Ion Storm-ed by Deus Ex demo criticism

When Eidos released the PC demo for Deus Ex: Invisible War, it was hoping the sample would whet gamers' appetite for the full game.

Apparently, it did not have its intended effect.

The reaction from the PC community seemed to be mostly negative, with forums filling with complaints about the game's simplified interface, clunky graphics, and the absence of the original Deus Ex's skill system. The most common gripe was that, judging by the demo, the PC game might be nothing more than a shoddy port of its Xbox cousin. "This demo feels like a console from the get go," said one disgruntled gamer.

In response to the flurry of criticism, Ion Storm chief Warren Spector (by way of Invisible War lead programmer Chris Carollo) posted a lengthy response and demo FAQ on the Ion Storm boards. "We're as dedicated to the PC as we are to the Xbox," said Spector, "There are folks out there who feel like we went over to the dark side…. [But] we've been 'dinged' by console gamers for making too-PC-centric a game as often as we've been dinged by PC gamers for making a game that's too consoley!"

Spector addressed the demo's other sticky points, including the fact head shots do not inflict extra damage ("Another balance issue we’re reevaluating") and the graphics were too soft ("A result of the [adjustable] ‘Light Bloom’ setting."). He also offered some quick tech tips on how to tweak your PC to run the demo properly, but strongly emphasized its features are limited, saying, "It is NOT the full game."

Spector's entire message can be read here. However, PC gamers wishing for changes to the game will have to hold out until the first patch: Deus Ex: Invisible War has already gone gold for PC and Xbox.