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Off-Topic Discussion => Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: Polpolion on June 14, 2007, 09:09:04 pm

Title: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Polpolion on June 14, 2007, 09:09:04 pm
These two games are my favorite games. In a lot of ways, they are very similar to each other, but also different. blah blah blah which one do you think is better and why?
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: CP5670 on June 15, 2007, 12:41:58 am
Deus Ex would easily get my vote, and that is saying a lot considering how good SS2 was. In a sense, this is to be expected, as DX was released a year later and could build on SS2's strengths. I think the only thing SS2 did better was its stats/upgrades system, which was much more complex than that of DX.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Mr. Vega on June 15, 2007, 01:54:20 am
Am I the only one who thought DX's design was a lot clumsier? The level design was a little erratic (though very, very good in parts), and it's pretty obvious that the engine wasn't designed with stealth in mind, whereas SS2 had the freaking Dark engine.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: CP5670 on June 15, 2007, 01:58:23 am
If you're talking about the graphics engines, both games looked unimpressive even for their times, although DX was still somewhat better due to the Unreal engine's lighting and detail texture systems (still, I think Unreal itself generally looked better despite coming out two years earlier).
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Mr. Vega on June 15, 2007, 02:23:09 am
I was referring specifically to how the respective engines used graphics and sound for stealth.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: diceman111 on June 15, 2007, 10:01:25 am
Ok well I have only played Deus Ex: Invisible War but I have just bought Deus Ex on steam so I will play it and see if its any good
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Mefustae on June 15, 2007, 10:30:59 am
Ok well I have only played Deus Ex: Invisible War but I have just bought Deus Ex on steam so I will play it and see if its any good
So you've played Invisible War before ever playing Deus Ex? Damn, you're in for a treat. Deus Ex is good on its own, but after playing Invisible War? You're head'll probably explode!
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Colonol Dekker on June 15, 2007, 11:32:40 am
SHOCK !!!


The Von Braun felt like a second home i played that game so much. PLus the Many are so personable compared to the frickin DE mechs.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Polpolion on June 15, 2007, 03:04:21 pm
Ok well I have only played Deus Ex: Invisible War but I have just bought Deus Ex on steam so I will play it and see if its any good

:lol:

Well the game is ruined. If you played InvW before the original, then you'll be very confused at the end. InvW was so horrible...
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: phatosealpha on June 15, 2007, 08:46:16 pm
Shock 2, though I want to state for the record that this is like being asked whether straight sex or BJs are better.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Turnsky on June 16, 2007, 04:58:06 am
Ok well I have only played Deus Ex: Invisible War but I have just bought Deus Ex on steam so I will play it and see if its any good

the original Deus Ex was far, far FAR superior than Invisible war, both in design, plot, and overall implimentation..  also, DX2 (invisible war) was poorly optimized, and runs like utter ****e no matter the system specs.

You'll come to realise that Deus Ex is a great game.

also, System Shock 2 is made from pure awesome.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: CP5670 on June 16, 2007, 11:22:42 am
Quote
I was referring specifically to how the respective engines used graphics and sound for stealth.

SS2 didn't have much of a stealth component at all from what I remember. The stealth gameplay was somewhat more prominent in DX, although it still didn't work nearly as well as in the Thief or Splinter Cell games. These games weren't exclusively about stealth anyway. In DX's case, that was only one of several ways to complete the game.

Both games were fairly dark, but that's about as far as the graphics went towards doing anything for stealth. Neither game had dynamic lighting or anything like that. As for sound, I would definitely give SS2 the nod there, with DX being a bit underwhelming in that respect. The music was quite a different story though.

Quote
the original Deus Ex was far, far FAR superior than Invisible war, both in design, plot, and overall implimentation..  also, DX2 (invisible war) was poorly optimized, and runs like utter ****e no matter the system specs.

It actually runs well on the X19x0 cards, although they are pretty much the only cards that run it decently (even 8800s have issues with it) and they came out three years after the game. Unfortunately, I think this game started the bloatware engine trend that we're seeing today, with many games available that don't look any better than older ones but run at much lower framerates.

I hated the game when I first played it, but I now think it's actually a great game if you ignore the fact that it's DX's sequel. I've never seen another game with so many bugs and bad design decisions that still makes you want to play it through multiple times.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Polpolion on June 16, 2007, 01:32:40 pm
Quote
These games weren't exclusively about stealth anyway. In DX's case, that was only one of several ways to complete the game.

Stealth in DX really only becomes truly useful on realistic, where you get killed by about three shots from a pistol. But on easy, it's easier to just run around shooting people.


EDIT:
Quote
I hated the game when I first played it, but I now think it's actually a great game if you ignore the fact that it's DX's sequel. I've never seen another game with so many bugs and bad design decisions that still makes you want to play it through multiple times.

