Up late talking games & writing? You're...

Games: Finally got my hands on Deus Ex: Human Revolution and currently playing it on 360. As a huge, huge fan of the first Deus Ex, I've been cautiously excited (emphasis on cautiously) at the prospect of getting another entry in the series that wasn't as awful as… Project: Snowblind, and you know what, I think we may just have gotten it.

(I bet you thought I was going to say Invisible War, weren't you?)

Then.

I had basically given up all hope that we would ever get another game like the original, but after putting in a few hours today and getting through the first two major "areas", I've got to say that so far I am incredibly pleased and happy with the way the game has turned out.

As is proper, I've seen plenty of opportunity for player choice between combat/stealth, and I haven't yet found a scenario that I wasn't able to complete in the way that I wanted. Although the game is mostly first-person, it's far from being a standard first-person shooter and both requires and rewards thinking and exploration on the part of the player.

In terms of style, I'm playing as the ultimate Boy Scout at the moment... I haven't killed a single person and every major choice that I've come across (at least, that I'm aware of) has worked out in a mostly positive way. Well, I guess I might have knocked out a detective who was minding his own business in one of the upper floors of the police station, but that shouldn't really count.

Now.

It's been great, great stuff so far and I've been enjoying every moment of it.

Although I'm still quite early in the adventure, based on what I've seen, I would have no problem recommending this to anyone. In fact, the only word of caution I would share so far is that it seems Hacking plays a pretty huge part in getting past obstacles. That's to be expected, but I think that maybe the game puts a little too much emphasis on it too early. Luckily, I put some points into the skill right away, and my advice would be that most players do the same.

(Thanks to @SidShuman for the initial tipoff.)


Games: PAX IS THIS WEEKEND.

If you’re a gamer anywhere even remotely near the Seattle area, I'm sure I'll see you on the floor this weekend. You gamers who live a lot further out and are making the long trip to the Pacific Northwest? I'll see you there too.


I can't even begin to describe how excited I am to hit the show, really. Tons of cool people will be on hand, there's enough games on the display floor to keep someone busy for days, the parties, the events, and just simply hanging out... it's gonna be great.

I will be doing my usual coverage this year, although I will say that I have more than my usual number of appointments with PR people, developers and publishers. I usually forgo these meetings in lieu of walking the show floor on my own, but there were a lot of things I absolutely wanted to make a point of seeing, and having a booth appointment is the easiest way. Of course, I do run the risk of wasting my precious PAX time with blather, but we’ll see how it goes.

Also, I haven't decided whether I will try to blog each day as it happens, or if I’ll try to do a large roundup at the end… I guess a lot depends on how exhausted I feel, so there is a chance that I won't be updating the blog much (or possibly at all) until Sunday or Monday. Either way, stay tuned, and if you see me on the show floor, come up and say hi!