DXHR: Incgamer's first perfect review score

[Risingred]

Ouch. That's not what I wanted to hear.

Here's what I loved most about DX1 and you can tell me if I'm gonna love it =P

1. The fact that you could explore. There was no linear path to anything and you could just wander around. Also the stealth paths weren't blatantly obvious.

There is a ton of exploration and it is very rewarding. The first hub area of the game isn't massive, but it is a good introduction to the game to get used to the freedom you have.
The second hub is, however, quite large.

There's highlighting, which highlights interactive items in the environment (like air ducts) but it's optional and you can turn it off. There's plenty of freedom in how you want to approach a level like in DX1.

2. The ambiance and the back story. I love a good story, I just don't like it to be nothing BUT story like Bioware games.
3. The fact that I always felt like I was entirely in control of my character. By that I mean that I never got the controls sucked out of my hands except for benign cutscenes. I chose what happened.

This is, for the most part, as true as it was in DX1. The story is better than in the original.

4. There were no timed fail scenarios or boss fights.

Regrettably boss fights are where you lose control. You have to take them down lethally. But I've been playing for about fifteen hours now and there's only been one boss fight like this. There was a box guard that people complained about the difficulty of, and how you couldn't stealth past it, but I easily stealthed past it.

5. The character development path you chose REALLY made an enormous difference.

You are referring to the stat system in DX1 which I think had D2 syndrome of lack of options, some being necessary. You go melee and pick the sword = instant win in DX1.
There's no melee in DXHR besides the takedowns and they consume precious energy, so melee is balanced now. This pissed a lot of people off, but these are likely people who exploited melee in DX.
You can pick your augmentations now, there's no stats, but they're permanent and if you mess up it's harsh. These points are few and sparse, particularly depending on your playstyle. Each point has much more meaning than a point ever did in DX.

[Maurish]

Got my copy today and I'm loving it so far.
I managed to complete my first mission and I've already spent more time playing than I did with F.3.A.R. solo campaign from start to finish (although multiplayer and co-op add some longevity to it).
Anyway, I went with the stealthy approach and explored alternative routes. I think I only took down two enemies during the mission (one for the tutorial purpose and other one was just in my way). Probably could've avoided them both if need be.
I really like what I've seen so far. This is a proper sequel to Deus Ex (or prequel if you count the setting).
Either way:

It's very much a Deus Ex game

-Edit-
And I suggest taking down the mission tracker. Makes the game a bit more interesting in my opinion, you're not told where exactly to go, so you'll eventually find your own way.

[SaroDarksbane]

Note that the latest patch made loading like 50% faster. I was skeptical before I tried it but it's really night and day compared to how it was when it was released.

And that was about my only complaint (other than the person voice acting David Sarif, who is horrible).

[Risingred]

Note that the latest patch made loading like 50% faster. I was skeptical before I tried it but it's really night and day compared to how it was when it was released.

And that was about my only complaint (other than the person voice acting David Sarif, who is horrible).

Finally got to beat the game today.
The loading times were a bit nasty on launch, the NA 23rd launch. The patch really did do wonders.

I kind of liked what they did with David's voice once I got deeper into the story of the game. It projected a certain...I don't know, "phenotype" to the player to keep you off-guard. This is important in a game about conspiracies and stuff.

But man they really should have talked to a black american or a native chinese person before hiring these voice actors lol.
Darrow's voice was the one that really got to me.

[kavlor]

I'm enjoying this game reminds me of Vampire:Bloodlines.The 90% User score on Gamespot swayed me but I did play a good deal of the first one(lost save file at some point though).

[TheWanderer]

I just finished the game, during one of my post exam binges. :P
Took me over 25 hours in 1 1/2 days.

Great story with nice gameplay. Really enjoyed it.
I didn't really notice any bad voice acting, can someone point out a few examples?(or maybe its just me playing the full game on 6 hrs of sleep)

I really liked the second boss fight actually.

Spoiler

Trying to find her location, using the fog and water, was very interesting. Can't say the same about the other 2. The first one I used an EMP grenade and kept shooting. The 3rd one was killed with my hacked augs, by throwing explosive packs at him.

The story was great, though some plot secrets were a bit obvious. Although you might feel clever for figuring it out. I liked the metaphysical discussions about augumentation technology.

All in all, a game worth the time and money. (not very common these days)

[nurman]

Was DX:HR better than most streamlined console date sims today?

To some extent, yes.

Still, I would not spend more than 7.50€ on it.