I never thought of it that way. But still it was it's sequel. Some of the things that made it horrible was that they made it seem like JC did every single ending in DX1, plus they made the Illuminati a bit too obvious. And they didn't even mention Morgan Everette. Not even in passing. I mean, sure he was trying to stay hidden, but how did they make the rest of the Illuminati so unobscure, yet have him completely hidden? Plus all the endings were crap.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Roanoke on June 16, 2007, 02:49:50 pm
I'd usaually go to either extreme. Either Mr Nice Guy and kill nobody or Mr Lunatic who kills everything he sees. Especially hostages (muhwahhaaa etc).

I really couldn't choose. Both games are great.


Get both.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: phatosealpha on June 16, 2007, 08:37:21 pm
Quote
I was referring specifically to how the respective engines used graphics and sound for stealth.
SS2 didn't have much of a stealth component at all from what I remember. The stealth gameplay was somewhat more prominent in DX, although it still didn't work nearly as well as in the Thief or Splinter Cell games. These games weren't exclusively about stealth anyway. In DX's case, that was only one of several ways to complete the game.

The amusing part is that SS2 actually can handle stealth quite well, it just generally doesn't.  Goggles is Garret's equal in terms of stealth, he just doesn't have the light gem.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Turnsky on June 16, 2007, 10:10:43 pm
Quote
I was referring specifically to how the respective engines used graphics and sound for stealth.

SS2 didn't have much of a stealth component at all from what I remember. The stealth gameplay was somewhat more prominent in DX, although it still didn't work nearly as well as in the Thief or Splinter Cell games. These games weren't exclusively about stealth anyway. In DX's case, that was only one of several ways to complete the game.

Both games were fairly dark, but that's about as far as the graphics went towards doing anything for stealth. Neither game had dynamic lighting or anything like that. As for sound, I would definitely give SS2 the nod there, with DX being a bit underwhelming in that respect. The music was quite a different story though.

Quote
the original Deus Ex was far, far FAR superior than Invisible war, both in design, plot, and overall implimentation..  also, DX2 (invisible war) was poorly optimized, and runs like utter ****e no matter the system specs.

It actually runs well on the X19x0 cards, although they are pretty much the only cards that run it decently (even 8800s have issues with it) and they came out three years after the game. Unfortunately, I think this game started the bloatware engine trend that we're seeing today, with many games available that don't look any better than older ones but run at much lower framerates.

I hated the game when I first played it, but I now think it's actually a great game if you ignore the fact that it's DX's sequel. I've never seen another game with so many bugs and bad design decisions that still makes you want to play it through multiple times.

for comparison, i ran it on a 1.8 ghz box, 512 mb ram, radeon 9000 128 mb.

doom 3 had better performance with those specs.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Backslash on June 16, 2007, 10:54:33 pm
Haaaard choice... System Shock 2, but only tipping the scales because of the coop multiplayer.  There's nothing quite like three roommates shrieking in unison about monkeys or spiders.  Or panicing because somebody set off the camera, blaming each other but nobody knowing which one. :D :yes:

I'd usaually go to either extreme. Either Mr Nice Guy and kill nobody or Mr Lunatic who kills everything he sees. Especially hostages (muhwahhaaa etc).
One word: flamethrower.
It totally changes your attitude.
Seriously, anybody who has finished Deus Ex, start the game over, cheat, and spawn yourself a flamethrower.  I'm usually Mr Nice Guy, but there's nothing quite like seeing MIB running around in flames.
And then of course there's all the other goofing around (http://www.it-he.org/deus.htm) you can do... I don't think I've ever laughed so hard at THE VACUUM CLEANER (http://www.it-he.org/deus3.htm) (scroll down or do a Find). :lol:  omg!  CP5670, there's a fourth page (http://www.it-he.org/deus4.htm) now!

I hated the game when I first played it, but I now think it's actually a great game if you ignore the fact that it's DX's sequel. I've never seen another game with so many bugs and bad design decisions that still makes you want to play it through multiple times.
Agreed.  Along those lines, try Project Snowblind if you haven't.  I hear it was originally going to be in the Deus Ex storyline as well.  Felt kinda deja vu, almost like returning to a childhood homeland only to find they'd paved over most of the favorite parks.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: CP5670 on June 17, 2007, 12:02:14 am
Quote
I never thought of it that way. But still it was it's sequel. Some of the things that made it horrible was that they made it seem like JC did every single ending in DX1, plus they made the Illuminati a bit too obvious. And they didn't even mention Morgan Everette. Not even in passing. I mean, sure he was trying to stay hidden, but how did they make the rest of the Illuminati so unobscure, yet have him completely hidden? Plus all the endings were crap.

I think the combined endings concept was executed very well. I liked that better than having a single, canonical ending for DX1 that would void all the other endings. In general, I thought the story was excellent. People often criticize it for not having the depth and detail that the DX1's story did (e.g. the emails), which is certainly true, but it's still better than the plots of 90% of the games out there.

