Deus Ex: Human Revolution - 30 Min Demo Video @ IGN

There's a three-part DX:HR video commentary over at IGN that totals 30 minutes. I haven't had the chance to watch it but it should provide a pretty deep (but spoilery?) look. From the intro:

If you really, really want to know just about all there is to know about Deus Ex: Human Revolution, we've got you covered. Linked below just over 30 minutes of footage from Eidos Montreal's anticipated prequel, covering everything from the hacking mini-game to the specifics of the energy resource system's style of regeneration. Yes, it's that specific.
If you're looking for an overload of nerdy detail, game director Jean-Francois Dugas explains it all in the videos below.

Click to expand...

More information.

Someone watch this and tell me if anything sucks, or makes you go yay.

I refuse to watch it because right now I plan on buying it and don't want to be spoiled for 30 minutes of the game.

Text description spoilers are alot less of a problem than a video for me...so go for it.

I watched most of it, enough to get a good feel for the gameplay and the similarities to the two previous games. For the record, I loved the first Deus Ex (easily one of my favorite games of all time), and disliked the second, which seemed hollow, lifeless and tedious in comparison. I found this 30 min demo to be a lot more indicative of the first Deus Ex than the second.
Like the first, it seems to possess a consistent art style and (for lack of a better word) "feel" to it. From the menus to the sterile, sun-washed colors of the world itself, everything seems to represent a part of a cohesive whole.
Like the second, it has certainly been made with consoles in mind, meaning the interface looks button-y and simplistic, compared to the original's, where your inventory quick item list was clearly stretched across the bottom of the window, etc.
On the plus side, a true inventory screen is back, where you have to make decisions on which items to hold onto and which to drop, with the inventory size capable of being increased with the help of an augmentation.
I didn't get a feel for the story, as the French dev who was talking, made it difficult to stay focused on what people were saying. However, I'd say if the story is up to par with the first, this could definitely be one to keep an eye out for, especially if you have a console. Will it play well on a PC with normal mouse-look controls? Left to be seen…. as this demo was made using a PS3.

There's an inventory quick-item list in the PC version - which looks almost exactly like it did in the first game.

DArtagnan said:

There's an inventory quick-item list in the PC version - which looks almost exactly like it did in the first game.

Click to expand...

Good to hear! Actually haven't heard or seen anything about the PC version yet, so that allays my fears there.

I guess the only other thing to comment on is the quality of the gfx, in general, which--though attractive--seem a wee bit behind the times. Granted, Deus Ex 1 was not a great looker for its time either, but I think some reviewers might ding it a few points for presentation.

It's not a particularly impressive game, visually.

In fact, I'd say it looks about average.

Kinda strange, but that's how it is.

Probably made for console,and will go down in flames . Like DA2, DS3,Red Faction,Gothic4 and many more. Sorry to sound negative but games born on the PC die on the plastic boxes. To many promises , to much disappointment.

rich ruffo said:

Probably made for console,and will go down in flames . Like DA2, DS3,Red Faction,Gothic4 and many more. Sorry to sound negative but games born on the PC die on the plastic boxes. To many promises , to much disappointment.

Click to expand...

Yeah, Oblivion just crashed and burned.

DArtagnan said:

It's not a particularly impressive game, visually.

In fact, I'd say it looks about average.

Kinda strange, but that's how it is.

Click to expand...

I wonder if we are seeing the console version in the previews. If so, then perhaps the PC version will have better graphics? Anyone heard info in this?

Thrasher said:

I wonder if we are seeing the console version in the previews. If so, then perhaps the PC version will have better graphics? Anyone heard info in this?

Click to expand...

I have heard a lot about the PC version having a unique UI and such, but no previews have mentioned significantly enhanced graphics that I recall. I am sure it will have the normal res/AA/AF enhancements though.

Thrasher said:

I wonder if we are seeing the console version in the previews. If so, then perhaps the PC version will have better graphics? Anyone heard info in this?

Click to expand...

PC version support DX11 and tessellation from what I remember. I don't remember any info about better textures.

rich ruffo said:

Probably made for console,and will go down in flames .

