Deus Ex Human Revolution EP12:
Ye Olde Firearms Shoppe

By Shamus Posted Wednesday Feb 1, 2012

Filed under: Spoiler Warning 141 comments


Link (YouTube)

Am I the only one who misses that synth music they used in Deus Ex, Unreal, and Unreal Tournament? I remember opening up Unreal Ed and using it like a music player back in the day, having it play through all of the available tracks.

I also loved the MIDI music used in Descent. That was great stuff. I was actually really disappointed with the music in Descent 2, which replaced the beep-boop electronica with real CD tracks and a more “hardcore” musical vibe. Maybe it was the tonal shift that put me off, or maybe this is a case of me preferring chicken nuggets and cheese doodles over roast chicken and baked potato. I never claimed to have refined tastes.

 


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141 thoughts on “Deus Ex Human Revolution EP12:
Ye Olde Firearms Shoppe

  1. Rodyle says:

    On the topic of electro music in videogames: the gamecube Metroid games had an awesome soundtrack.

    1. Nyctef says:

      Wipeout has some really nice electronic music.

      Also, I never really thought that augs should be really that different from everyone else — it was an opinion that a lot of the anti-aug characters had, but I never really thought the game was trying to convince me it was true.

      1. Peter H. Coffin says:

        Half my techno/triphop library is groups found on Wipeout soundtracks. The system works, bandkids…

      2. Dante says:

        That’s because the Wipeout soundtracks are composed of actual electronic music tracks, not a soundtrack tailored to the game.

        I have driving music that is a mix of tracks used in Wipeout, Need for Speed, and Burnout games.

        1. Zerotime says:

          Except for Wipeout 3*, which had a few tracks written specifically for it by Sasha.

          (* Sorry, Wip3Out. Ugh.)

  2. Theminimanx says:

    What encounter with the many mooks are they talking about at the end? I can’t remember such an encounter that really frustrated me.

    1. AbruptDemise says:

      I’m thinking it’s the one in China, in Act 2 of the game. Before the actual boss-character boss fight.

      1. Theminimanx says:

        You mean the one after the plane crash? If that’s the one then I didn’t really mind because I just didn’t bother with the enemies at all. (Yes, I’m an asshole.) I can see how it would be annoying on a high difficulty level though.

        1. Daemian Lucifer says:

          No,the one where zhao pushes her panic button.The plane crash one was equally good,and its how other boss battles shouldve been.

          1. Theminimanx says:

            Oh that, I just threw a gas grenade at them. So much XP!

            1. Destrustor says:

              Thanks to some forewarning from my brother, I just set down mines in the entrance when I first entered the room. They apparently spawned right over them because my one frag mine killed about seven dudes.
              “Oh noes an ambush! [turns to face the attackers.]
              -BAM![one dead body flies into view beyond the doorframe, no other movement is seen]
              – oh well I guess it was nothing. Heh heh heh…”

            2. Same here. First try, there were some survivors, second try they all went down at once and I was like “now, about that panic room, oh never mind I guess I have to leave instead of trying to say, find an override or some other way to open it”.

          2. SougoXIII says:

            Oh, that sequence wasn’t that annoying. In my first play through, I just turned on the invisible aug and sneak pass them. In my second one, I placed two mine two mines at the entrance before the encounter – though you need to have hind sight for that.

            1. Gruhunchously says:

              There’s also an airvent just outside Zhao’s room that lets you bypass most of the enemies.

              1. Daemian Lucifer says:

                But enemies give you xp!Why would you bypass xp?!

                1. SougoXIII says:

                  To be fair, it’s pretty annoying to knock/kill them all without nullifying the ‘Ghost’ bonus and 10-12 enemies give you round about 500XP anyway so it’s faster and less frustrating to just sneak pass them.

                  1. Daemian Lucifer says:

                    Someone linked a video in one of the previous episodes for how you can get those guys in about 30 seconds,with double takedowns.Ill try to find the link,its pretty awesome.

                    EDIT:Ah,here it is.

                    1. SougoXIII says:

                      Oh yeah that video. I actually tried that on my third play through but wasn’t as successful. (I blame the lack of buttons on console – have to hold triangle all the time to down my candy bars.)

                    2. Eärlindor says:

                      0.0

                      That. Is. Awesome.

                    3. X2Eliah says:

                      Whooa. That’s amazing…

                2. Mathias says:

                  Oh God, that sequence.

                  Fuck that sequence. Fuck that sequence with a big rusty metal pole, that pissed me off to no end.

                  Of all the fanboying I do of this game, that sequence, more than anything, pushed my buttons. I put the controller down for two days, refusing to play the game after that. Then I picked it up and breezed through the sequence (silenced pistol yay), hoping never to replay it.

              2. acronix says:

                I hid in that shaft, then stuck my head out, killed someone, and retreated. The mooks never decided to throw a grenade or just camp the shaft forever.

