You will be spending the majority of your time trying not to die and scavenging for equipment. Your primary concern is to avoid using whatever you find because the longer you take to play the game, the lower your chances of survival. Credits run dry, functional replicators become harder to find, the enemies take more damage.... The randomness of the enemies also places you in danger as you may very well find yourself attacked or ambushed while in a vulnerable moment. Death happens quickly and frequently. You may choose a number of ways to confront your enemies, be it through mind bullets, assault rifles, or a light saber. Again, the fewer resources you use, the better. You must also be mindful of the way you allocate your resources: For instance, when it would be better to fire a grenade, or what type of ammunition to use. Research is a major part of this game. You must scavenge your enemies' bodies in order to understand them. You need chemicals to do this, meaning you have to find a chemical storage room that actually has the materials, check your best weapon, and point it at the door until the research is complete. Also, your weapons fail frequently and require maintenance. Be mindful of this while you are fighting it out in a war between a psychotic demi-god AI and a xeno hivemind. Enjoy your stay.
This game has a ton of micromanagement. If you like playing Office Unit Supervisor: Viking Edition, by all means play these games. You have to look after every individual, and assign them task such as carrying ,baking, milling, mining, fighting, whatever. I was about to give it three stars, but that isn't really fair to it, considering that the mechanics actually work, but are really dependent on the skill of the player to a very high degree. It is pretty unforgiving. The game depends on realistic population dynamics, so you have to watch your people and how you commit them. It doesn't matter if you have a ton of spears if there is no one to hold them.
The concept and most of the implementation is good. The planning works, the guns work, the equipment works. You know what does not work? The AI. The enemy AI is great. I once saw one guy calmly walk up to three of my squadmates and took his time executing them while they stared at a wall. I ended up just instructing them to carry equipment and give me cover since they would just keep dying. They make absolutely no attempt to react to a threat. They will gladly walk by a door that had several of their squadmates die in front of. The enemy AI has great aim and will execute hostages at a drop of a hat no matter how many less-than-lethal grenades you chuck at them. There was one point where I literally had to no clip through the wall because one terrorist would kill a hostage no matter what I tried. If you don't mind filling in for your squadmates, then this is not a bad tactical FPS. Personally, I think SWAT 4 did it best.
The Dark Project was an untested experiment. The levels were great, but there was no unifying theme. Thief II fixed all that, creating great levels using the philosophy of making the design fit the story. The levels are enormous and well detailed and though they are sometimes a little predictable, the design is solid overall. The maps are FAR more open and much less claustrophobic than the Dark Project. That is not to say that TDP was bad, just that TMA was better. The texture quality jumped forward a great deal, despite this game using a modified version of the original Dark Engine which powered TDP and its gold version. There are a handful of new items to use, including flares, which would have been VERY useful in some of the dark caverns of TDP. However, they seem superfluous in this game as the levels are not that dark, but still gloomy and medieval with bits of steampunk sticking out. Also the game scales back on the random zombie parts. Garrett must now operate in more urban environments with the occasional trip to the country. Speaking of steampunk, this game moved forward in terms of setting. The Metal Age is upon the city and Garrett must now face steam powered sentries and other mechanical beasts. This goes along with the plot as Order overtakes Chaos to the point where, once again, Garrett gets (involuntarily) involved to restore the balance. This game improves on the original in every way. However, I can't help but feel that the game settings feel too "neat". In any case, this is a great sneaking game. Get this one or Thief Gold or both. They are great games.
This game was so unique that I was captivated by it and played it for years without a break. The missions themselves are wonderful, and the story is a dark and mysterious one. Garrett is a sly and dangerous human being who prides himself on his ability to "redistribute" wealth - to himself. The game requires A LOT of patience and great observation and listening skills. The ability to investigate is also useful. The one major flaw is the combat, though you shouldn't ever fight. You can pass every single mission without ever alerting a single human being... or monster. You have a vast array of tools at your disposal and their usage is overwhelmingly clear. If would you like to explore a strange steampunk world from the shadows, this is the game.
Within five minutes of setting off towards my first mission, I was shot in the head and died. Realistic difficulty does that. Deus Ex has excellent story telling, plot, characters, voice acting, music and many other things. The two main issues are the sound quality and the monolithic feel of the engine and graphics. However, the freedom and detail this game has will easily distract you. What is so great about this game is how much freedom it gives you to play however you like. Want to be a walking tank? A sneaky spy? A diplomat with a modified pistol? That's great, go for it! You have a fairly large variety of tools to accomplish your tasks and it matters whether or not you are able to use them. You must ask questions, even when told not to. You must go where you are not allowed. You must do what you may not. The world is in the balance. While you are indeed a super human in this game, you are at the same time so insignificant.You need help as much as those who can provide you with assistance. The world is a dark place, and it is about to get darker. It is time to shine a light.
