Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Deus Ex: Inhuman Revolution

By Alec Meer on November 30th, 2010 at 5:25 pm.

UPDATE: Eidos Montreal report that the “Automatic Unlocking Device” is actually a consumable. Hurray!

‘News’ has come down the ‘wires’ about the various goodies to be had from Deus Ex 3 special editions and pre-order exclsuive thingywotsits. One in particular caught my eye. Pray allow me to quote my exact wording in the RPS meta-office when the press release arrived. I warn you: I’m about to clamber into the Angry Tank.

The press release: Explosive Mission Pack Exclusively at GameStop – An entirely new mission with special cameo appearance of original Deus Ex character
Me: OH PISS OFF


I don’t mind pre-orders adding on guns and hats whatnot; I understand it’s important for retailers to sell games and that the market is ever more complicated and competitive. But dangling that sort of money-grabbing, choice-destroying nostalgia-carrot in front of the very people whose undying enthusiasm has been a key factor in allow this game to happen? Ew, ew, ew.

Essentially, if you’re a long term DX fan you’re going to have to make the fairly unpleasant choice of saving money by ordering this much-anticipated, primarily black’n'yellow-hued sequel from your (r)etailer of choice, or dropping full-whack premium at Gamestop to ensure you’re getting the full story and maximum links to DX1. You’re being punished for being one of the people who most cares about this game. Awful.

OK, calm down. Calm down. Let’s see what else we’ve got. Should be fine now. There surely can’t be anything quite as harrowing. Here’s the rest of the Gamestop pack…

- Linebacker G-87 multiple shot grenade launcher
- M-28 Utility Remote-Detonated Explosive Device (UR-DED)
- Automatic Unlocking Device

WHAT THE….. Automatic Unlocking Device! Jesus milkshake-drinking Christ! What? Why? God! “Buy from gamestop and you can just wholesale skip one of the game’s tension-setting challenges!” Which, yes, was an option in DX1 but not one you only got by paying extra to a specific real-world shop.

Ok. Ok. If you instead buy the game from the incredibly vague ‘participating retailers’, you get these:

- Huntsman Silverback Double-Barrel Shotgun
- Longsword Whisperhead Extreme Range Sniper Rifle
- Extra Credits

Extra credits. That’s probably not so bad. Sort of defeats the entire point of roleplaying, but there you go.

And on to the ‘Augmented Edition’ special edition of the game, which’ll cost you $10 more than the standard:

- 40-page Artbook
- Exclusive Bonus DVD: Making Of, Special Trailers, Animated storyboard of CGI trailer and Soundtrack
- Premium Packaging
- Motion Graphic Novel

Fine, fine, probably. As long as the plot makes sense without that motion graphic novel.

This is all North America, by the way. Dunno what Euro-folk are in for yet.

“Automatic Unlocking Device.” Bloody hell.

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381 Comments »

  2. 30/11/2010 at 17:28 Quintin Smith says:

    All aboard the What A Shame train!

  3. 30/11/2010 at 17:29 Kieron Gillen says:

    I think “Automatic Unlocking Device” should be an euphemism for the penis.

    KG

  4. 30/11/2010 at 17:29 Auspex says:

    The point of roleplaying is to amass credits?

  5. 30/11/2010 at 17:31 Malawi Frontier Guard says:

    The original Deus Ex had plenty of Automatic Unlocking Devices, if you remember.

  6. 30/11/2010 at 17:31 V. Profane says:

    I don’t get these retailer specific offers. Are the retailers paying or offering some sort of free promotion for this, or do the publishers think people are going to buy more than one copy?

    • 30/11/2010 at 17:38 Rob Hale says:

      Yes.

      Also retailers may refuse to stock a game without these kind of incentives generally just holding it to ransom. After all Gamestop doesn’t care about new game sales because it makes all it’s money off pre-owned.

    • 30/11/2010 at 17:54 JonWood says:

      Fuck ‘em then. Don’t sell through Gamestop.

      I really wish that the companies selling games would just man up, and make it clear that they don’t need brick and mortar stores nearly as much as those stores need them.

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:06 dalziel86 says:

      But that’s not even remotely true. The vast majority of sales for AAA titles are console sales, and all but a tiny amount of console sales are from bricks-and-mortar retailers.

    • 30/11/2010 at 23:50 malkav11 says:

      For those of you outside America, let me just note that Gamestop is, effectively, the only videogame specialty shop chain in America. They’ve bought out pretty much all the others that I’ve ever run into. They aren’t a monopoly per se – there are still independent stores that they do their level best to run out of business, and of course megastores – primarily Wal-mart – still constitute a larger portion of videogame retail than any specialty shop (I can only assume because of clueless family members – the selection and prices are always terrible even for console games, let alone PC), and then there’s online vendors and digital distribution. But for brick and mortar retail you’re primarily looking at Gamestop or Wal-mart.

  7. 30/11/2010 at 17:31 Rinox says:

    Any weapon with the word ‘huntsman’ in it deserves an automatic ban. ;-)

  8. 30/11/2010 at 17:31 Michael says:

    Must refrain from quoting RE. Must refrain from quoting RE.

    All kidding aside, I pray this trend doesn’t catch on any further.
    That being said, I hope we get to see Gunther again. I miss his Bavarian charm.

  9. 30/11/2010 at 17:32 Ricc says:

    M-28 Utility Remote-Detonated Explosive Device (UR-DED)

    Hah!

  10. 30/11/2010 at 17:32 Subject 706 says:

    Idiots. That exclusive mission is probably gonna be on the interwebs pretty soonish though. Way to piss off your most loyal customers.

    • 30/11/2010 at 17:39 shoptroll says:

      Guaranteed it’ll be DLC at the end of the game’s lifespan. Hopefully Steam will rise to the challenge and have a nice digital deluxe edition.

      Keep in mind that this is primarily how Gamestop stays in business these days. I really do wish Steam and other digital stores published their numbers. Would be interesting to see how the numbers compare on the PC when you take into consideration these “exclusive” offers.

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:10 dalziel86 says:

      No, primarily how Gamestop stays in business is preowned game sales, and that means console games. And console game sales account for the vast, vast majority of their new games sales. PC games are pretty much irrelevant to their business model, and thus, so are comparisons to Steam.

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:21 Torgen says:

      Yep, went into a Gamestop yesterday to buy a 360 gamepad for my PC, and the PC games section is one 3ft-wide, 4 shelf tall freestanding shelving unit. The rest of the 1500 sf was console stuff, packed as tight as they could get away with. Oh, and Halo toys piled into a pyramid.

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:31 shoptroll says:

      To clarify I meant in terms of selling fresh retail copies of games. I don’t see any reason to shop there when I can order the exact same product from Amazon and usually at a lower price due to the little bit they undercut the MSRP or from credit earned on previous purchases (I’ve obtained easily $50-$70 in credit this year alone). Very rarely do any of the big box or department stores acquire this privilege.