          3. The Hokey Pokey says:

            Am I alone in my frustration with everyone in the game pronouncing Zhao incorrectly? I can understand the American characters making that mistake, but even the Chinese characters call her “zow.” Every time it happens I yell “Zh means J!” at the screen.

            1. krellen says:

              There are people that don’t automatically see that as “jow”?

            2. X2Eliah says:

              I usually see her name as “cow”. What?

            3. lasslisa says:

              There are also accents (I’m thinking Taiwanese here) that will pronounce ‘zh’ as ‘z’ in many cases. Haven’t heard the way it’s pronounced in-game, so it might be beyond saving even that way, but worth a note.

            4. Newbie says:

              Am I alone in my frustration of people using the letter Y instead of either Thorn àž (that is a really bad thorn) or Wynn Ç· in the sentence ‘Ç·e Olde Shoppe’ (Thorn is the correct one but it became indistinguishable from Wynn later on). You are trying to make it look olde… JUST TRY A BIT!!!

              Just you know because who cares about American ignorance of Chinese when so many are ignorant about English (as are the English including me).

          4. Eärlindor says:

            No,the one where zhao pushes her panic button.

            I wish I could burn that sequence in a fire!!!

            … Sorry. I’m okay now…

            1. guy says:

              I’ll bring the gas.

              1. Nimas says:

                To hell with gas, lets go with dicyanoacetylene. 5000 degrees Celsius is pretty much what it deserves.

                1. Ravens Cry says:

                  I say we nuke the sequence from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure.

            2. Amazon_warrior says:

              Not if I burn it first. I alternated between snarling at my screen and face-palming so hard I damn near gave myself concussion.

              “Griefed by your own character” is about the size of it…

          5. X2Eliah says:

            Hm, for that one I just went into the vent on the right-side, waited a few seconds so nobody was watching the exit, and used the invisibility aug (2 and a bit bars of energy) to just go to the elevator.. No combat, no fuss, no problems.

            I actually liked that sequence, as there was a multitude of ways to get through – the vent+invis, vent+weapons, straight-up weapons, invis+stungrenades, cover+nonlethal weaponry… And so on. basically any permutation of vent/cover/lethal/nonlethal/encounter/avoid works for that bit.

      2. Gamer says:

        Oh, fuck! I hated that sequence. Luckily, I had like 10 Candy Bars and 100 Stun Gun ammo in my pocket at the time, so I was good.

        1. Zaxares says:

          Heh, I LOVED that sequence. As soon as I saw all the mooks piling into the room, I pulled out my Rocket Launcher and did my best Scarface impression while standing on the balcony. I took out all but 1 with my first shot too!

        2. Jock says:

          I don’t understand, why? Unlike the Tyrant battles it changed no rules on you, so the things that worked all game continued to work. Mooks die easily, so you can shoot them if you want. If you’re stealthy you could easily get to a position where you’d only need at worst a short cloak to get by. Sure, you couldn’t talk your way out, but that’s true for many parts of the game as well.

          1. Gamer says:

            That sequence just seems out of place and contrived. So you sneaked all the way through this area, now one (plot-mandated) action will trip the alarm in every area and let every mercenary in the immediate area know EXACTLY where you are.

            And you do have to take them out. Either through stealth or combat, but your options have been whittled down in a game whose primary selling point is that you have tons of options for any given situation.

            1. Jock says:

              Um, no you don’t? Just take the vent shaft down to the first floor, then cloak and sprint out the door. Zero body count. They don’t immediately know where you are, they’re just on Alert, which just means they patrol with their guns at the ready. I’ll grant that you can’t hack your way out, but could you hack your way to the roof in DRB territory? Sometimes sneaking or combat are the only two options that make sense.

              1. MrPyro says:

                You don’t even need to cloak if you set off a distraction at the top of the stairs before taking the vent; the distraction makes the door guards move up and then you can just sneak behind them normally. Gas grenade makes a good distraction.

              2. Gamer says:

                You didn’t have to kill them!? Nevermind.

          2. Ateius says:

            “I don't understand, why?”

            Personally, I hated that sequence because of the utterly atrocious way it’s forced on you (via the actions in the preceding cutscene). I saw it coming a mile away, was forced to watch Jenson be a complete moron, and then hey now there’s a dozen guys.

            The dozen guys themselves are not a problem, it’s the way they’re introduced. Like Gamer said, the whole situation is contrived.

  3. AbruptDemise says:

    Honestly, that one encounter you guys talked about near the end of the video wasn’t that bad gameplay-wise, like the other bossfights are. It did follow that formula almost to the letter, or to the letter if you count the thing that triggers the entire encounter as the sucker punch.

    It wasn’t as egregious as the others, though, since you were allowed time to slip into the vents or behind cover. It is just a bunch of mooks, and you don’t even need to take all of them out. Still, in retrospect, I see exactly what the problems with cutscene-Jensen were – despite missing them completely the first time.

