So I decided to give FarCry3 a break and installed Deus Ex Human Revolution(DEHR). It's fun. Very slow, simple controls. It feels like cyberpunk 2077 if it were made in 2011. This is what I like about revisiting these old 360 games - you can see things that you thought were new 2025. Everything is remix. Some buildings have floors with no down stairs. You can go up but you cannot go down but this is ok. There is enough of everything to make the spaces feel real.
The game is very brown/orange and the loading screens are a bit long. I played for about 2 hours, lots to look at, lots of fully voiced NPC dialog to listen and choices to make. Definitely will be playing it some more.
After finishing FC3 I really got back into this game. Trying hard to resist the urge to hack into every computer terminal just to read everyone's emails. It really brings out the voyeur in me. The more I play, the more I like the world and the little things that are hidden in the environment. I do a mix of stealth, guns out and hacking. It maybe possible to go all stealth but in some spots its hard to avoid shooting 10 guards in the head while hiding in a vent. The game likes boundaries but it kinda lets you do what you want in the off peak hours like a off duty cop.
I am not sure how many hours I've spent searching lockers and desk draws for credits instead of heading to the next mission marker. I enjoy that they spent time putting these things into the game. You never know when you might need some extra credits to bribe someone. But having lots of credits is not the only way, you could just shoot everyone you see and suffer the consequences. That is what I like about this game versus something like Mirrors Edge which traps you into a box of nothingness. They are both old games but ME is just empty.
First impressions; Its fun, feels fast and no loading screens. The game just flows, the tutorial is narrated in game and the 70 tracks of licensed background music just plays forever in the background. its a good game even by 2008 standards. I am actually surprised. I spent 2 hours just driving around in a seemless space taking shortcuts and doing jumps. This is another game bought online from TVGC.
Game play
If you like driving around an open world that is kinda like NFS and GTA had a baby then this is the game for you. It is easy to drive fast and easy to crash in dramatic ways. But after a crash the game just keeps going as if it exists just so you can drive around forever. It gives you different cars. The cars are fast as soon as you get them so there are no dumb skill trees or things to upgrade - at least as far as I can see in the 2 hours I have played. I am at 7% now, we will see how it evolves as I win more races. I am going to jump back into Dark Souls 2 and play some more of this tomorrow.
The game is really easy to pick up and play. I can see it being really addictive for people who like arcade-y style racing games without being forced to do stuff. The downside of this open world vibe is that you cannot just jump to a race - you need to drive to the stop light that starts it which can get a bit annoying when you are speed running the game. Also when you lose a race there is no option to start over. The game has no quit option - it auto saves when you win a race and so you just turn off the console. Some of the cars you get have much worse handling so you have to adjust your play style to the car you are driving which is annoying the first time you experience a poor handling car.
Conclusion
Hours later I can safely say the game is still fun. Hours could pass before you get bored crashing your car into other cars, over and over again with no consequences. So far I am 8 hours in 24% complete. There is no story, no stopping to get gas, no stopping to repair your car nothing. Just pure driving and slow-mo crashing. Awesome 9/10. I can now see why it's been ported to every modern system. It's fun chaos.
Tips and Tricks
The game loop is pretty simple; the higher the license the more time you will spend hunting down stop lights that have not yet been completed. Some cars are better than others so make sure you try out all the cars to see which one matches your style. I realized that some parts of the world map are more "fun" than other so you might want to hang out around the parts you like because you will have a easier time.