As for Everett, he seems to have died between the two games, as Chad and Nicolette say that the leadership has been passed down to them or something like that. I agree that there should have been some reference to him though, considering how important he was in the first game.

Quote
for comparison, i ran it on a 1.8 ghz box, 512 mb ram, radeon 9000 128 mb.

doom 3 had better performance with those specs.

I originally had a Geforce 3 when it came out. I quickly realized that it was hopeless to try playing at all with that. :p I ended up going through four hardware configurations before it ran well.

Quote
One word: flamethrower.
It totally changes your attitude.
Seriously, anybody who has finished Deus Ex, start the game over, cheat, and spawn yourself a flamethrower.  I'm usually Mr Nice Guy, but there's nothing quite like seeing MIB running around in flames.
And then of course there's all the other goofing around you can do... I don't think I've ever laughed so hard at THE VACUUM CLEANER (scroll down or do a Find).   omg!  CP5670, there's a fourth page now!

Yes, I've read it. Excellent stuff. :D I sent him a list of additional junk (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,42826.msg877316.html#msg877316) a while ago, although he said he's gotten a ton of new suggestions since the site came up and it will take him a while to go through everything. This is part of the reason that I think DX is simply incomparable. :D

I actually did something new just a few weeks ago. I got Paul to fall on the cleaner bot when walking down the lobby staircase in the hotel fight (if he hits the railing at the bottom, he suddenly jumps up and tries to bonk his head against it). He got mad and blew it up.

Quote
Agreed.  Along those lines, try Project Snowblind if you haven't.  I hear it was originally going to be in the Deus Ex storyline as well.  Felt kinda deja vu, almost like returning to a childhood homeland only to find they'd paved over most of the favorite parks.

I have heard of that game but haven't gotten around to trying it. I'm planning to pick it up on ebay at some point in the summer.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Polpolion on June 17, 2007, 11:23:43 am
Quote
Seriously, anybody who has finished Deus Ex, start the game over, cheat, and spawn yourself a flamethrower.  I'm usually Mr Nice Guy, but there's nothing quite like seeing MIB running around in flames.

WP rockets are better. It's just too bad they're so rare.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: CP5670 on June 17, 2007, 11:45:16 am
There are only five packs in the entire game, and two are fairly hard to find IIRC. Still, you only need to use them when you run up against a large cluster of enemies.

Also, I just ran into this on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXu23oD40gU

This is just the sort of stuff I like to do in this game. I need to put up a video of the MJ12 lab fight or the Paul sliding at some point.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Roanoke on June 17, 2007, 02:16:45 pm
I think the one thing that lets SS2 down is the weapons. The Assault Rifle is seriously powerful.

Quote
Agreed.  Along those lines, try Project Snowblind if you haven't.  I hear it was originally going to be in the Deus Ex storyline as well.  Felt kinda deja vu, almost like returning to a childhood homeland only to find they'd paved over most of the favorite parks.

I have heard of that game but haven't gotten around to trying it. I'm planning to pick it up on ebay at some point in the summer.

A solid shooter but you'd not have guessed the DX link unless someone had told you.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Polpolion on June 18, 2007, 09:03:14 pm
Man these games are amazing. I just played both of them again.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: redsniper on June 18, 2007, 11:21:52 pm
No way you could play through Deus Ex that fast. It's like an 80 hour game!
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Roanoke on June 19, 2007, 03:49:21 pm

I originally had a Geforce 3 when it came out. I quickly realized that it was hopeless to try playing at all with that. :p I ended up going through four hardware configurations before it ran well.

Along with Thief3, they were the Big 3tm I was going to upgrade my PC for. I eventually got them on Xbox and was glad I hadn't bothered.  :no:
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: CP5670 on June 19, 2007, 04:31:05 pm
Quote
No way you could play through Deus Ex that fast. It's like an 80 hour game!

The speedrun record is a little over two hours, so it is possible. But yes, this is not the kind of game you want to rush through. It typically takes me about 40-50 hours to beat if I do all the side quests, read all emails and so on.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Polpolion on June 19, 2007, 04:51:27 pm
No way you could play through Deus Ex that fast. It's like an 80 hour game!

Deus Ex was over three days with CIV 3 breaks here and there. You figure 6-9 hours each day, and thats about 23 hours. Semi in-depth. (I read about half the e-mails, books, and newspapers, most of the sidequests, etc). And if you rush Deus Ex, your killing it. You can't rush this game and have it be good.

Also, which ending did you guys choose?