    1. Thomas says:

      I’m not even sure it really followed the formula. At the very least it didn’t feel like an avoidable thing (and it is basically avoidable if you convince the last boss conversation)

      It had multiple pathways suited to stealth playthroughs, hacking playthroughs and fighting playthroughs with a minimum of three different ways to end it. Multiple phases, no exploiting the low health, no insta kills. Lots of cover, time to do what you want.

      I really don’t think it counts as one of the terrible non Deus Exy fights. It was very infitting with the game, had a lot of set-up, a lot of subtle backstory spread through the game. A related sidequest and moral story implication

      1. Ringwraith says:

        They weren’t discussing the final fight by the way, although your points are valid and I don’t think many people had any major issues with that one, at least compared to the others.

        1. Thomas says:

          Are they talking about the bit after the terrible cutscene with Jensen and a lady? That can’t have been outsourced? It was just standard gameplay and not that hard to stealth (although there was some glitch on my version where sometimes it would randomly set off the alarm.

          I guess I really can’t think of the bit they were talking about, point it out to me when we get there :D

    2. Hal says:

      That’s sort of the problem I had with the game. Cutscene Jensen is a moron. The writers want something to happen; I’m okay with that. It’s a video game, railroading is part of the experience. But when it’s something that breaks with the character and completely screws with everything that character would logically know or do, it’s really frustrating.

      1. Amazon_warrior says:

        This, very much. I’d go to the effort of reading *everything* and trying to make sensible conversation choices and so on, then cutscene-Jensen would bust in and trololol all over my hard work… I’d mind far less if he wasn’t supposed to be a smart dude, but sheeeesh! >_>

  4. noahpocalypse says:

    I sometimes listen to various Elder Scrolls music, from Morrowind to Skyrim. I like the medieval sound, but unlike genuine medieval music it has a melody.

    The Halo series has always had pretty good music in my opinion, especially ODST. That’s probably the best soundtrack I’ve ever heard. Orchestral, jazzy music, with a focus on sax but lots of solos for strings, flutes, and guitars… If you like hardcore, ass-kicking goodness every now and then, try the song ‘Skyline’. I can’t get on YouTube right now to link, but just search for “Halo 3 ODST Skyline” and relax for a few minutes. It might take longer than you’re used to to get going, but it’s totally worth it.

    1. Irridium says:

      Yeah, I loved ODST’s soundtrack. And Halo’s in general. One of the few orchestral soundtracks I actually like. ODST’s really helped set the mood.

      I liked the soundracks for the Timesplitters games as well. Mainly because of how diverse they were.

      Also Bastion.

      1. GM says:

        Arena , Bastion , Castlevania and probably others.

      2. Eärlindor says:

        Yeah, I like Halo’s music in general, but especially H:CE and H3. ODST took a little time before it grew on me, but I hate the electric guitar solos. Wasn’t a fan of H2 or Reach.

        Really enjoyed the background music of TES IV and V. Don’t know much about TES III, but what I listened to I liked. Sierra’s old Hobbit and War of the Ring games have absolutely amazing music.

        That’s the stuff off the top of my head.

        1. Aldowyn says:

          Which hobbit? I think Sierra made the one with the cartoony graphics… And it’s been a long time since I’ve played War of the Ring. It kinda gets kvershadowed in the LotR RTS genre…

          In short, I don’t remember those soundtracks, I’ll have to pay attention next time.

          Also, I just want to mention Baba Yetu, the Civ IV theme.

  5. Ravens Cry says:

    There is something to be said for the old electronic music. Notably, most of the most iconic video game music seems to come from the synthesizer card era rather than the full orchestral recordings of today. Almost everyone, even people who’ve never played a Mario game knows the Super Mario theme. No matter how you play it, whether the blips and bleeps of a NES, a full orchestra, or even the buzzing of Telsa coils it’s instantly recognizable.

    1. Thomas says:

      Eh there was an extra credits on this. Broad summary, kinda true, but as such it was really because a)the most influential games come from those times anyway b) it was harder to be subtle and varied so it was drilled into you.

      I mean in all honesty, the reason we know the Tetris theme, the Mario theme and the Final Fantasy theme aren’t because they are spectacular, (they might be though) but because the games are.

      I would actually say a lot of modern games have had much more exceptional soundtracks and videogame soundtracks are a lot more far reaching now. Halo is iconic, Civ V’s won a non-videogame focussed music award. The Kingdom Hearts theme and To Zanarkand are legendary amongst piano players. Snake-eater. Mass Effect (apart from the horrible synth stuff :D )

      Portal of course. At the moment everyone recognises Skyrim

      In fact I think more videogame soundtracks do better now without the game needing to be as iconic as it was in the past. What’s more if you were to look up the God of War theme and compare it to any 8bit tune I think there would not be a contest as to which you would rather here. Same as to modern remixes of the old tunes/

      Sorry to attack the nostaliga goggles :D

      1. Daemian Lucifer says:

        I dont remember any music from civ5.In fact,Ive switched the music off fairly early in that one.In 4,I still turn it on from time to time.And its intro music is still pretty good.But the most memorable,for me,was the originals russian theme.