      And yes, the PC selection at Gamestop has been abysmal for as long as I can remember. My local Target and Wal-Mart have more shelf space allocated to PC Games than Gamestop. Their business model is in for a world of pain once the consoles seriously shift to digital distribution.

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:52 dalziel86 says:

      The point is they’re not offering these extras to attract PC game sales. They’re offering them to attract console sales, the vast, vast majority of which are made at physical retailers.

    • 30/11/2010 at 19:48 shoptroll says:

      @dalz

      Yes. Which is why it’ll be hilarious when they inevitably opt to boycott Steam like those other chains a few weeks ago.

      The main reason I brought up Steam in the first place is because I haven’t ordered physical discs for any recent release on the PC and I was wondering if there’s going to be a comparable deluxe edition like EA has done with Bioware’s titles.

  11. 30/11/2010 at 17:34 Nemon says:

    Shouldn’t that be “you’re dead”?

  12. 30/11/2010 at 17:34 Garg says:

    Those damned robotic old men are behind this, I’m sure of it.

  13. 30/11/2010 at 17:35 Vaughn says:

    This is quite the double edged sword. On one hand, this is the only way publishers see a return on producing a physical copy of the game… it’s a way to fund the huge cost of traditional copies. It also becomes terrible in instance (offering game-changing bonuses).

    On the other hand, if this method dies, and is discouraged, we won’t be seeing physical copies of PC games anymore which will be the greater loss.

    • 30/11/2010 at 17:50 PleasingFungus says:

      I don’t even remember the last time I bought a physical copy of a PC game.

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:20 Mistabashi says:

      That is of course discounting the fact that the majority of ‘physical’ PC game sales are sold via internet retaillers, not Gamestop.

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:31 Ushao says:

      No the Double-Edged Sword is a Best Buy exclusive.

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:59 Heliocentric says:

      Why is the death of retail bad? If retail was gone publishers would likely sort out their availability issues on digital. I’d love music cds to die too for a similar reason.

    • 30/11/2010 at 19:11 Arthur Barnhouse says:

      I bought L4D2 at Gamestop to get the Baseball bat. But I always kind of liked my local Gamestop. They were never pushy about sales or magazine subscriptions. Probably why they went out of business.

    • 30/11/2010 at 19:56 Moth Bones says:

      @ Helio – I agree about computer games, because people who buy and play computer games are very likely to be able and willing to download. But music’s not the same. There are plenty of music fans with no interest in computers or the internet.

    • 30/11/2010 at 20:21 Vaughn says:

      The death of retail isn’t bad. The death of physicality is. We don’t know what will happen to all this digital stuff: this service, that service, DRM, no DRM, files on a hard drive, files on a flash card, installation restrictions, service migration (will Steam last forever?), key management, game trading, game selling, new methods of the future? There’s so many questions about digital distribution that nobody can answer. However, I know that my game box sitting on my shelf will stay there, indefinitely, you know, the game I payed for. Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of games on Steam, I just don’t feel I have ownership over those games, and technically speaking, I don’t.

      I know that because my Deus Ex game box has been sitting on that same shelf for 10 years.

    • 30/11/2010 at 20:33 MadTinkerer says:

      I occasionally buy retail PC games, but not habitually. I stopped buying them habitually way back in 2003-ish when I couldn’t afford to upgrade my PC for about seven years (starting in 2000, long story). I still had, and have, literally hundreds of games from the 1990s and the early 00s. Since i couldn’t upgrade my graphics card, I was effectively locked out of new PC games entirely during the maddest of the mad-upgrade-race years. But hey: still plenty of Quake, Half Life, Ultima VII, Diablo II, Dungeon Keeper 2, etc.

      Between 2004 and 2007 there was only one major game I bought for full retail price: Warcraft III, which managed to work on my PC with a bit of fiddling.

      Then in mid-2008 I bought The Orange Box, discovered Steam and Steam Sales and realized I really don’t miss having to store all those bulky PC boxes. Yeah, digital downloads are not as nice museum pieces as retail boxes (not being facetious here: there are videogame museums now and I believe they will be much more popular in a generation or two), but I don’t have the option to store my boxes anymore and it saves me the pain of tossing what I don’t want to throw away. Plus Steam Sales.

      In the last six days if you bought every single daily Indie pack on Steam you got 30 Indie games for $1 each for a total savings of ~92%. So, wait… what’s this “retail” thing you’re talking about? I think I may have done that once…

    • 30/11/2010 at 20:48 Alaric says:

      I agree with Vaughn 100%. While I could not care less should retail stores die, I am very upset over the trend towards the elimination of physicality. I like collecting CDs and DVDs of games I bought. I like having the boxes of my favorite games on my shelf. More importantly I like being able to keep my property after developers, publishers, retailers, etc go out of business, discontinue support, and play other disgusting tricks on their customers.

    • 30/11/2010 at 23:56 malkav11 says:

      I have concerns about the longevity of digital distributors, but it’s worth noting that physical copies of the game can and will degrade as well. Many floppies, for example, are no longer usable – not because they’ve been magnetized or because nobody has a floppy drive anymore (though nobody does), but because over time the data on them simply corrupted. I’m told that CDs and DVDs have a limited shelf life as well, though longer.

    • 01/12/2010 at 01:34 Devan says:

      @malkav11
      Very true, but at least you can make personal backups of your game discs to extend their lifespan indefinitely. Or at least you can in any sensible copyright system.

    • 01/12/2010 at 10:33 Subject 706 says:

      I used to buy retail over Steam, but not anymore. Convenience, less clutter and Steam sales, won me over. Steam and GoG are the places where I get games now.

      Physical media degrades you know. And digital copies can be backed up.

    • 01/12/2010 at 10:37 Mistabashi says:

      I have to disagree. Just because you have a physical copy of a game on your shelf, doesn’t mean you’ll always be able to play it. Remember DRM? That usually relies on a third-party company being operational in order to function. You could use a crack to bypass this (assuming one is available in x year’s time), but exactly the same can be said for your Steam games. Not that you would ever use your old discs anyway, you’ll just re-buy them on gog.com so they work with Windows 2018.

      At the end of the day, if you’re worried about Steam going bust then just back-up your games, there’s really little difference between digital downloads and physical copies in this regard.

  14. 30/11/2010 at 17:36 Rob Hale says:

    Poo to you with knobs on Eidos!

  15. 30/11/2010 at 17:38 KauhuK says:

    I have never played the DX games. I have been told that I have missed much and I am aware of that. Now, I dont know if there is anything for me in this third installment of the series but I am tempted to try it out. I like games where you can sneak and you need to pick locks/hack devices. I loved NOLF 2 and though alpha protocol is not that great I still like it cos it has this sneaking ang stuff.

