Final Countdown

In a way, it’s almost shocking that it’s happening. After all of the anticipation, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is going to be released tomorrow.

When the game was announced, I was surprised. After all, Invisible War had left a bad taste in gamers’ mouths and it’d been years since the term Deus Ex had mentioned outside of a retro review or a greatest games list. Despite the lackluster efforts of the then latest in the Deus Ex series, I already knew I’d have to try out Deus Ex 3 when it appeared.

(Slightly related: I’ve replayed Invisible War since its release and, without being tainted by the awesomeness of the first game, it’s not too bad. )

What followed was not pretty. I’d check the official Eidos forums every week looking for an update on the Deus Ex. What a horrible place. So much pessimism, so much hate, so much anger for a game that, for the vast major of us, consisted of a few pictures and a bizarre trailer for about three years.

Someday, I’d play the new Deus Ex. I knew it. My computer at the time would not cut it. So, I built a new system, where a small voice in the back of my skull whispered, “You’ll be able to play this game on it.” That was two years ago. Yes, I had convinced myself that DE3 would make an appearance at E3 2009. It didn’t happen.

I persisted. Soaking up each droplet of news. When it finally became real, when gameplay videos and interviews started appearing, I couldn’t look. It’s too close to home. The surprise, the joy of discovering something for the first would be ruined. So, I’ve been on a self-made Deus Ex media blackout for the last few months.

In the meantime, I’ve pre-ordered a game for the first time in my life. I’ve used Steam to pre-load a game for the first time. This also marks the first time in a long damn while that I’ve paid full price for a PC game. And to top it off – that computer from a few years ago – finally got a graphics card that wasn’t a POS. Yes, I”d been holding off to update it until Deus Ex: Human Revolution would be released.

It probably seems a bit much. I’m sure it seems in a way like I”m setting myself up for failure, that the game can’t live up to my expectations. It’s a real possibility, but I’ll still be playing this thing tomorrow anyway.