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Can somebody explain to me (in very basic terms) how Rockstar always manage to make such lovely games with little or no PC loading time? Cos it's a miracle, it really is...
Dunno about the PC versions, but I've got a feeling that the loading on the console versions takes place while you're playing.
Not that Rockstar are going to matter much longer of Blunkett's been watching the news today.
Anyway, I grabbed the Xbox version of Deus Ex: Invisible War today, and after three hours of play I think it's just about confirmed what I suspected; that the naysayers need to get some perspective. So far, it's Deus Ex in more compact environments. Instead of the sprawl of some of the first game's levels, everything I've played to this point has taken place inside buildings (think the inside of the hotel from the first game).
Other changes. Biomod canisters aren't exactly rare at the moment. I've already grabbed five and I'm only in the second area. They're also universal - one canister can be used to upgrade any biomod. This is balanced out by the fact that there are 'illegal' canisters, much less common, which provide you access to some of the best mods. Spy bot, robot domination and hacking are only available through these, so you can either use the more common, legal canisters to get basic mods early or wait until you find an illegal one and install something more useful.
The HUD works wonderfully on console, but I can see why PC players complain about it - it's totally designed around control pad users. Frame rate is inconsistent and never seems to get any higher than around 20fps. Somebody on NTSC-UK summed it up perfectly: go charging through doors with all guns blazing and you've got a jerky version of Perfect Dark, but play it the way it's supposed to be played and it's not really an issue.
The physics are great fun, even if they're little more than an extravagance. There's not really any need for the Havoc system to be used here, but it livens things up. Chucking basketballs and pillows around is a laugh, as is messing around with dead bodies. Not seen any of the infamous glitches yet, but I've not tried to abuse the engine yet.
Some minor problems with AI. I spent a good five minutes bouncing a metal box off a street thug's head and the most I got was a forceful "stop that". I've also opened people's lockers in front of them without them saying anything. Again, though, exactly the same was possible in the first title.
Not very happy about the head shots (or lack of them). On Normal, you can stick five bullets into somebody's face before tehy fall over. What's worse is that it's apparently something that Spector did on purpose. He didn't want you to sneak through the game by killing enemies with what he considered to be 'cheap' shots, so there's no one-shot-kills. So much for the freedom to tackle situations however you want. I've yet to get a sniper rifle, though, and iirc, perps would only go down from one headshot from the normal pistol in the first title if you were right up next to them when you fired. It's also something that playing on Realistic is supposed to sort out, but that setting also increases the damage you take. And the PC patch gives you proper headshots, which is *really* annoying for Xbox owners.
It's not a quantum leap from the first game. It's more of the same. If you were expecting the Mario 64 of FPS, you're going to be disappointed. If you just wanted a sequel to Deus Ex, it'll do you fine. |
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