    I hope there will be pc demo of this game.

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:23 spacesubmarine says:

      Buy an original Deus Ex 1 on steam then.

      It is really worth it and doesn’t look bad on max details. Trust me, I’m in the middle of my 9th playthrough.

      It is perfectly playable, just endure and the game a chance to suck you in.

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:23 spacesubmarine says:

      Buy an original Deus Ex 1 on steam then.

      It is really worth it and doesn’t look bad on max details. Trust me, I’m in the middle of my 9th playthrough.

      It is perfectly playable, just endure and give the game a chance to suck you in.

    • 30/11/2010 at 20:53 Waltorious says:

      Yeah, I just played Deus Ex 1 for the first time this year, and it’s great. You can modify the .ini file to run it in super-high resolutions (including widescreen) without any problems, and it actually doesn’t look bad at all, except for people’s faces. I would have to say that objectively it’s the best game I’ve ever played, although it isn’t my personal favorite (that would be Thief 2). I highly recommend grabbing a copy if you’re at all interested in Human Revolution.

    • 01/12/2010 at 01:00 outoffeelinsobad says:

      What Waltorius said. Objectively. The Best.

      PS:T is 2nd. Objectively.

  16. 30/11/2010 at 17:38 Giant, fussy whingebag says:

    This ‘character from DX1′ visit… do you think it will be a cheesy “You might remember me FROM THE FUTURE!” affair? Presumably it’s Gunther or Navarre, right?

    Also, what’s the bet that it becomes the first DLC for sale?

    Will every sentence in this post be a question? Who knows?

    • 01/12/2010 at 10:34 Subject 706 says:

      Tracer Tong, I believe. Since the extra mission is called Tong’s rescue or something like that.

    • 01/12/2010 at 11:17 Giant, fussy whingebag says:

      So it is!

      I somehow missed that. Well maybe we’ll get our Gunther/Anna jollies even if we’re just normal customers…

  17. 30/11/2010 at 17:39 Dominic White says:

    I’ve never seen a Gamestop in my life! Why are all these things exclusive to stores that are, as far as I’m concerned, entirely fictional?

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:24 jonfitt says:

      Gamestop.
      So now you know.

      If you’re looking for the PC section, you can just about see it: in the lower left, behind the bin of used PS1 games, on the shelf with the used Xbox1 games, there’s a couple of copies of WoW and several copes of APB.

    • 30/11/2010 at 19:09 Dominic White says:

      That picture appears to be from America, or Canada, or somewhere else where they buy things with dollars. I’m nowhere near there.

  18. 30/11/2010 at 17:40 Archonsod says:

    “An entirely new mission with special cameo appearance of original Deus Ex character”

    Yes. JC Denton gives you the mission to stop an evil software corporation pissing on his grave from a great height.

    Couldn’t resist.

  19. 30/11/2010 at 17:41 Hunam says:

    I’m getting fucking sick of all these pre-order bonus basically being fucking cheats. Like the Blood Dragon Armour in dragon age giving the player plate mail long, long before they should have been able to afford it during the natural flow of the game.

    It’s just fucking stupid and I hate it, and I hate Deus Ex even more because I thought they’d be better than this.

    I might go and hassle them on twitter again.

    • 30/11/2010 at 17:53 Hunam says:

      In fact, I’m super angry about this now. I hate the whole pre-order cheat bullshit but I also hate buying a game knowing that I’ve got bits lopped off because I didn’t want to buy it from some retailer I hate. It’s just awful advertising as I know no matter what I do I wont have the complete package, or if I do, I’ll have some cheat running which’ll ruin the game entirely

      I say boo to you sirs.

    • 30/11/2010 at 17:55 Hunam says:

      I don’t even think Octodad could cheer me up now.

    • 30/11/2010 at 17:58 thebigJ_A says:

      I preordered New Vegas from Gamestop. I got a “weathered 10mm pistol”. That’s fine, I thought, the 10mm is the crappiest pistol (wasn’t aware they’d changed around the weapons so much), so how bad could a slightly better version be? Yeah, I played ten hours before I found a better pistol.

      Oh, and I also got a Canteen. Which effectively doubles the time you can go between drinks in hardcore. By the end of the game, I had like 50 purified waters chilling in my motel room fridge.

      I’m an American… can I say “bollocks”? Is that allowed? I really think it fits.

      Bollocks.

    • 30/11/2010 at 19:26 jackflash says:

      I hated it too – though to be fair, you couldn’t actually wear the blood dragon armor until you were a high level character, due to the strength requirements. Also, it was fugly.

    • 30/11/2010 at 19:31 bob_d says:

      As a developer I hate this almost as much as I do as a player. At best it screws with game balance, at worst you end up making significant content that only a small portion of the players get to experience (and you don’t even generate extra revenue as you would with a DLC). I was working for a company whose publisher had the bright idea of doing an extra level for one retailer. We told them how much time and money it would take to do the one “special” level and they immediately gave up on the idea, luckily. That dynamic generally holds true for unique content for specific retailers – it can’t be anything significant, as that wouldn’t be cost-effective, so instead you get these dumb little balance-breaking items. Given the cost of doing special editions, even with such minor data changes, I can’t really believe thepublisher ends up gaining that much.

    • 30/11/2010 at 21:10 Bret says:

      Try Plumtree’s “Go!”

      Cheers anybody right up.

  20. 30/11/2010 at 17:42 Lewie Procter says:

    A bunch of pretentious old men playing at publishing.

  21. 30/11/2010 at 17:44 DavidM says:

    I have never understood the “Making of DVD” for games.

    Does it show a bunch of guys hunched over computers for hours and hours…?

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:12 MDevonB says:

      It could be done in a “Metaphorical Coding” sort of way. Like in TV shows and the movies, where an on-screen hose puts out a firewall.

      So, instead of having anything to do with the actual development of the game, it’s an episode of Reboot.

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:37 Shadram says:

      I’ve never seen a Making Of… DVD in a game that actually showed the making of the game. They all talk about story, and how they had to write it to be “epic”. They show a bunch of content art that you’ve probably already seen on the website (since I assume you’d be interested in that if you’re watching the Making Of… DVD) And they talk a bit about designing the world, without going into any specifics on how they did that. Lots of interviews with artists and writers, and never a mention of a programmer.

      It’s all fluff, no substance, aimed at lowest common denominator.

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:56 Muzman says:

      The heads of department need something to do with the hours of PR schpeal they rehearsed for trade shows that you couldn’t go to.
      They tried to get it out but people just kept asking them if they had the number of the booth babes and lost interest when they didn’t.

