The normal map pack that I released does have a normal map for the hi-poly Loki rather than the retail one. But, like Marcus Vesper commented on, you really need to jack up the normal map scale in order to really see it. I have complained about that numerous times with DaBrain as well. The basic problem is that you simply can't see the effects of the normal map unless you are looking closely at it, either in-game or in the lab/techroom. So although you get some added lighting effects, you pay heavily for it with the memory an extra map requires. Simply adding an extra 1000 or so polys would be a far cheaper way to get an improved look. But it's really just something that is on a per-model model basis. Some models will benefit heavily from normal maps, and others would be better off with simply getting a few hundred extra polys and a better diffuse map.
I can also say that how the normal map is made can have a significant difference in how well it improves the model. I greatly prefer Vasudan Admiral's hi-poly Loki normal map to DaBrain's for instance (with DaBrain's being in the normal map pack that I released). But not everyone would agree with that view. It's really just something that all of the artists and model makers will have to work out as time goes on. They can then get the right balance of how and where to spend the extra polys, and design the model to make far better use of the normal map. The best code in the word doesn't really matter if the content isn't there to properly take advantage of it. That is why I chose to go ahead and get this early version of the shader code into current builds, so that when we really go all-out with it, everyone will be fully prepared to take advantage of the new capabilities.