        1. Thomas says:

          Whoops, I meant Civ 4 Baba Yetu

      2. Gruhunchously says:

        Horrible synth stuff? I love Mass Effect’s synth soundtracks and was disappointed when Mass Effect 2 didn’t have as much of them. Oh well, different strokes for different folks.

        1. Thomas says:

          As I said below I was poisoned by ovedosing in games like Deus Ex and Achronox but I dislike it for three big reasons.

          1. It’s really really really generic and to be honest a little bit lazy for a sci-fi piece to establish ‘weird future’ by just have some really drawn out long synths. I can’t find an example on youtube but there’s a specific coupe of sounds that get used everywhere.

          2. It’s a sound that’s associated a lot with 80’s music etc (I often wonder what our equivalent of that’s going to be and if i’ll hate it as much by then) so it always jars me out of the sci fi setting because it’s dated sounded and seems to lack the subtelty we’ll hopefully develop by the future.

          3. I really don’t like synths :D

          1. Gruhunchously says:

            I see. I was poisoned by overdosing in games like Deus Ex as well, but the poison manifested differently for me, giving me an overwhelming fondness for synthetic music.I personally don’t think it’s generic or lazy, and in the hands of the right people in can be varied, subtle and nuanced, just like every other kind of music. And also, in my mind, sci fi settings and synth music just naturally go together on principle, so I don’t find it jarring or old fashioned as you do. Like I said before, different opinions are complicated.

            1. Klay F. says:

              You just need people who have some clue as to what the strengths and weaknesses of synthetic music are.

              Example: Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack.

              The music in Blade Runner is never obnoxious, always understated, always subtle, and never overstays its welcome. I maintain that there is no other movie soundtrack to this day that so perfectly complements its parent movie. Sure there are plenty of soundtracks (i.e. everything John Williams has ever done) that constantly feel the need play the attention-whore, but the Blade Runner soundtrack is basically the complete opposite, and is better for it.

      3. Klay F. says:

        Sorry, but to say that you can’t be subtle with 8bit music is about as close to a logical fallacy as you can get when discussing something as subjective as music. The limitations of that era are precisely why the music is so much better. Part of the reason for this is, I admit, because all 8bit songs were nothing but melody and beat. This forces the artist to prioritize, anything that isn’t absolutely vital to getting the feeling across is cut. But to say that you can’t be subtle is just wrong. Just look any minimalist chiptune artist today, and you can see what I’m talking about.

        Also, you call the Halo theme iconic? I call it generic, indicative of why the music of the sixth console generation was so fucking terrible. Just now I had to look up the Halo theme on youtube because I couldn’t remember what it sounded like, and I’m sure I’ll forget it again as soon as I post this.

        Then again, much of this can be attributed to the reasons behind the original xbox’s success = Mediocrity lauded as greatness. I’m not saying modern videogame music can’t be good, but the vast, VAST majority of it is obnoxious, overwrought, pseudo-intellectual, navel-gazing bullshit.

        1. Zukhramm says:

          Oh I’d definitely call the Halo theme iconic. It’s simple, memorable and closely associated with the games. Generic? Maybe, I can’t say I’ve ever heard much like it in other games though.

        2. Sumanai says:

          Please don’t start with a “sorry” and then go “but you’re wrong”.

    2. Groboclown says:

      I was really happy when I stopped and listened to the radio in Deus Ex: Human Rev, and heard the original Deus Ex soundtrack being played. I thought that most of the “call backs” to the original were heavy-handed, but that was a nice touch.

      1. Amazon_warrior says:

        I got chills the first time I noticed that…

        Cf. the gramophone in the White Room.

  6. SougoXIII says:

    Wait a minute… Did Josh finally upgrade his inventory? Why did Shamus choose to ignore this phenomenon? Does this mean that he’s given up on trying to troll us?

    I would be very sad if he did…

    1. Paul Spooner says:

      No, see, Josh already upgraded his inventory back in episode 2, remember? That space has been there the whoooooooole time!

    2. Daemian Lucifer says:

      I was sad at that point,because now he will able to carry the rocket launcher,and still have space for other useless crap.

      1. Josh says:

        Yeah, I’m not quite crazy enough to run around with the pitifully small starter inventory size.

        Besides, I still don’t think Shamus has figured out that I upgraded it.

        1. Shamus says:

          You told me when we finished recording.

          Given the delay of Livestream, I’ll finally know about it sometime in March.

        2. Hitch says:

          You’re getting soft in your old age, Josh.

          1. Dante says:

            Soon he’ll choose the Cannibal perk!

            1. el_b says:

              do you get that after virmire?

  7. Dave B says:

    Shamus, have you ever tried the Hacker Evolution games? I imagine you really enjoying them (both gameplay and soundtrack).

  8. Gamer says:

    Until Chris brought up the point about augmented gang-bangers, I never even questioned that, even though I wouldn’t have noticed it because I use the Stun Gun. That proves that Chris was an excellent choice for the show.