    • 30/11/2010 at 21:39 StormTec says:

      @shadram

      I don’t believe “making of”… features for films consist mostly of you watching them make the movie either. In fact, I would say that would be pretty boring compared to insight into the characterisation, conveying vital concepts through the writing/set design and generally reasons why the film was made the way it was. I always thought that was the point of “making of..” things though.

    • 01/12/2010 at 02:44 dethgar says:

      @StormTec

      The problem with that is usually that video game characterisations are used as hype material and typically cause their use in “Making of…” to be redundant. Not to mention that there are few games on the market where the story is truly deep and engaging, and are rather more like a “mash up of focus group feedback, buzzwords, gimmicks, and pop culture rip offs linked together just enough to fool your average game player”.

  22. 30/11/2010 at 17:48 Rinox says:

    If it’s a cameo à la Mafia 2, it may actually still be good (because that one was sweeeet). But yeah, not exactly a reason to pay extra for perhaps.

  23. 30/11/2010 at 17:50 Heliocentric says:

    Buying the game, torrenting the nonsense.

  24. 30/11/2010 at 17:53 Down Rodeo says:

    This is the kind of thing that just happened, in passing, as ’twere, in one of the GTA IV DLCs right?

  25. 30/11/2010 at 17:53 Bhazor says:

    That reminds me how I felt getting Dragon Age. That blood armour is just ri-god damned-diculously over powered and you essentially got it for free or can sell it for about 20 gold which is enough to re-equip your whole party three times over. So much for roleplaying, huh?

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:03 thatman says:

      Can you re-equip your whole party in Dragon Age three times over with 20 gold!?!?

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:07 Tusque d'Ivoire says:

      theres bronze, silver and gold coins in DA:O, gold coins are worth quite a lot.

      Fallout New Vegas had a similar problem with its special editions. while ammo is slightly scarce at the beginning, the shotgun you get with the caravan pack is crazy overpowered…

      to me, this extra content is an argument against buying the special edition!

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:13 Bhazor says:

      Yeah 1 Gold = 100 Silver = 10,000 Copper

      At the start of the game the best equipable armour and weapon for the first four characters comes to maybe 40 silver each.

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:19 westyfield says:

      100 bronze = 1 silver and 100 silver = 1 gold, so 3 gold = 30,000 bronze.

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:25 Quasar says:

      I accidentally sold the piece of Blood Dragon armour that you start with in DA:O. So I just ignored the rest as and when I found it.

      Much more fun.

    • 30/11/2010 at 19:38 Clovis says:

      I trashed the Blood Armor after I saw how much it would sell for. One of the few times I’ve had to actively remove a cheat from a game.

    • 01/12/2010 at 10:37 Subject 706 says:

      Same here. Did the same with the Steam extras in Dragon Knight Saga (Which is otherwise a great game). Getting three sets of overpowered armor directly in your inventory AT THE START OF THE GAME, is just too stupid.

    • 01/12/2010 at 10:42 Schadenfreude says:

      At least you can choose not to use the likes of the Blood Dragon Armour. Red Dead Redemption had a couple of Golden Guns that completely replaced your starting pistol, and once activated couldn’t be turned off again. Really infuriating. I don’t mind that stuff being there so long as I have the option not to use it.

      It’s worth noting that this stuff has been going on for years though; remember the bonus merchants in Baldur’s Gate 2?

    • 01/12/2010 at 16:25 Archonsod says:

      The New Vegas stuff annoyed me off. Mainly because all you guys seem to have got something decent, and all I got was some leather armour, a couple of throwing spears and a machete.

  26. 30/11/2010 at 17:58 disperse says:

    I wonder which version OnLive will be selling on their service?

  27. 30/11/2010 at 18:00 Text_Fish says:

    So, they’re making a whole extra mission just for the special edition? It’ll be crap. And if it’s not crap, they’ll release it as DLC a few months down the line.

    HAH! My first thought when I saw “Extra Credits” was they’d add a few names on to the end-credits to account for the extra work on the extras. Silly me.

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:03 Hunam says:

      Honestly, that was what I first thought too. As if game credit sequences weren’t long enough as it is.

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:06 Text_Fish says:

      Yeah Hunam, but you know the longer the credits = the more serious and important the game is. Remove the skip function and you’re looking at a very serious, very important game indeed.

    • 30/11/2010 at 18:30 Hunam says:

      Or they give you a skip function, but it also skips out the super important post-credits scene that bridges the story to the next game/fills in a plot hole.

    • 30/11/2010 at 22:40 Optimaximal says:

      You should never skip the credits in a Deus Ex game…

      DANCEPARTY!

  28. 30/11/2010 at 18:02 Deano2099 says:

    Don’t care about the extra mission, this is the PC, it’ll be available somewhere, legit or otherwise. It’s the guns and stuff that bother me, I mean, presumably the game is balanced around not having them, so bringing them in to the game is surely just entirely unbalancing the difficulty curve?

    It was one thing in Dragon Age, where the combat wasn’t even really the focus of the game so I wasn’t so bothered…but in what’s, let’s face it, is essentially going to be a shooter…

    • 30/11/2010 at 19:21 niffk says:

      agreed. i’ll wait for the mod that balances the guns and places them in appropriate locations, as well as adds on the extra mission. i don’t hold this against the developers – they’re probably bound by contract to do bullshit like this.

  29. 30/11/2010 at 18:03 westyfield says:

    Gah.

  30. 30/11/2010 at 18:05 DarkFenix says:

    This really is a crying shame, it’s this kind of underhanded greedy move that disinclines me to part with my cash in the first place.

    After all, I get a choice between buying the retail version and getting perhaps a third of the bonus content, or pirating it and getting it all. How long is it going to take devs/pubs to realise that punishing the people who do pay is a bad idea?

  31. 30/11/2010 at 18:14 Nicholas Lovell says:

    This is going to happen more and more. The only way of making money from content that is so easily pirated is to offer special “collector’s editions” where pirating them would make no sense.

    So expect there to be many more collector’s editions of every game.

  32. 30/11/2010 at 18:14 cjlr says:

    That’s terror.

  33. 30/11/2010 at 18:24 imsame says:

    Yeah, cancelling preorder, thanks.

  34. 30/11/2010 at 18:25 VelvetFistIronGlove says:

    “You’re being punished for being one of the people who most cares about this game.”

    Not necessarily. If this exclusive mission is complete shit, then you’re actually being rewarded :)

  35. 30/11/2010 at 18:25 frozenbyte says:

    I don’t know what to think anymore.

  36. 30/11/2010 at 18:26 Urthman says:

    I don’t understand why they give these exclusive items to the player at the beginning of the game. Wouldn’t it make more sense to insert them at an appropriate point? So, for instance, the Huntsman Silverback Double-Barrel Shotgun would be available when the player would normally be getting, say, the first or second accuracy or ammo upgrade to their regular shotgun.

