Topics for this episode:
- Typewriters (replacement for computers after EMP)
- How to find north without a compass
- How to change your own spark plugs

Men’s Bates® Ultra-Lite 8″ Side-zip Tactical Boots

The key features you are looking for when looking for a heavy duty boot include:

• Having a side-zipper will enable you to quickly put on or remove the boots, but will not be as water proof as a boot without a side zip
• Being in warmer climates, you may want to find boots that absorb moisture (called “wicking”)
• Find boots with removable insoles… This will give you the ability to replace them when they are worn out, and/or buy high quality insoles to make them more comfortable
• Having a steel toe will help prevent injuries but you may want to consider non-metallic composite toe inserts to prevent your shoes from setting off metal detectors
• Keep your boot leather polished and shined to help make it last longer
• Replace your laces when they become frayed to prevent breakage
• Replace your insoles when they start to wear out for comfort. I’ve had mine for three years and I’m thinking they are due for a change.

Above all else, make sure to go to a store where you can try the boots on… You can find boots cheaper online, but you definitely want to make sure that you pick the right size. In my experience, boots tend to be about one size larger than what I’m used to wearing because they are taking into consideration that you may want to wear two pairs of socks (wool and cotton). I usually buy size 12 sneakers, but my boots are actually size 11′s and they fit me perfectly.

Check out the Halloween costumes on Amazon if you’re too lazy to come up with one of your own.

Here are some guidelines to follow when brainstorming costumes this year.
Click the image below for the full size version:

After playing Alpha Protocol, I had high expectations for Deus Ex. Alpha Protocol had a dialog structure that actually made a difference to your gameplay. In Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the choices you make in dialog are not as drastic as they are in AP, which is disappointing. In fact, no matter how you play the game, whether you are a pacifist and sneak your way through the game without killing anyone, or if you are a homicidal maniac killing anything that moves, the endings are all the same. There are a total of 4 endings, and it comes down to literally pushing a button to determine which ending you get. This was highly disappointing, as I have been used to playing games like AP and Mass Effect where the actions you take through the game actually have an impact on the ending.

Now that that little rant is out of the way, I want to go over each aspect of the game:

Graphics:
Graphics are streamlined as you would expect from a game that was also released on consoles… The game has a yellow tint to it, that you can say is due to the sunglasses that the protagonist wears, which enhances the contrast, but it does get a little old. Textures are actually quite bad for a modern game. I’ve seen signs on bulletin boards in games from 2005 that are as clear as day, but other than NPC skins, the textures look like they are years out of date.

Gameplay:
Graphics are ok, but gameplay is king. I’ve played through this game 3 times now, and I never got bored. I’ve played it as a pure non-killing pacifist and as a cold blooded killing machine. There’s no ONE way to play this game. You do get rewarded for taking the more peaceful route… For example, if you use a melee takedown that only knocks out a bad guy, you get 50 experience points… But if you hold the button down a bit longer and kill the guy, you only get 30 xp, which just doesn’t make much sense to me.

Ghosting through the game takes patience, sneaking past guards and not triggering any alarms, but you get a TON of XP for it, so it makes it worth it. It’s easy to trigger an alarm and suddenly you have a swarm of soldiers shooting at you… Makes it hard to survive.

Hacking is big in this game. The hacking minigame reminds me somewhat of the game Uplink, where you have to unlock “nodes” without getting traced, and reach a target before time runs out. This can be frustrating, but the hacking mini game in Alpha Protocol was infinitely harder and more annoying to have to repeat OVER AND OVER. Hacking in Deus Ex never really got old for me, because it didn’t take too long to do.

This game is first person, until you lean up against a wall to use the cover system, then you spin out of his head and can look around corners. This is easily done, and works intuitively. I like it.

Guns are very cool. Each gun has several animations used to reloading and whatnot, and they are high tech and very sleek. Each gun has it’s own “feel” to it. Some weapons are more useful than others, and with limited inventory space, you do have to pick and choose which ones you want to carry around with you, especially because you can upgrade these weapons using mods… Meaning if you invest mods in a weapon, you’d better hang on to it.

Mods include increased damage, silencers, laser sights, increased clip size, etc.

Sounds… Sounds are good. The voice actors do a good job, though when you start going on a killing spree, you typically hear the same screams over and over again…

One of the things that really annoyed me was the outdated ragdoll physics… For example:

Screenshot Link

I’ve also experienced some random crashes, but thankfully there are both auto-saves as well as quick saves…

Overall, I’ve really loved playing this game, and I highly recommend it.