Deus Ex Revision Mod

There is really no reason to hate this mod. Everything is extended from the map design, to the upgraded character models and updated graphics, this just makes the world feel more organic and believable. IMO it's what needs to be considered vanilla. Now there are some people who are dunking on this mod because of some weird fanboyism with the GMDX mod and denounce Revision, as you can tell below me with the 3 reviews posted the exact same day (suspicious much). I've tried the GMDX mod and though i can see some appeal, it has nothing on"tone and atmosphere" compared to Revision. This mod gives many forms of play by choosing what playstyle you want and extending the Augmentation system, you could even play the Human Revolution style if you wanted as a simple option, this game holds many things better than the original and is one of the best (if not the best) extention to a classic out there. There's no real reason not to try this mod as it's Free and quick and easy to setup, and even easier to uninstall.

First, it markets itself at a first glance as a mere graphics overhaul. This is a major mistake as there are many more changes than that. The graphics overhaul is just good. It adds many new textures that one-up the game's aesthetic quality, but the map scenery (mostly walls) sometimes tends to feel out of place and too tiring to look at. Changes in the maps are mostly well made, with major exceptions. UNATCO is definitely the best map change, with more space and better-designed levels, and Paris is the absolute worst and exemplifies all the bad decisions made when changing the maps. It is a clusterf**k of buildings, not at all as spacious as the original level, and has way too few enemies for its size. Troop distribution and AI in general is badly designed too. You will sometimes notice that either literally all troops in a level swarm towards you or they faithfully stay in their storey and lose interest in your presence extremely fast. This should not happen on realistic mode, especially when you killed someone among his comrades seconds ago. At other levels, you may also experience cutting through enemy lines like a hot knife through butter because of troop distribution. The music is a really mixed bag. It tries to be more atmospheric in contrast to the original's boldness, becoming timid (and way too silent) in the process. Some excellent tracks are worth giving a listen to. Gun interaction can be okay but also extremely stupid and bugged. Ranged weapons are sometimes not consistent when dealing with enemies. Gun improvements are probably the stupidest thing in this mod, extremely rare in kind and not fitting for most weapons. Way, WAY too easy to get money. Many lesser and much appreciated gameplay improvements. Extremely long loading times. Kind of uninteresting minigames after game completion. Despite these glaring flaws, would I recommend this mod? Yes, because of new places to discover and a different take on the DX world. GMDX is better though.

So, I see a LOT of mixed reactions to this mod. I decided to check it out myself to see what I think myself. I just arrived in Hong Kong, and felt like I needed to speak my piece. I enjoy the new music tracks so far, and many of the quality of life improvements it has are genuinely nice. The lighting is fixed, we got revamped hub worlds(like New York, UNATCO, Hong Kong, etc.). However, it also gets a lot wrong. Maybe my memory is faulty, but I remember that if you broke something the first time you entered New York, it would stay broken when you go back later in the game? Or if you disable something it stays disabled? For some reason security panels I disabled the first time I entered New York are reenabled when I go back. Locks are back in place, etc. This might have been the case with the original version, but I don't remember that being the case. My real problem comes with the hub worlds. Both New York and so far Hong Kong feel WAY too big. There are random thugs that will attack you for no reason as you explore, etc. There are also way more enemies in Revision than the original. Case in point: In the original, you get forced to land in an MJ-12 base when you enter Hong Kong. You explore, knock out enemies, etc. In Revision you land, and an alarm goes off. Next thing you know you have eight MJ-12 enemies all on your rear shooting at you, forcing you to either hide right away or to use your explosives. This isn't very in line with the spirit of Deus Ex: GOTY. At first I wasn't sure if I was misremembering, so I looked back to a youtube video of the helibase and...nope. Doesn't happen. This event is Revision only to make it harder for some reason. I imagine my opinion will change as I play. As it stands, I feel that this mod is probably only worth one playthrough, but only after playing the original a few times. It has been a few years since I played the OG so I keep having to go back to see if something really changed or if my mind is playing tricks.

DX:R is a very done addition to the vanilla DX. It adds some surprising level design elements that refresh the game for veteran players. There is some beautiful new artwork, principally billboards, posters, etc, that convincingly link DX to the prequel series and look excellent in their own right as world building and atmosphere. Similarly, they did a great job with music, with all new tracks close enough to the originals that the mood is not lost, but new enough to entertain. I often listen to them along with the originals. Another thing to mention is that the difficulty has been increased significantly. Many veteran players find this challenging, given also the changes in the level designs. I wouldn't say the situation is badly balanced, just that Realistic now means the enemy has competent snipers everywhere, as you'd expect. Nothing impossible. The areas that haven't been significantly modified have more debris and obstacles positioned in a realistic manner, so the levels don't seem so empty as compared to vanilla. This presents a greater stealth challenge, which I regard as a good thing too. I understand the logic of changing the setting of the iconic intro, but I personally disagreed with that choice. Still, DX:R never tells the player to regard it as the definitive DX experience. On the contrary, it is made with the expectation that players have already experienced the original, and now want to enjoy another version of it. I do rate the level changes highly. I can't think of one in-game that doesn't improve immersion (UNATCO). Vanilla is a masterpiece. Revision is simply what it says it is, a revision. I give it an A-. Please note that a lot of people were enraged (imo unreasonably) when, after a long development, it was announced just before release that it would be a Steam exclusive for a long time. As a result, be aware that many of the overly negative reviews seems to be acts of revenge, not genuine opinions about the expansion itself.

It's the same feel of our good old Deus Ex, which we played a million times, but expanded, or -I should say- AUGMENTED! Maps are much larger and complex, an explorer's paradise (and I am personally an enthusiast explorer!). The new soundtrack is like wearing new ears. HDTP and NV Textures, as long with other textures entirely developed for Revision, make it feel like it's a new game, but also still the game we all love. Plus, there's so much more improvement that it would take days to enumerate everything, I wouldn't really know where to start! A lot of reviews for this DLC compare Revision to other mods, and give bad reviews and ratings based upon these comparisons and\or the fact that they personally don't agree with all the changes that Revision brings. I personally respect everyone's opinion, but I can't help but think that this is out of place. Just play the damn game! Have fun! And if you don't like it, then by all means go back to vanilla! Or if you prefered a different mod instead, then by all means go for it! No one forces anyone to do anything: it's your game, it's your time, it's not meant to be a discussion about what is better than what. It's meant to be just fun! Let's just have fun! (I surely do)