    I know I’d be much more likely to pay extra for “this game contains exclusive awesome secret extra loot for you to find” than “this game lets you start with game-breaking cheat weapons.”

  37. 30/11/2010 at 18:29 Urael says:

    I’ve already ranted about games publishers twice today: If I’d known this was coming I’d have saved some ire ‘specially.

    This is exactly the same crap they pulled with Transformers. Punishing the fans of that franchise by making certain much-sought-after characters exclusive only to certain outlets.

    It’s a repellent practice that needs to die, and die NOW.

    Not so miffed about the auto-unlocking device. Frankly, my expectations for the game are already set fairly low.

  38. 30/11/2010 at 18:33 Hunam says:

    Seriously, why do they want to undermine the core design of the gameplay by handing out cheats willy nilly. I just hope the lead designer is shouting and someone right now.

  39. 30/11/2010 at 18:35 Navagon says:

    Squee are in ur games, monetizing them.

  40. 30/11/2010 at 18:39 Anonononomous says:

    It is really lame, but I wouldn’t be too concerned about needing to buy it from GameStop. If SE follows their system from Just Cause 2, all the preorder bonuses will be DLC soon enough after release.

  41. 30/11/2010 at 18:40 Theory says:

    Someone will release an unlocker five minutes after release anyway. God bless the PC.

  42. 30/11/2010 at 18:48 Theory says:

    Details on the extras here. The mission is called “Tong’s Rescue”, and you get 10,000 extra credits (hopefully each credit is worth less than in DX!).

    • 01/12/2010 at 07:06 Dave L. says:

      Tracer Tong? Really? I was hoping it would be Manderley and have something to do with the Knight Killer incident.

      What a shame.

  43. 30/11/2010 at 18:50 Tei says:

    I have not problem, if the game is balanced, so the “vanilla” game is playable and fun.
    I suppose any good that make sense to be played, can be “unlocked” one way or another in a second playtrought, if the game is good enough to deserve a second playtrought.

    I don’t think this type of stuff is good for the game, but I am not “angry” either. and why I would be angry? Is not my game, if the dev’s feel need to mini-nerf his game this way to sell more.. well… is his game. I don’t know you can get angry at other people decisions about how to sell a game, even if these decisions looks lame from here.

  44. 30/11/2010 at 18:51 SirKicksalot says:

    Here’s something to ease the pain: http://www.sarifindustries.com/

    The hacking game is just a barebones version.

  45. 30/11/2010 at 18:52 ZIGS says:

    “New Game available for pre-order now! Buy it from Super Awesome retailer and get the ENTIRE SECOND HALF OF THE GAME COMPLETELY FREE! That’s right, over 5 hours of content for free! BUY NOW FROM SUPER AWESOME RETAILER!”

    Seriously, just give it a couple of years

  46. 30/11/2010 at 18:58 l1ddl3monkey says:

    Buy game. Pirate additional content.

  47. 30/11/2010 at 19:07 DigitalSignalX says:

    So with pictures of media, does that mean that actual “gone gold” media exists? mmmm. Ship ship ship

  48. 30/11/2010 at 19:10 Ziv says:

    You know what’s inhuman? me buying the deus ex collection in the steam sale and not being able to download it today when I wanted to play because the steam download servers were down.

  49. 30/11/2010 at 19:13 Red Scharlach says:

    Ugh, retailer exclusives need to frig off and die.

    It’s one thing to have pre-order bonuses because you want people to invest in your game early (though still sad when those incentives are content heavy, but that’s the risk with smaller or less well proven developers, and it’s understandable they’d feel the need to go for it), but quite another when some dying retail franchise feels the need to whip out their monopoly and swing it around.

  50. 30/11/2010 at 19:18 dethtoll says:

    God dammit. I’m going to have to preorder from Gamestop, aren’t I? Shit. And I was doing so well without them.

  51. 30/11/2010 at 19:19 kutkh says:

    I don’t have control of games. I have control of angry tank.

  52. 30/11/2010 at 19:22 Unaco says:

    I’m going to hold off on criticism off this for now, because I’m trying to be more positive in my life, and ‘cos I’m hoping this will play out like some other extra-DLC-from-specific-retailer stuff I’ve seen. I’ll be happy if this is ‘exclusive’ to GameStop customers, for a month or so… and then it gets released as free piece of DLC to everyone. If it remains exclusive to GameStop customers only, then I’ll maybe get slightly miffed, and join your what-a-shame-train.

  53. 30/11/2010 at 19:26 Bungle says:

    The pre-order “bonus” information was all I needed. I will not be buying this piece of crap. Game Stop exclusives must die.

  54. 30/11/2010 at 19:34 Christopher M. says:

    New from GameStop! All preorders now come with an exclusive Win Button! Set in a casing of choicest mahogany, this essential device plugs into any open USB port and allows you to bypass any challenge in the game with the press of a button! Let your enemies know you’re someone to be feared! (Gamestop Rabbit(tm) casing also available)

  55. 30/11/2010 at 19:38 Kyle Stallock says:

    I’m the community manager at Eidos Montreal.

    Figured I’d come in with a quick bit of info…

    The Automatic Unlocking Device is a one-use/consumable item.

    Here’s the official description:

    “Using modified microwave pulse technology, the Automatic Unlocking Device (AUD) unit can neutralize 98% of conventional electronic and digital locking systems. This one-shot device fires a directed high-energy burst into the circuitry of the security unit, overloading it and forcing an immediate disengage; once activated, the discharge consumes the AUD’s internal capacitor and renders the device useless.”

    • 30/11/2010 at 20:07 Red Scharlach says:

      A one-use only pre-order exclusive?

      The sad part is, I know this isn’t a joke.

    • 30/11/2010 at 22:07 Duke of Chutney says:

      clearly Eidos get value for money and good customer relations from their sales and promotions departments

    • 30/11/2010 at 22:19 RQH says:

      These pre-order exclusives are overpowered! And they’re only one use!

      Sounds like a variation on a certain Woody Allen joke….

    • 30/11/2010 at 22:47 Pijama says:

      Since you were so kind to drop by, would you please also relay to your superiors my message?

      YOU BLOODY WANKING SCUMBAGS.

      There you go. It’s not directed at you, of course, you are just doing your job and all mate – but the upper management can seriously fuck themselves.

      :D

    • 01/12/2010 at 01:04 malkav11 says:

      I would assume it’s a “preorder exclusive” in much the same way Binoculars were in New Vegas. That is, the preorder pack gives them to you up front automatically, but you can find them in game too. (Unlike the special armor and weapons, which really are exclusive.)

  56. 30/11/2010 at 19:44 GoldenNugget says:

    Ugh I hated this crap with Mass Effect 2. I got the collector’s edition of ME2 and it didn’t come with all the preorder bonuses. It also looked cooler than the default cover art which is horrible.

