Body of Work: Human Revolution Trailer

Like the original Deus Ex 3 teaser trailer, the latest Deus Ex: Human Revolution teaser chooses to toy with the concepts – humanism, transhumanism, mechanistic anatomy, corporeality – that fascinated the scientists and artists of the Renaissance:

In the new trailer, the subliminal glimpses from before have now been rendered visible and brought to the fore: Not only is the scene of Rembrandt van Rijn’s “Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp” replicated fully in the dream/nightmare sequence, the painting can also be seen hanging on the wall at the very left in the scene afterwards:

(more…)

Read More

Revolutionary Title, Devolutionary PR

Square Enix Ltd recently grabbed the trademark name “Deus Ex: Human Revolution” (008862153) for decidedly game-y purposes; should the forthcoming Deus Ex 3 be subtitled as such remains unconfirmed, though, but at the time of writing, that’s as close as it gets.

The company has also started an underground advertising campaign for the game – one that might not reflect as well on the game’s profile as they might have hoped, for reasons that are rather out of the company’s hands: While Valve is going all out and wooing the games press with massive high-profile PR stunts like there was no tomorrow, all we got from Eidos was these lousy renders:

Then again, it seems almost cruel to expect the same level of commitment as we do from Valve at this point, so… in case you’re stoked to see these images, you should keep on checking out the official thread in the Eidos forums.

In the meantime, do check out our Deus Ex 3 teaser trailer image gallery which contains full captioned explanations for each subliminal image present in the trailer (It was a lot of work).

Read More

The End of a Decade

This year was a curious one, and I don’t mean to refer to the VG industry alone: 2009 was, after all, the first full year of The Slowdown for us three, and boy, it sure went past real fast. For various reasons, this year has also been a very trying one for each of us, yet we were still able to find the time and enthusiasm to write and post together. Taking up writing, I’m certain, has only worked to enhance our enthusiasm and interest in the medium. As if to commemorate the very end of the decade, though, my relatively recent motherboard had to be shipped over to Germany for replacement recently.

You’ve probably also noted how we’ve yet not engaged ourselves in the “best of” discourse, at all; we enjoy making lists just as much as the other guy, sure, but perhaps unsurprisingly also tend to get over-analytical and –intellectual with the concept.

Slowdown Boys

Therefore, as our final post of the year, the three of us have jotted down our personal lists of the decade. The simple rule was not to make it too difficult for ourselves. Therefore, I have sought to paint an impression of the zeitgeist, warts and all. Very subjective. Nabeel wanted to paint a portrait of himself as gamer, and Richard hoped to be accurate and inclusive. The games listed below have not been included based on their perceived merits or qualities; instead, we selected them with the aforementioned focuses in mind.

All three free-form lists after the jump. Here’s to a new gaming decade, everyone!

(more…)

Read More

The Nameless Mod Finally Released

The long awaited Deus Ex total conversion, Nameless Mod, has finally been released. This huge mod has been in development for years and is now available for download. Newcomers may check out the trailer or manual to get an idea of what the mod is about and why it’s causing a ripple in the community. British freelancer Richard Cobbett sings high praises and urges all fans to look past the odd premise and give the mod a try.

Read More

Square Enix Offers to Buy Eidos

Japanese giant Square Enix has made a buyout bid for Eidos, for $120 million – a 129% premium over the worth of the latter company’s stock. Eidos has been the subject of buyout rumours for some time now, with its rocky financial state over the last few years. The buyout is likely to go ahead, and what effect this will have on the development of Deus Ex 3 remains to be seen.

Read More