-the-top and maudlin that it doesn't feel believable in the slightest. If you wanted to do this right, you would want to show restraint and subtlety. Wayne should have had a tired, melancholy demeanor where it seems like he barely cares about life anymore. The detail about his painkiller addiction is good, but they shouldn't have drawn so much attention to it; it doesn't even need any spoken dialogue, he could just pop a handful of pills mid-conversation and have Adam look on uncomfortably (IE, *showing* that Wayne is fucked up rather than *telling* the audience he's fucked up). Instead of artificially belting out all his problems to Adam in the five minutes they've been talking, he should have just alluded to the fact that he's seen some bad shit and that he doesn't know which way to turn. You wouldn't even have to specify what it was he did that prevents him from sleeping at night, it could just be implied to be some accidental violence and left at that. Wayne's scene would have been much more tasteful if was done subtly instead of spelling it out in such a blunt, obvious way like they do. Video game writing tends to be bad at the best of times, but HR really drops the ball in the area of writing believable characters. The people who defend Wayne's terrible writing are insinuating that PTSD is some one-dimensional soap opera problem that can be rectified by having an uplifting five-minute conversation.

[@davvigtu]

Here's a thought: DXHR and DXMD is All Just a Dream... Gunther Hermann's to be precise. This explains why the setting is wrong (everything was better in the past, he thinks!), why mech augs are such a Big Deal even though they weren't in the original DX, and why they seem to have powers rivaling the nanoaugs in DX1. Gunther's subconscious tells him he can't be obsolete, so obviously he'll imagine the mech augs to be very powerful. But perhaps his fears of actually becoming obsolete is bleeding through to the entire racism thing in HR and (especially) in MD. Hey, it's better than "definitely like a sauce".

[@bkgrila]

Now you have me wishing this was a secret ending to HR that you could unlock by carrying a flag into a bathroom and flushing the toilet, just like the dance party ending from Invisible War.

[@kaplan3078]

don't forget that he wanted OGANSH, so his dreams are orange

[@youngimmortal4719]

It can't be Gunther Hermann's dream. Adam Jensen doesn't have a skull gun.

[@groovysnake6664]

If that were true, the filter would be ORANGE

[@boilerhousegarage]

@@groovysnake6664 He wanted orange tint, but they gave him lemon-lime.

[@allypezz]

The fashion segment had me in stitches!

[@alabanesuileabhain6613]

"I am a disco king who is also attending a Mexican wedding!😃" 💒🇲🇽🌮🕺🕴️😎

[@nixel1324]

12:46 is that POSTAL 2 club music? I'm pretty sure I heard it in there somewhere, maybe the Fire in the Hole club or something.

[@nixel1324]

Yes it is! He put it in the credits!

[@shadowmech_134]

You know there is a problem with the jobs list and that is you applied it to Adam's combat augs only. Malik also has augs which she mentions when you talk to her right after doing the first mission. Her augs are in her brain and help her brain's functions for perception, hand-eye coordination, and mental acuity. It isn't a stretch to say there aren't also augs for memory and stimulating brain activity to enhance thinking speed as well (I think Malik's augs actually do make her think faster but it isn't explained how they work beyond they make her skills as a pilot better). I would say Augs like these would be extremely valuable in any career and give the people who have them a huge advantage. Also even Adam's combat augs can be useful in civilain jobs as well. His "wall hack" vision for example could be useful for doctors to be able to do spot checks of patients to see if there are any problems that would normally need a large scanner or an invasive procedure to find. Search and rescue personnel, firefighters, and paramedics could also make use of it to find people in low viability situations. Augmented hands and arms don't just give more physical strength but can also give better dexterity then a normal human hand could have. This could be extremely useful for surgeons and factory workers who work with very sensitive products. Also nurses actually could use physical strength augs since part of their job is being able to physically move patients who can sometimes be very heavy. And that info link aug every Deus Ex protagonist has should also allow people to be able to securely access databases with their brains. This can be very useful for people who deal with very large units of data such as annalists. Its can also be used by sales personal in stores to not need to use a computer to check inventory as well as being able to compete transactions by only having to look as bar-codes and credit chips/cards. Hell the puppet hacker in the first mission was directly interfaced with the computer he was hacking which is a technology that could be very nice to have in a world filled with robots and computers. Imagine an aug who works in a warehouse and has both the inventory database in his head as well as neurological control over an entire fleet of robotic fork lifts. He'd do the job of an entire staff of conventional warehouse workers by himself.