    Does the Augmented version come with all the preorder bonuses or just a dinky book?

  57. 30/11/2010 at 19:49 Basilicus says:

    So by buying digitally without any extravagances, I’ll:

    A) save money
    B) have a tougher, more dangerous game
    C) experience the game closer to the way the designers intend; and
    D) avoid unnecessarily atrocious acronyms

    I’m in!

  58. 30/11/2010 at 19:51 Skyturnedred says:

    Don’t matter what the bonus stuff for more expensive editions is, since I can barely afford the normal version. That is, if the bonus stuff is actually just bonus stuff and not content cut from original game.

  59. 30/11/2010 at 19:51 Senethro says:

    So how do UK people get the extra level?

  60. 30/11/2010 at 19:54 Tyrone Slothrop says:

    Haters gonna hate.

  61. 30/11/2010 at 19:56 Gilly says:

    What a fockign shame

  62. 30/11/2010 at 19:58 Vinraith says:

    Preorder bonuses (especially of the “make the game dead easy” variety) are just one more reason to wait for a price drop.

  63. 30/11/2010 at 20:01 coldwave says:

    Within six months we will have it as DLC.

    • 30/11/2010 at 22:43 Urael says:

      To everyone who has said this…are the exclusive characters for Transformers: War for Cybertron now available to everyone?

      NOT YET. Just sayin’….

  64. 30/11/2010 at 20:11 jefftron says:

    I’m guessing the person who came up with UR-DED is the same person who decided to name the player’s transportation the BOOBEE.

  65. 30/11/2010 at 20:11 airtekh says:

    I’ve always thought the actual idea of pre-ordering a game was daft, let alone the crap that’s supposed to entice you into doing so. What if the game turns out to be utter rubbish?

    I’ve never pre-ordered a game in my life and I don’t intend to either.

  66. 30/11/2010 at 20:20 Skyvik says:

    So the gist of this is – player’s first choice: 1) Enormously powerful explodey weapon; 2) sniper rifle. 3) Neither of the above.

    Sounds like the first game to me. Maybe people who don’t buy a special version get a non-lethal kitten friendly weapon unavailble to the special edition chaps.

  67. 30/11/2010 at 20:27 Torqual says:

    Please no FPS remake of an old FPS again. Make a turn-based strategy game out of Deus Ex.

    When Deus Ex: Inhuman Revolution is so good as Deus Ex: Invisible War was in comparison to Deus Ex then Deus Ex: Inhuman Revolution would have been the worst Deus Ex part of the Deus Ex series.

    Deus vult!

  68. 30/11/2010 at 20:34 MadTinkerer says:

    This is not enough to make me boycott Gamestop. But it is enough to bring the thought to mind…

  69. 30/11/2010 at 20:36 Shazbut says:

    If you know what made the original great, then none of this bullshit is going to matter to you.

    • 30/11/2010 at 20:45 Navagon says:

      If you know what made the original great then you would know that all this bullshit wouldn’t be going on unless the developers had some very misplaced priorities when it comes to what Deus Ex is about.

      Although I suppose it’s somewhat fitting that the game itself can be augmented in ways that cancels out the possibility of other augmentations…

    • 30/11/2010 at 21:00 Shazbut says:

      I admit it doesn’t bode well for where the developers heads are at, unless they were pressured into it or there are some tactics here (giving an option for people who find the game too complex or demanding, thus selling more copies. Not a bad thing if we can still choose to have a game that IS complex and demanding)

      But as long as this game shares the same key substance as the first, notably v high agency and considerable maturity, then it could be set in rural France in the late 1700s with a cast of 5 people for all it would really matter. Because those are the reasons you fell in love with it in the first place.

    • 01/12/2010 at 00:10 Theory says:

      Who said this was the developers’ decision?

  70. 30/11/2010 at 20:37 Mut says:

    Here’s hoping someone finds a way to turn this “extra content” into a mod, because there’s no way I’m buying from GameStop.

  71. 30/11/2010 at 20:39 kyrieee says:

    Ok fuck this game I’m pirating it

  72. 30/11/2010 at 20:41 terry says:

    This wouldn’t bother me half as much if what they’re offering is unlockable through the normal course of playing a game, but actual content locking is just another version of region locking as far as I’m concerned – a dumb idea that exists only because of publisher/retailer croneyism and greed.

  73. 30/11/2010 at 20:47 dash says:

    I will not go “hurray” until they say the extra mission is available to everyone. For free, ofcourse.

  74. 30/11/2010 at 20:58 orangedragon10 says:

    Ew, I’m sticking with the regular version. It’s not impressive, and store exclusives are lame.

  75. 30/11/2010 at 21:02 Azhrarn says:

    Odd that they parked all the making of stuff and the OST on a single disc. That means the music probably comes as MP3s or a similar lossy format. =(
    It really pays to have a physical CD to rip lossless to get the best sound. =(

    But it makes my choice easier, I won’t be needing the special edition without that physical soundtrack CD.

    • 30/11/2010 at 21:14 jefftron says:

      The “OST” will probably turn out to be a coupon for a digital download hidden in the liner notes… 128kbps only.

    • 30/11/2010 at 21:24 Azhrarn says:

      @jefftron: that’s basically what I fear, yes.
      I have a high quality audiocard (ASUS Xonar D2X) for a reason, linked by SPDIF to a decent receiver (as receivers go, for PC audio this thing is amazing). The quality difference between lossy 128k music and lossless audio is mindblowing.

    • 30/11/2010 at 22:34 Navagon says:

      I don’t know about that. The cyberpunk theme is relevant to my interests. I agree that if they nail the formula for the game then it will at the very least be good. But that’s a fairly big if right now.

  76. 30/11/2010 at 21:12 JohnnyMaverik says:

    Ah well, the pre-order bonuses are usually a lot more crappy and insignificant than they sound.

  77. 30/11/2010 at 21:16 Lewie Procter says:

    Even with this update, it is still worrying.

    Either these core elements of the game design are so wishy washy that these differences don’t matter, or at least one of the many versions they are selling is diluted or inferior in some way.

  78. 30/11/2010 at 21:18 noobnob says:

    Oh my god JC, it’s a flop!

  79. 30/11/2010 at 21:24 Matzerath says:

    This is going to create quite a RIFT in the gaming community.
    (Register for Beta NOW.)

  80. 30/11/2010 at 21:33 Rond says:

    So basically, they offer me to pay for the game with stuff cut out of it, or pirate the whole “exclusive” thing for free? Uh, maybe I’ll do both, I don’t know. We don’t have these fancy exclusive retailers in Russia, and our local publishers tend to screw up with activation codes and stuff.