    I also never used the revolver. I didn’t know about the explosive upgrade and didn’t use it even when I did know. The pistol becomes a silenced hand cannon if you take one a use all your upgrades on it.

    1. Daemian Lucifer says:

      I did wonder myself that about the augs.Ive noticed it first when I was sneaking somewhere,and saw a guy walking on augmented legs,and wondered later why he isnt a stronger enemy.

      1. Thomas says:

        I’m not sure if everyone enemy can do it, but those soldiers with augmented arms they took out in the previous episode can knock fridges flying

    2. Michael says:

      The real use for the revolver seems to be faster bot takedowns. The explosives are also good for taking out multiple clustered enemies. Though, as I recall, there were only two or three points in the game where that really paid off.

    3. SougoXIII says:

      Actually, the pistol is way more overpower than that. You only need the amour piercing and silencer mod to breeze through the whole game.

    4. Eärlindor says:

      Yeah, that’s an interesting point. I too used the stun gun and not the tranq rifle, but I didn’t use the pistol either; I’m such a revolver fiend.

      1. Gamer says:

        The stun gun was my main weapon: good blindfire accuracy, always guaranteed to beat most enemies (and trivializes the bosses), and ammo is plentiful. There’s no need to have anything else.

    5. Ringwraith says:

      I find the revolver just a devastating weapon against guys, as when fully upgraded on damage it can one-shot most guys, and any properly-armoured ones go down with a second non-headshot. Also, because the explosions staggers people and almost knocks them over, they can’t really do anything about it while you line up the second round.
      It became my weapon for when everything had just gone horribly wrong, or I wanted to shoot everyone before reloading and stealthing it.

  9. GreyDuck says:

    Game soundtracks?

    Mechwarrior 2. Yes, it was one of those “plays tracks off the CD”, but what a CD! Properly martial-sounding symphonic material, and *mumblemumble* years later I still listen to some of the tracks just for background music while doing geeky things.

    1. Dave B says:

      I still listen to the soundtrack from Total Annihilation. Some of the battle music is very good. Like what you describe, it also is martial-sounding symphonic pieces that play off the CD.

    2. The Gecko says:

      Ah yeah, MW2. Have that one ripped and stored, too. I actually used that in place of the Quake CD, since the Quake tracks didn’t really do anything for me (and you could just swap CDs to make it play whatever tracks happened to be on your CD)

    3. GM says:

      http://www.youtube.com/user/frogjedi4#g/p
      cheers and Darksiders he also has no idea what that´s like oh and thanks for the recommend.

    4. Even says:

      The Vietcong soundtrack’s been always one of my all time favorites. Alongside with some licensed tracks, they also hired a Czech band to make a unique soundtrack. Gave me a lot of appreciation for the 60-70’s style rock.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuYL-keoGvU

  10. Alphadrop says:

    I just brought Motorhead for the music on the CD.
    Need to get around to getting the Deus Ex music on my mp3 player for Shadowrun, though that would mean I get nostalgia’d everytime the main menu music plays.

  11. Daemian Lucifer says:

    I used to listen to the music from heroes of might and magic 2 and 3 all the time back then.

    1. Phoenix says:

      HMM2 got beautiful songs. They reworked some of them in HMM6. Anyway yes I miss the soundtrack of deus ex.

      1. Daemian Lucifer says:

        You mean MMH6;)

  12. MikhailBorg says:

    I was thrilled to get a soundtrack CD when I replaced my dead copy of Deus Ex with a Game of the Year edition. There are cuts from that on several of my playlists, including the one for my Shadowrun game :)

    1. McNutcase says:

      I was thoroughly disappointed in the GOTY soundtrack. It was redone, badly. I much prefer the versions I exported from UnrealEd.

  13. The Gecko says:

    I can’t argue with Descent – that was good stuff. I still have MP3 copies of the Descent and D2 MIDI rendered through one of those soundblaster cards with wavetables, back when they were a new thing. I MP3-ised them so I could play them on pretty much any modern thing whether it had MIDI support or not.

    Although that said, I appreciated the redbook tracks from D2 as well – I sort of like the industrial sound thing they had going (these have similarly been ripped and occupy a permanent space on any music-playing thing I own). I also have a particular affinity for the remastered version of Descent Level 2 they did way back in the day, although that retains something of the sound they had in D1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIGUsZ20LUk)

    But musical tone… it varies. Different music suits different gameplay ‘feels’ and settings better. I wouldn’t use modern synth sounding stuff in a fantasy-themed game. On the same note, the synth-heavy themes in Mass Effect worked pretty well. I can also say I definitely remember some of the Deus Ex themes reasonably well, but not a lot of DX2 tracks stuck with me.

  14. Thomas says:

    I hate 80’s synth sci fi music with a passion. I just wanted to check I was thinking of the same thing so I looked up the original DX music on youtube and oh boy it was bad. I couldn’t get past a few seconds without shutting it off. A major reason I couldn’t finish Achronox (by the same studio as DX I think) is because it had a similar sound track and the sound is pure vileness. I think Bladerunner might do it too. It’s like they took a violin and violated it with a stereo player. Yuck.

