Graphics/Sound (25) - I like the graphics, I think the environments are nicely detailed and the ability to interact with a wide variety of items, albeit screwy physics, adds a great deal to the immersion. Unfortunately, the immersion suffers greatly due to long load times between small areas and the overall darkness of the game. I am 2/3 of the way thru and still haven't found a lighting scheme that feels real and not forced. I also have had many issues getting the game to play smoothly, jerky play before the patch and video card update and now artifacting if multisampling is turned on. The sound of the game is excellent; nice ambient sounds, good position sounds and although sound certainly doesn't have the impact that it did in a game like Splinter Cell, it has been very helpful on many occassions when I am trying to be quiet as a mouse so to speak. Overall 18/25.
Gameplay (35) - Did you play and like Deus Ex? Have you played and enjoyed Knights of the New Republic? If the answer is yes then the gameplay is going to work for you. If you didn't play these games then I want to warn you that this game is about making choices, about taking sides, about finding other ways to solve problems besides kill everything that moves. The story is convoluted but intriguing, the gameplay leans towards being agressive but I have certainly made a habit of getting thru areas with minimal agression. It seems that you can get thru a substantial portion of the game without actually taking sides, in fact playing both sides and choosing what your character feels the most comfortable doing. I must admit that the overall AI is fair on the best days and downright poor at it worst moments, Too many times the NPC stands over bodies as if waiting for its own death, stealing and hacking computers while a non agressive NPC watches is funny also. It would be hard to imagine playing this game as a strict shooter like Quake because of the problems I have experienced with frame rates and herky jerky controls, so I suspect that many players will engage in a mix of agression and stealth while finishing the game. Overall 28/35.
Bang for $ (20) - Not a short shooter not a long RPG, somewhere inbetween with some replayability and no multiplayer. I expect that it is significantly shorter than Deus Ex yet longer than the current crop of high profile shooters, Call of Duty and Max Payne. It is a middle of the road scifi story about intrigue and deception, not quite must reads and certainly not bargain bin throw outs. Overall 16/20
Personal View (20) - I was anticipating this game for a while and thought that it was going to come on the heels of Half Life 2, boy wasn't I wrong, and right before Doom 3, and I don't see that anytime soon. It is a nice sequel to Dues Ex but plays more like an extension and less like an evolution of the game. On its own merits this game was worth a look, it didn't rocked my world like the first one did but like most movie sequels, Matrix excluded, the 2nd time is usually more of the first and unless put into totally incapable hands is wirth watching. Overall 16/20
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