  81. 30/11/2010 at 21:47 suibhne says:

    You are the Master of Automatic Unlocking!

  82. 30/11/2010 at 22:00 FRIENDLYUNIT says:

    Welcome to Capitalism, Mr Bond.

    I trust my Capitalists have treated you well?

  83. 30/11/2010 at 22:05 outoffeelinsobad says:

    I will have that art book or worlds will crumble.

  84. 30/11/2010 at 22:59 poop says:

    nice try gamestop but I think I’ll go with the pirate bay’s exclusive “all the dlc” pack

  85. 30/11/2010 at 22:59 Blue Cheese Rocket says:

    Dear Publishers,

    Games make me happy. Thank you. I would just like to suggest that you consider following this process:

    1. Make a game.
    2. Make sure it’s finished. (Important.) Ideally, it should be something to be proud of, i.e., something that you wouldn’t dream of adding to or subtracting from. Not one pixel.
    3. Move on to a new project.

    Also, if you need to cut the fat out of your organization, you might start by drawing up a list of everyone in your organization with an MBA. They’re bringing us all down.

    I remain your most obedient and humble servant, e&t.,
    Blue Cheese Rocket

  86. 30/11/2010 at 23:19 NotGodot says:

    I read somewhere that the Augmented Edition includes both sets of preorder DLC. There’s definitely a french advert floating around with all of it listed as included.

  87. 30/11/2010 at 23:52 Antsy says:

    I’m as mad as hell, and i’m not gonna take this anymore!

    I await the inevitable Goatee edition.

  88. 01/12/2010 at 00:05 Barman1942 says:

    Buying the game off Steam, pirating this. I don’t support this kind of shit.

  89. 01/12/2010 at 00:43 Brian Manahan says:

  91. 01/12/2010 at 01:24 Hunam says:

    So is it that you can access to this stuff rather than just having it… because seems reprehensible, but not game breaking… like they took this stuff out to just stick it as a bonus.

  92. 01/12/2010 at 01:24 nuh uh no way says:

    may i suggest a skul gun TO SHOOT THESE ASSHOLES FOR PROMOTING THIS RETAILER-EXCLUSIVE BULLSHIT

  93. 01/12/2010 at 01:30 fuggles says:

    I’m with the other UK guys in that it sucks that you do this in the first place, but extra sucks in that even should I want to partake in your shenanigans I can’t thanks to where I live. I’m holding an augmented finger up at you DE3 publishers, can you guess which one it is?

  94. 01/12/2010 at 02:16 tapanister says:

    Fuck them. I refuse to even pirate shitty games like this, (I’ve seen the future and I know it’ll suck, yes). I’ll still write a scathing review on Amazon though.

    • 01/12/2010 at 02:21 tapanister says:

      Also, I hate the tendency publishers have to try and FORCE you to pre-order a game by holding out on content. It’s also infuriating that they embargo reviewers from publishing reviews before the game goes on sale.

      There’s absolutely no respect for the consumer in this industry, god damn.

  95. 01/12/2010 at 02:31 Hendar23 says:

    It’s not like anybody expected it to be up to the standard of the first game anyway. I’m a massive fan of DE, but news of this game barely raised my eyebrow. I’m just going to assume it’s shit until if proves otherwise, then in a couple of years I’ll get the ‘Game of the Year’ edition for $10-20.

  96. 01/12/2010 at 02:45 ChiefOfBeef says:

    I just want to know: how many here think the game will be good(Invisible War: good, but not really Deus Ex) and do you also think it will be…well, a real sequel to Deus Ex rather than co-opting the name?

    I mean, the development team needed to get their heads around the concept of creating content that some players would not see. They needed to learn that. Had they been native PC gamers or even played any half-decent RPG of the last fifteen years they would have already known. Baldur’s Gate, System Shock, Thief, The Elder Scrolls, *the original Deus Ex* or even a Legend of Zelda game would have made them aware that the concept exists.

    Obviously, I don’t have high hopes for this. It will come out In Six Months. Then it will be forgotten In Six Months. I’ll post again about it In Six Months. It will never have a memorable Malkavian machina made of it years after its release, let alone In Six Months.

    • 01/12/2010 at 06:18 MD says:

      We’ve had to endure much, you and I, but within the week there will be a mediocre Deus Ex sequel running the world.

    • 01/12/2010 at 13:18 Azhrarn says:

      I’m just hoping it will be decent, and doesn’t destroy the name of Deus Ex to much.
      That is all I want, I’m hoping to be pleasantly surprised obviously, but I’m not expecting to be.

      If it actually is good, that will be awesome, if it is decent, it will still be better than most games released this year. ^^ I’m hoping for that at least.

  97. 01/12/2010 at 03:16 WFL says:

    Gamestop can eat a fat one. I don’t care if they offer sexual services from a smokin’ hotty with each preorder. Their handling of PC games has always sucked. They open the damned boxes at all the ones around here and take out everything – and most of the time, the person working behind the counter doesn’t put everything back into the box when you buy. Nearly every time I’ve bought a PC game from any area Gamestop, I’ve had to go back because they forgot a disk or two, or didn’t include the damned manual (which had the CD key printed on it). I refuse to support a business like that.

  98. 01/12/2010 at 03:46 Silvarius says:

    Thats a turnoff. What a shame

  99. 01/12/2010 at 05:38 Spacewalk says:

    Black and yellow? Why not lemon lime?

  100. 01/12/2010 at 06:09 ed says:

    Exclusivity just sucks, doesn’t it? I’m not liking the ‘more money = more game’ trend, of which DLC is the primary example and this is another.. Oh well, I’ll just watch the extra shit on youtube.

    Introducing “Rich Assholes”, the new multiplayer FPS! Free to play, but you get no weapons but your slapping hand. The more you pay for the game, the more powerful weapons you have access to and the better your stats. See if you can use the pea shooter your $10 purchase got you to out-skill that millionaire guy with a $10k arsenal of miniguns, railguns, mini-nuke-launchers and air-support. But only when he chooses to leave his gorgeous high-roller maps and visit the low-poly slums. I can see it now.

  101. 01/12/2010 at 06:46 Thants says:

    Getting the most powerful guns right at the start is great! I can’t wait until I can pay extra to see a movie that tells me the ending right at the beginning.

  102. 01/12/2010 at 07:02 MD says:

    I don’t give a toss about any of this if the game’s good. Or if it’s shit, for that matter. I can understand why people might be annoyed, but for me all it is is another small hint that the game will probably be rubbish (to my tastes).

  103. 01/12/2010 at 08:11 Moot The Pointy says:

    Ohhhh… it’s a pirate’s life for me…

  104. 01/12/2010 at 08:17 SquareWheel says:

    So the best way to get all the goodies is to simply pirate it.

    Makes sense.

  105. 01/12/2010 at 08:28 MindFukr says:

    Needs more quotes.