    For some reason they’ve got a lot of it in Mass Effect 2 :(

    1. Gruhunchously says:

      Just an observation, if you turn and look across the Derelict Row from the platform where Malik meets you, you can see that the road that overpasses it has ‘HWY 17’ written on the side. Perhaps a Half Life 2 reference.

      EDIT: Um, this wasn’t actually meant to be a reply to this post, I made a mistake somewhere…

  15. Michael says:

    Shamus, the reason the Unreal and original Deus Ex soundtracks have similarities is because they were both by the same composer, Alex Brandon, IIRC.

    On the game soundtracks list, my favorites are still the original Deus Ex, System Shock 2, both Unreal and Unreal 2, and in a complete non-sequitor Crysis, and Planescape: Torment.

  16. Alex says:

    Re: “Refined taste” in music:

    We like what we like. I’ve seen a surprising number of people who swear by chiptunes to this day, to the exclusion of all else. There are folks who can’t stand the SNES sounds and can’t get enough of the Genesis-style music, and vice-versa. For everyone who sees an orchestral treatment for their favourite game theme song as a breath of fresh air, there’s someone else who thinks it will never get better than the bleeps and bloops.

    Whatever scratches that itch.

  17. SolkaTruesilver says:

    I don’t want to sound like a spoiled fan, but I have to ask:

    Josh, are we gonna have a Shogun Total War Let’s Play this week?

    :-D

  18. RTBones says:

    Oddly enough – I usually dont listen to a game soundtrack on anything more than a cursory level before I turn the music down. Its been a while since I heard something on a game soundtrack and went, “thats a really cool tune.”

    The last song from a game that stuck with me was a song by Poets of the Fall, for Max Payne 2. The song was called ‘Late Goodbye’, and its heard in various places and various forms throughout the game. What hooked me was the piano version played by one of the cleaners. For reference, it is used as the credits theme.

    1. Amazon_warrior says:

      Bizarrely, I have a version of that song as a fixture on my mp3 player even though I never did get around to playing MP2. You have just made me really want to play it though!

  19. Zaxares says:

    2:10: The best thing about the upgraded Revolver (with the exploding rounds) is that your shots stagger opponents, effectively stunning them and preventing them from firing back at you. This trait makes it invaluable when dealing with extremely tough opponents like Heavies or even bosses.

    3:15: YES! This is what I’ve been talking about all along, Chris. It feels like there’s no noticeable difference in combat ability between augs and non-augs. Heck, you saw Adam get mowed down by just a bunch of thugs with ordinary pistols in the last episode. From the way the game world describes it, Adam should have been able to go through them like a rhino through a daffodil field, but honestly, it still feels like even an augmented soldier wouldn’t be able to defeat a group of, say, 6 ordinary people armed with guns. There is a great feeling of disconnect between how dangerous the game says augmented people are and what you experience in-game.

    8:10: Yeah, I loved the music from the original Deus Ex too. I really do wish that more games these days would go back to tracker-style music instead of recorded audio.

    10:35: And the answer to that, Shamus, is “Yes. And you will buy them from me, because I am a multiple gun-carrying homicidal character and I will shoot you if you do not.” XD

    12:30: I think that Namir did have something interesting to say after his boss fight, his line about “we always lose the things we love”. When you add that to the casual way that Megan says Namir’s name (his FIRST name, no less) when you meet her again, it makes me wonder if she’d become involved in a Stockholm-style relationship with him. It’s one of the big, unanswered questions from DX:HR.

    13:53: See?! This is a perfect example of how stunningly fragile Adam Jensen is in a firefight, despite his supposed “aug-granted combat superiority”. And isn’t Josh playing this on the easiest difficulty setting too?

    1. X2Eliah says:

      From the way the game world describes it, Adam should have been able to go through them like a rhino through a daffodil field, but honestly, it still feels like even an augmented soldier wouldn't be able to defeat a group of, say, 6 ordinary people armed with guns.

      Well, yes and no, I’d say. For one, most of the augmented mooks – especially early on in the game – have standard street-level tech that just gives a bit of an edge and street cred in gang fights. You, on the other hand, have top-notch super-expensive experimental (typhoon, for example) technology all over yourself, most of it geared towards combat (and not everyday limb replacement). For an example of truyl powerful augs you have to fight.. well, the three hated boss battles are basically you going against other superaugs.
      Besides, in this game/setting, guns are not neutered by augmentations.. Bullets are still damaging, aug or not (and given all the neural links of, say, a robot arm to living body, having he arm shot would probably cause pain/damage feelings still), so a rhino among daffodils is not quite right. Maybe if Jensen and the six opponents were unarmed, then it would be right.

      Besides, the game-setting poses the danger of augments, imo, more not in a “now an ex-banker will be able to kill far more people far faster than your neighbour Frank per week!”, but rather “With augs, play a piano as good as an artist, be slightly better at sports, have slightly faster reflexes / more strength”.. What I mean, the majority of civilian augmentations are meant to give normal people the edge in normal day-to-day situations (work, relaxation), not so much combat circumstances – and that’s where the protests are coming from, the sense that you have to be an aug to get ahead in daily life.