EDIT: Let me re-phrase: What ending do you guys support the most? (I think everyone has done all three endings at some point. I sure don't play the entire game over again just to have the same ending)

I think the illuminati ending was the best. Of course, there are some times when I just say "screw you all, I'm blowing this place up".
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: redsniper on June 19, 2007, 10:32:25 pm
I saved near the end and tried all 3. :p
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: diceman111 on June 20, 2007, 06:40:51 am
Ok I just played thorugh Deus Ex and I must say it was better then Invisible war if nothing else the interface was alot better in Deus Ex.

I ran through all three endings I like the Illuminati ending the most but if you want do it acording to how it they say it happend in Invisible war you should merge with Helios.

Other than that i would really like a Deus Ex 3 especially if they take the atmosphere of the first game and slap it into a new Graphics Engine.

Also in Invisible war how many endings are there have only found 4
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Colonol Dekker on June 20, 2007, 07:09:28 am
Best ending = Helios.......... :mad2:
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Desert Tyrant on June 20, 2007, 11:37:55 am
Regarding Project Snowblind, it's a decent, rather good shooter that had the misfortune of selling well because it cam out about three months after Halo 2, so everybody was still going nuts for that. 

It's not the best game, but a decent one in it's own right.  You'll be pleasantly suprised.  Oh, and apparently it runs on the PS2 better than the X-Box version did, so beware. 
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Polpolion on June 20, 2007, 06:12:56 pm
Ok I just played thorugh Deus Ex and I must say it was better then Invisible war if nothing else the interface was alot better in Deus Ex.

I ran through all three endings I like the Illuminati ending the most but if you want do it acording to how it they say it happend in Invisible war you should merge with Helios.

Other than that i would really like a Deus Ex 3 especially if they take the atmosphere of the first game and slap it into a new Graphics Engine.

Also in Invisible war how many endings are there have only found 4

Don't let InvW bully you into choosing an ending that you don't want to choose.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Desert Tyrant on June 20, 2007, 06:37:11 pm
Also, I've never played either on these games.  Or Total Annialation.   I fail.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: CP5670 on June 20, 2007, 06:37:31 pm
No way you could play through Deus Ex that fast. It's like an 80 hour game!

Deus Ex was over three days with CIV 3 breaks here and there. You figure 6-9 hours each day, and thats about 23 hours. Semi in-depth. (I read about half the e-mails, books, and newspapers, most of the sidequests, etc). And if you rush Deus Ex, your killing it. You can't rush this game and have it be good.

Also, which ending did you guys choose?

EDIT: Let me re-phrase: What ending do you guys support the most? (I think everyone has done all three endings at some point. I sure don't play the entire game over again just to have the same ending)

I think the illuminati ending was the best. Of course, there are some times when I just say "screw you all, I'm blowing this place up".

I like the Helios one. I did that the first time I played. On subsequent playthroughs, I have always saved at a point closest to all three endings, and then gone through all of them.

In DXIW, I took the Omar one after doing the same thing first.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Polpolion on June 20, 2007, 07:07:34 pm
Also, I've never played either on these games.  Or Total Annialation.   I fail.

:lol:

You should play DX and SS2. TA is okay, but the AI sucks. If you do, play them on the hardest difficulty first, and read/listen to EVERYTHING!!! Trust me! You want to make the most out of playing a game for the first time!!
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: diceman111 on June 21, 2007, 06:25:41 am
Also, I've never played either on these games.  Or Total Annialation.   I fail.

Asfor Total Anhillation play Supreme Commander instead, its basiclly TA 2



/Dice
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Polpolion on June 21, 2007, 04:55:18 pm
Also, I've never played either on these games.  Or Total Annialation.   I fail.

Asfor Total Anhillation play Supreme Commander instead, its basiclly TA 2



/Dice

precisely the reason why you should play TA first.
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: Cyker on June 22, 2007, 12:31:24 pm
Also, I've never played either on these games.  Or Total Annialation.   I fail.

Asfor Total Anhillation play Supreme Commander instead, its basiclly TA 2



/Dice

precisely the reason why you should play TA first.
Also, TA doesn't require a super computer to run in a non-ugly jerky way :)


Quote
No way you could play through Deus Ex that fast. It's like an 80 hour game!

The speedrun record is a little over two hours, so it is possible. But yes, this is not the kind of game you want to rush through. It typically takes me about 40-50 hours to beat if I do all the side quests, read all emails and so on.

Current speedrun record is 43 minutes 20 seconds :D

There's a torrent of the run at http://speeddemosarchive.com/

The runner uses some incredible tricks and I haven't seen so much sequence breaking since the Fallout, Half-Life and original Quake-Done-Quick speed runs!!
Title: Re: System Shock 2 or Deus Ex?
Post by: ZylonBane on June 29, 2007, 04:26:23 pm
Damn, I wander away for a few weeks and miss an SS2/DX thread!

Since nobody's mentioned it yet, I highly recommend anyone playing SS2 these days apply the SHTUP (http://shtup.home.att.net/) texture upgrade.