Click to expand...

Nah, the previews are pretty spot on. I read what people thought about the preview build, and on that forum people bitch and complain more than on any other forum that i know of, they absolutely loved it.

I've played maybe 2 hrs (had too, after reading all those comments). I was quite impressed. I love the artwork too, very good for a RPG (leagues ahead of anything by Obsidian, for example), it reminds me of Half Life 2, but it has a cleaner look (all textures are computer genereted) You will think MGS, Half-Life, Deus Ex 1 (i mean style of graphics here, not actual quality of textures or numbers of polys). Characters are a little stiff maybe, but 99% of all games has that. The music is amazing (me being a big fan of analogue synths / electronic music), subtle yet very atmospheric.

The main issue with the visuals, to my mind, is that they're TOO clean. Kinda like a modern System Shock 2 - if anyone remembers how "clean/sterile" the game looked, even upon release.

I wouldn't say it's bad looking - not at all - but it's pretty average for a modern AAA game, and possibly even below average.

The facial technology is also poor and looks awkward and stiff.

I was quite surprised about it actually, as the visual aspect was the one thing I hadn't been worried about before trying the preview build. Thankfully, everything else I worried about turned out better than I could hope for.

It's not really a "Revolution" - but it's a step up from Deus Ex, and whether a small or large step - that's a LOT better than pretty much every other attempt at recapturing old classics. I don't think I remember the last time I played a game in a favorite genre with a truly evolved game design.

I really like the clean look of SS2, it's one of the reasons i think that game looks fully acceptable, even to this date - it doesnt look distracting in any way + the sterile look really fits that type of enviroment. I'll gladly admit i'm a "graphics whore", i can't play games i think are too ugly or has really lacking art work. I do agree that the faces looks stiff when they're talking, a bit worse than the now old HL2 for example.. But it might also be a bit too early to judge since it's not a final build.

And yeah, totally agree that it captures the classic in a superb way. It was easy to understand why everyone that had played it was so impressed.

The two things that still concern me are the auto-regenerating health, and the overall color palette (Why is everything gold?). For those of you who played the preview build, what did you think of those things? Also, how many levels did the preview build contain? I'm curious, but I refuse to download it myself.

JDR13 said:

The two things that still concern me are the auto-regenerating health, and the overall color palette (Why is everything gold?). For those of you who played the preview build, what did you think of those things?

Click to expand...

The health thing didn't bother me at all. Deus Ex games have had that through augmentations (yeah, with power consumption) - and health packs/healbots were never in short supply.

Even so, I don't know why people have a problem with it. It's all about execution, and if you play it on "Deus Ex" difficulty - there's plenty challenge. But it's not really a shooter game in the sense that your primary challenge will be shooting people and surviving firefights. It's much more of an exploration game, and I think it leans more towards the careful/stealthy player than the run-gun player, much like the old games did.

The palette is a style choice that I don't particularly agree with. I think it's great for the interface, but I don't think it had to permeate every level. It reduces the sensation of exploring new places. That said, I only played the first true level of the game - and I don't know how it will affect the other levels. But from what I've seen in screenshots and videos - it's the palette throughout.

So, I think they went overboard with the gold/black.

Overall, though, they're minor issues to me. The actual gameplay and content seemed absolutely top-notch to me.

You should know how critical I am of AAA games, so that's saying something

*EDIT*

I don't know how many levels it actually contained, but the estimate is that it's somewhere between 25% and 50% of the game. The leak would probably have lasted me 12-15 hours if I'd played it through.

I think the color scheme looks great, i was afraid i was gonna hate it. It's an elegant looking game, and it feels really fresh after playing gritty looking games like FO3 / FONV, Half Life or the STALKER series, getting so tired of that look since its so over-used in almost all future FPS/RPG's. I like that they didnt make it "realistic" looking too.. make realistic looking games when the graphics are completely up to it, right now we arent really there.

I love the color scheme as well. Blue is standard for cyberpunk but I like that this looks more unique.