      1. Daemian Lucifer says:

        It really is a shame that there is no melee weapons in the game,because then you could have normal guys attack you with knives,and do the same damage as guys with augmented arms would do unarmed.Plus those blades you have in your hands wouldnt be just for show.

        I dont remember if there were in the original game,but in missing link some enemies can cloak,which is a nice touch.(I do remember that the second boss cloaks,but Im talking about regular mooks)

        1. X2Eliah says:

          There are some cloaking-enemies even without the DLC.
          When you go through the Montreal facility – after you take the large elevator-platform down and get through the immediate corridor (entrance laser-covered, has a vent behind a breakable wall to the left), there (next to a room immediately to the right) are a few ‘stealth’ enemies patrolling. I bet there are more instances of them, but I remember that there’s definitely a pair in that location.

          1. guy says:

            I think you encounter some cloaked guys throughout the rest of the game starting with Montreal.

      2. Destrustor says:

        Plus, head and torso shots are still an option even on augmented people. since you wouldn’t normally replace essential organs, and especially not your brain, these parts are as fragile and killable as on normal people.
        Coupled with the fact that common gun tips encourage shooting in the center of mass, and that video game protagonists always shoot for the head, I’m not so surprised to see that augs aren’t noticeably more bulletproof. (the bosses don’t count. they’re video game bosses, they screw with physics by nature.)

  20. silentlambda says:

    Regarding synth/ midi tracks rather than modern orchestral recordings…

    Am I the only one who still tears up during the Final Fantasy VI opera scene? Melodramatic, sure, but in all the right ways.

    1. tengokujin says:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaavtbeP2g0

      Also, I enjoy Final Fantasy Symphonic Suite’s take on the Rebel Army March (FFII). And by “like”, I mean, “once listened to nothing but that for a week straight”.
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlHFPdzTINo

      1. Alphadrop says:

        I always wondered which FF game that song was from. Game Trailers loved using it in their FF retrospective.

  21. Never was a fan of synth. Grew up on too much organic music to think a computer could compare. I hated the intro to the original DE. It sounded incredibly cheap to me, like it belonged in a low rent direct-to-video/tv scifi original feature.

    Also: Dammit Campster, you’re not Shy Ronnie! Get up in that convo, OWN dat shit son! Word.

    1. Even says:

      There’s actually an orchestral version available, too, for what it’s worth:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZU6XyFxCA0

  22. Shamus you might like this http://www.fileplanet.com/31675/0/0/0/1/section/Music
    Deus Ex (1) music.

    There is also the Deus Ex 2 soundtrack at http://www.fileplanet.com/139383/130000/fileinfo/Deus-Ex:-Invisible-War-Soundtrack

    (yes those download links are ok. those tracks was released for free)…

    Also a sneaky self promotion, for those that like retro’ish music (particular tracker music) I’ve released 3 albums, that was tracked on the Amiga.
    https://indietorrent.org/v1/catalog/albums.php?artist=228
    FLAC high quality versions, there are audio previews for all tracks. (you can also find me on iTunes and Spotify and Amazon, but the FLAC tracks at indietorrent is cheaper and lossless on purpose so…*laughs*)

    But anyway, get those Deus Ex tracks from fileplanet and indulge in some nostalgia.
    My favorites from Deus Ex (1) is the main theme an versalife, unfortunately versalife is not on fileplanet, but you can find it in the game of the year version of Deus Ex http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_Ex#Music

  23. Destrustor says:

    It just struck me: isn’t this episode way shorter than usual?

    1. Josh says:

      There was actually a lot of tedious running around and getting killed by the gangers that was cut, and we miscalculated how much time that had taken when we ended the episode.

      But since I know what the next question will be, you don’t need to worry about losing a bunch of interesting commentary from that section. I grabbed most of it and spliced it into the rest of the episode in points when there wasn’t originally any interesting commentary going on.

      1. Eärlindor says:

        It worked very nicely too. Everything in the episode felt natural. I never would’ve known had you not said anything. :)

      2. Shamus says:

        Nice work. When I was watching this I just kept thinking, “This is so much better than I remember it going.” I remember a really muddled ramble on my part, and I was dreading having that come up. Looks like that got cut. Whew.

        1. Well, not odd since Josh has been upgrading his editing augments over the last few years. *laughs*

          Unfortunately that meant he had to remove some other augs that took up space….guess which ones. ;P

          1. Hitch says:

            The ones that allowed him to survive ridiculous combat situations. Like being trapped in a subway entrance with a half dozen super mutants, or setting off a room full of C4 from the inside, or using his biotics to charge into the middle of a pack of Krogan. Now he just pisses off a couple extra gang members and it’s 3D death glasses time.

