Is Invisible War really WORTH it?...

[Dark Prowler]

I bought "Invisible War" on the day it came out, but have yet to buy a new graphics card that'll allow me to play it. Still pondering on which to get, actually.

I was, and still am, a great fan of the original. Plus, all you had to do was literally install it, and hey presto! - You had a fully functional, MAGNIFICENT game.

What with all the unnecessary commotion everyone's been having with "Invisible War", it sounds like more trouble than it's actually worth.

No way NEAR as good as the original PC title, and requires a PC light years ahead of current technology...

Should I send it back, or wait and see for myself?

DP.

[RobK]

Originally posted by Dark Prowler
I was, and still am, a great fan of the original. Plus, all you had to do was literally install it, and hey presto! - You had a fully functional, MAGNIFICENT game.

That's a bit of an exaggeration I think. When Deus Ex first came out, it ran like a piece of sht on pretty much everyone's systems. It only seems to run well now that we all have new, nicer computers. Magnificent game though it may have been, it was not without its own technical problems.

But if I could go back, I wouldn't have wasted the money on the game, much less the video upgrade you seem to be planning.

[Dark Prowler]

I have to disagree.

When I bought Deus Ex back in 2000, it ran at a perfectly acceptable frame rate, even WITH all the settings turned up.

Plus, I didn't have to splash out on any new hardware just to PLAY the darn thing.

DP.

[HOC]

if ya plan on upgrading because of d3, hl2, or whatever other game there is coming out, then don't rush the choice for a new card. but since ya don't seem to be doing that...

ask yourself if it's worth it. i'll say it isn't...but it's more about your choice. ya can always send it back and pick it up again when it's cheaper. oh, and it will be. probably much cheaper. like a half off sale for dx:iw when it's already at 5$ in a bargain bin.

but ya really should gauge the responses yourself, for yourself.

[MaxxQ]

When the original came out, it depended on whether you had an nVidia card or a Voodoo card as to how well it ran. If you had a D3D card, you were basically screwed until the D3D patch was released (raises hand...that would be me).

[SturokBGD]

Originally posted by MaxxQ
When the original came out, it depended on whether you had an nVidia card or a Voodoo card as to how well it ran. If you had a D3D card, you were basically screwed until the D3D patch was released (raises hand...that would be me).

True story. I had a GeForce 2 when I picked up Deus Ex, which was the high-end card at the time... and DX ran crap no matter what. An issue which was, of course, patched... sounds familiar.

[sharpize]

Humn... I deeply suggest you buy an xbox. I'm not a console war person but I learned a while ago that given the fact that a console is supported for x amount of years it is way cheaper than a graphics card and doesn't require constant updating. A good graphics card costs just as much anyway. I would also advise on this particular console as it is the only one powerfull enough for games like Invisible War, Half life 2, Doom3 and so forth. It also saves your pc's processing for more important things. Indeed I have just completed my HNC computing on a 5 year old pc that doesn't even have a graphics card. Meanwhile, I still enjoy the likes of Deus Ex.

Later guys...

[reddragon105]

is any game really worth it? Invisible War is certainly better than most of them out there at the moment. definitely worth playing at any rate.

personally i'd much rather have a PC and keep upgrading than get a console (although i do have a PS2, GC and Xbox, i prefer playing games on my PC). its all a matter of whether you can afford it though - true a console will cost £1-300 and last you 3-5 years, whereas PC upgrades in that time are likely to cost something like £200 a year if you're trying to stay on top. (i find it works out cheaper to build a new PC and sell the old one on)

as for Invisible War... i've played the PC and Xbox version and they are so similar its sickening (in fact nearly all the files are exactly the same on the XBox disk and PC hard drive - only the Xbox has its 'default.xbe' file and the PC has 'DeusEx2.exe'.

so play it on either PC or Xbox, theres not much difference. although if its a choice between buying an Xbox or new graphics card, go for the graphics card. there are more good PC games worth playing than Xbox games.

[Cal]

Seems to me the best way to play this game is at its lowest resolution with all the FX switched ON. Infact, this is almost certainly how the PC game was intended to be played since this is probably the most obvious XBox port I've ever played on PC. Honestly, if you forget the fact you have this massively over-spec'd PC and just turn down the res to what it would have been on the XBox you'll get a much more satisfying and smooth gameplay out of your rig (shadows and all).

After several abortive starts, I've got the game running stable and smooth (around 40+ FPS with multiple characters on screen) and not losing saves or crashing to desktop, either.

Treat it as a pure console title on your PC and you will avoid many of the problems mentioned elsewhere in this and the technical forum.

Of course, as to who's fault it is we haven't got a decent PC port of this game... well, that's another argument.