  106. 01/12/2010 at 08:38 Crane says:

    I’d just like to throw something out here:
    We have no idea how this preorder stuff is implemented.

    1: We don’t know that the preorder weapons are only available to folk who preordered – it might just be a way to acquire early weapons that are in the game for everyone. The AUD hints at this – a single use item, only for preorders seems excessively… transient (ye gods I sound like a pretentious arty asshole). Moreover, they released concept art for the remote mines fairly early on, which sounds to me as if they’re something that have always been in the game, and were just recently divvied up and thrown into the preorders.

    2. We don’t know how you’ll acquire them, or when, and we certainly don’t know that they’ll be absurdly gamebreaking. I mean, what’ve we got? A sniper rifle (DX: could get one at the start), a grenade launcher (DX: could get a guided missile launcher at the start), and a double-barrelled shotgun (DX: could get a sawed-off pump action within about five minutes). Oh, and some remote mines, but I really don’t think a handful of those is going to utterly fuck the balance. Oh, and a single lockpick.

  107. 01/12/2010 at 08:57 Maxheadroom says:

    I used to be a sucker for special editions but nowadays they’re just lazy (lazier?) cash-ins.
    ‘Exclusive’ content, sound track cd’s, making of dvd…pish

    Special editions should be all about making the experience more immersive. Cloth maps are a fairly basic example, or the excellent compendium that came with Alan Wake filled with his short stories and the FBI guy’s notes.

    Another great example came with the dog old Amiga game Dream Web. A ‘blood stained’ diary chronicling the main characters decent into madness with progressively shaky handwriting. Genius.

    • 01/12/2010 at 09:22 FDS21 says:

      Yeah, I was going to sell my PC-CD-ROM version of Dreamweb, but I’ve read that the diary also works as copy protection. So that and Blade Runner will be my only big box games left after my ebay sales finish ;)

  108. 01/12/2010 at 09:04 Ovno says:

    So what do we get for buying it from steam then??

    Cus that’s where I’ll be getting it from regardless ;p

  109. 01/12/2010 at 09:04 Flint says:

    ‘Special cameo appearance’ sounds like an itty-bitty teeny-weeny “blink and you’ll miss it” role and I doubt they’d be using any of the big characters from the original game into something like that, especially seeing as they’ve probably integrated the possible the more notable old characters into the game’s main plot itself. So the preorder bonus will most likely be something like Harvey Filben or Shannon or the soldier with his own office in UNATCO HQ popping in to say ‘hi’ in the background of the bonus mission.

  110. 01/12/2010 at 09:09 JohnnyMaverik says:

    “UPDATE: Eidos Montreal report that the “Automatic Unlocking Device” is actually a consumable. Hurray!”

    Is it a suppository? O.o

  111. 01/12/2010 at 09:10 Optimaximal says:

    When they said ‘it’s a consumable’, did anyone else think ‘why would GameStop offer an exclusive pack of Soy Food’?

  112. 01/12/2010 at 09:19 Chris says:

    Ok, so let me get this straight:

    1) The bonus retailer-only content sucks and/or is game breaking,
    2) We demand that it be shipped as default?

    This does not sound like something to be demanding that the publishers eat a bucket of cocks over. Seriously, get the game (or wait for the Steam sale if you’re “meh” about it), play it, forget bricks&mortar retailers as they’re an irrelevance to PC gaming. Why get angry that you don’t get content that you didn’t want?

  113. 01/12/2010 at 09:33 Nallen says:

    Compare the price difference from Steam to Gamestop, view the stuff as DLC and then apply your normal process of value judgement.

    Also try not to rage about being ripped off.

  114. 01/12/2010 at 09:35 The Sombrero Kid says:

    if the missions are of the ilk that can be cut out without consequence to the game then this is not a deus ex game, if you’d cut out or added in any optional missions to deus ex you’d either be thoroughly confused or their’d be a weird chunk of filler.

    This has been downgraded from must buy to wait & see.

    • 01/12/2010 at 09:52 Crane says:

      Because clearly it’s utterly impossible that this could be a little side-jaunt which has no real impact on the overall plot. The existence of a sidequest like that is certain proof that Human Revolution will be a series of discrete levels, broken up with briefing screens ala Modern Warfare! Certain proof!

      Look, exclusive pre-order bonuses are kind of shit, it’s true, but good heavens everyone is overreacting. Why is it that almost every post I see takes the most negative possible interpretation of this stuff, sometimes taking quite absurd (il)logical leaps, and treats it as gospel?

    • 01/12/2010 at 10:35 The Sombrero Kid says:

      it’s like directors who take the crap scenes off the cutting room floor and put them back in their movies to make more money, the film/game is always worse with it in but it’s designed to make the people who don’t have it think they’re missing something, even worse would be if it’s an integral part of the game and the interconnected plot doesn’t make any sense without it.

      EDIT: also downgrading from a must buy to a wait and see is an over reaction? :S

    • 01/12/2010 at 10:49 Crane says:

      No, but worrying about the missions being of the sort that can be cut without consequence to the game, and speculating that this is not a Deus Ex game based on the mere existence of a discrete pre-order mission is.

  115. 01/12/2010 at 09:56 Greg Wild says:

    A bomb!

  116. 01/12/2010 at 10:05 Thelonious says:

    Our ethical inflexibility has allowed them to make progress in areas we’d refuse to consider.

  117. 01/12/2010 at 10:33 Mac says:

    So, will this:

    a) Encourage more people to buy the Special Edition?
    b) Encourage people to forget about the Special Edition and buy the Standard Edition?
    c) Encourage people to forget about the Standard Edition and just pirate the full game?

    I know which one my money is on …

  118. 01/12/2010 at 10:41 TooNu says:

    I am not sure if it has been said yet, but the bonus mission’s “cameo” appearance is Tracer Tong. As the mission is called Tong’s Rescue.

  119. 01/12/2010 at 11:06 Sinomatic says:

    It seems they’ve done one of two things, either kept back exclusive content for those with more money or who shop at a particular place (crap and greedy), or given pre-orders early access to content that is freely available in the game anyway and managed to completely not make this clear in any way, shape or form, pissing off a lot of people who are/were genuinely excited about the game (really, really stupid).

    What a shame indeed.

  120. 01/12/2010 at 13:25 PearlChoco says:

    Waiting for the Extreme Special Edition with the AMSD (Automatic Moving and Shooting Device).

    Wait…. “Special Edition”, is it like the “Special Olympics”?

  121. 01/12/2010 at 01:22 CMP5 says:

    What a shame.

  122. 01/12/2010 at 02:08 Brian Manahan says:

    I believe!

  123. 01/12/2010 at 04:47 Doth Messar says:

    go in, and go in, and go in like the US marshals!

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