      3. X2Eliah says:

        For what it is worth, the editing has really helped here, everything felt smooth and relevant, without too much irrelevant backchatter/nonsense..
        What I mean, this episode really felt good and worked well, imo.

  24. I absolutely loved the original unreal engine games’ soundtracks, especially the main Deus Ex theme which to date has to be my favourite theme in a game ever. And yeah, I’ve got to agree with the Unreal and Unreal Tournament soundtracks being brilliant as well. In fact, I’m pretty sure that all three soundtracks were made by the same guy.

  25. Gruhunchously says:

    About the MCBers that are randomly hanging around the HP factory rooftop; if I recall, the O’Mally sidequest revealed that FEMA had paid him to start a gang war because the Detroit gangs were staking out territory close to their hidden base. Maybe those guys were evidence of that.

  26. guy says:

    I’m going to reiterate that I actually kind of liked the second actual bossfight conceptually. Jensen actually walked out into the open for an acceptable reason, and was ambushed because the chick was freaking invisible.

    I’d say there is a fourth bossfight that doesn’t fit the formula: The Hyron project qualifies as a proper Deus Ex bossfight by virtue of having numerous distinct methods of defeating it.

  27. Eärlindor says:

    On the whole tripmine thing: I played DX:HR on console and I had no idea you could crouch walk up to the mines. I wondered if it would work when I first came up to them, but when I tried, they STILL blew up in my face. Grr…

  28. Klay F. says:

    Most people probably already know this, but the first time I heard it, I did a little squee. The weirdo conspiracy nut that you hear on the radio all the time (Lazarus I think his name is), after he finishes his little rants, he’ll play the UNATCO theme

    1. Shamus says:

      We’ll miss you, agent.

    2. Gruhunchously says:

      He also plays the Lebedev theme, the New York City theme, the Battery Park theme…good stuff.

    3. Eärlindor says:

      Augh! How did I miss that??

  29. I apologize to Josh for having to edit together any of the things I said that were inevitably cut off by my not holding down the talk button down long enough to not cut me off.

    Sorry Josh!

    1. Destrustor says:

      Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it. It (almost) rarely happens to Shamus nowadays

  30. ps238principal says:

    Whenever I hear someone say something to the effect of “cool synth music,” I usually think of selections from the “Terminator” and “RoboCop” soundtracks.

  31. CalDazar says:

    That area toward the end of the Ep after the cutscene? The first thing I thought to myself when I got there was “these are not just any redshirts, these are MJ-12” (or Illuminati for now, whatever) that not being noticed and the lack of mention of Lazarus when discussing the music surprised me.

    Also Chris doesn’t talk enough, but when he does it’s good.

  32. Mumbles says:

    What up fellow music nerds. In case you were wondering, Shamus is all about the french house and/or anything that makes it sound like he’s in a cyberpunk cafe.

    1. X2Eliah says:

      The more procedural / un”precomposed” it is, the more he digs it, in fact.

    2. Daemian Lucifer says:

      Damn,now I wish there actually were cyberpunk cafes that serve cool stuff,like coffee in a pill.

      1. CalDazar says:

        Half the point of coffee is drinking it.

        1. Sumanai says:

          It’s a pill that you put into water that turns it into hot coffee, of course.

  33. Joe says:

    If I may continue a proud tradition of not speaking not-at-all-related-to-the-game-at-hand, I was scouting the internet, and apparently “Saint Cuthbert” was one of the many deities of Dungeons and Dragons cosmology. The “combative god of Wisdom, Dedication, and Zeal.”

    You know, when you consider that Reginald Cuftbert first came into being in the madlands of fallout 3, and so on… I think we’ve stumbled upon his holy mission: Inflict wisdom upon unwilling gameworlds through gratuitous violence.

  34. TSi says:

    Unreal’s music got under my skin too.
    For those wondering where they could get it :

    Unreal :
    http://savagesteel.free.fr/unreal/index.php?selected=ut
    My fav is “into the darkness” from UT witch i loved to hear while playing assault on the bridge. I’m not sure if it was used in any other map.

    Deus Ex :
    http://www.snakebytestudios.com/content.php?id=75
    I still wistle the intro from time to time.

    Feel free to delete this post if it’s illegal. X )

  35. Sumanai says:

    It’s a pity that midi and tracker music are pretty much gone now. You could do clever stuff with them like smoothly change from a part of a song to another.

    Blood, an old first person shooter, used cd alongside midi. It played a bit from the CD once in a while but then went right back to midi. Worked pretty well in my opinion. Don’t remember if the music in general is worth a mention, but the trick was interesting.

    Final Fantasy 7 for the PC came with a midi library (synthesiser?) that was considerably better then the one in Win98 (haven’t tried it since), but drained computing power and didn’t work too well with other music since some of the sounds were rather different.

  36. RCN says:

    You can always count on Josh to make a completely rational and smart approach to a mission all the way to the final guy, and then expose himself (giggle).

    Ok, we can only count on him doing anything even close to maybe resembling smart in Deus Ex: Foreman Excavation, but still.

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