[@YukonHexsun]

As useful as a lot of these things are, the whole Neuropozine thing would make it pretty unappealing. But yeah I agree with you, augmentation could be useful in a lot more ways. The problem is, the game never talks about any of that. They had the potential to talk about augmentations in that way, but instead they go straight to the big debate of whether we're playing god or not. They don't bother talking about, for instance, augmented hands that can type faster or even split into more fingers than natural for a Ghost in the Shell reference. There's potential but it's just not written right. For instance, I'm a huge fan of Shadowrun. Just talking about the sleep regulator, a bioware that cuts your necessary daily sleep to 3 hours and lets you stay awake twice as long before you start getting fatigued, would be enough to make it a valuable tool for business. An extra 5 hours a day you can work? That's a good investment. Missed opportunities with this game, y-know?

[@Tarik360]

"Artificial controversy" Best... term... this video!

[@Komnen0s]

I dislike that irregardless of what you do in the hostage situation, the police come down hard on you anyways. If you don't kill any of terrorists and save all the hostages, the police still hiss insults at you for being too reserved and kindly towards these dangerous criminals. Or if you let eye patch guy live and they yell at you for letting him somehow escape even though the building was surrounded by SWAT. Why write out all these different dialogue responses if how they react is almost exactly the same? At least have the officers' displeasure range from mild annoyance if you don't kill anyone (because they were hoping to storm in and be the big heroes) and legitimate anger if you take the Moscow theater crisis route and get everyone in the building killed including the hostages. At least if you successfully save the day and get all the hostages out, the cops could point out how reckless it was but at the same time express begrudging admiration for Adam's skills as an operator. Maybe you could walk by a cop and he could sigh and be like "That was pretty risky back there Jensen, but you've still got it."

[@DacodaNelson]

"Irregardless" is not a word.

[@pontifexaurum]

Each officer has different voice lines. Some will praise you for killing everyone while others condemn you; some praise you for letting everyone live while others condemn you. I liked it; it gave all the faceless cops a bit of their own personality

[@Zondac]

I think the main reason they did that was to make players think "I wonder if I could've handled it differently" for a possible second playthrough.

[@phinix250]

Non-lethal take down all the rebels and rescue the secondary objective hostages (without setting off the bomb). Then, when you get to Zeke, shoot him in either the knee or the arm with the pistol to cause him to stumble and he no longer has a gun to the manager's head, then you have enough time to do a non-lethal takedown on him. At that point *ALL* of the cops, civilians and workers be in awe of you with exception of Jenkins who will kind of be nice to you by calling you; Mahatma Gandhi, but he is still a snarky little *****. -If you do not rescue the hostages you will hear that the police stumble onto the bomb and will get them killed. -If you do not non-leathally takedown all the rebels then there will be talk of an avoidable bloodbath (either by you or the SWAT who go in after you). -If you kill Zeke then they complain about shooting rather than questioning. -If you talk Zeke out of the hostage situation they will moan that you let him get away (he does, however, help you out in a later mission with some access codes) -If you fail to save the manager but then take down Zeke then they comment that they could have saved the manager. -Saving the manager and the other hostages gets you a keycode later on to a secret stash at Sarif HQ helipad (can be hacked with level 5 hacking otherwise). Yeah, I played this game way too much and got the pacifist achievement and undetected achievement (do not set off any alarms) on the hardest difficulty.

[@spookmeyer970]

this is totally believable however, as the cops are just shitting on you, a non-cop