The dialogue was also a lot better in DXHR. DX felt like a cheesy movie (i.e. hackers starring Angelina Jolie), while a few of the conversations in DXHR felt real, and got my emotions stirring. The entire time I played the original DX, it felt so cold. There was no emotion in the plot. I didn't care about half the things that happened, as the characters were so flat.
Just beat the game, and this paragraph is literally offensive to me.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
What dialogue was superior in Deus Ex: Human Revolution? Was there anything even REMOTELY close to the Morpheus dialogue in the original Deus Ex? DX:HR was unarguably simpler in scope to begin. It is almost exclusively focused on a quasi-philosophical question of "Should humanity be allowed to choose it's own path?" and is no more nuanced than what you discover in the first hour (or maybe earlier) of "This is the future, son! We gotta do this!" vs "Augs are bad mmkay?" Yeah, sure, the Illuminati is behind it all but in such a way that anyone that has played the original Deus Ex will predict the majority of the plot while still in Detroit. Sarif was initially an interesting character but as time goes on it is shown that he is nothing more than a one-dimensional idealist who just regurgitates the same tired "Science! Progress!" every time you question him. And by the end the only conflict they can put towards you to make you reconsider is "You stole my D-N-A[sic]!" as if 1) You didn't already know that after your first argument with him and 2) You actually care.
Then there's Taggart. I mean, really? His movement was even less developed than that of the Templars in DX:IW. He gives speeches about regulation and moderation and with a kind face, and then SURPRISE SURPRISE (the dude's name rhymes with Swaggart ffs) he's involved too. "But only to regulate, I swear! Just look at all these aug-zombies! Evil unregulated corporations bad! Illuminati regulation good!" The only part where he was effectively used to mislead you was the speech scene, when you were on the hunt for the doctor. Aside from that, a terrible character.
And Hugh Darrow. LOL. I thought he had potential despite the incidental and simplistic "I want to stop global warming" stuff (at least the conspiracy radio guy was entertaining) but the final dialogue was a JOKE. He proselytizes a brief amount about the danger of augmentation and then spends the rest of the time whining about how it's his technology and how life just isn't fair.
All the philosophies in this game were basically talking points. Tracer Tong was a silly idealist and Morgan Everett just Mr. Good Governance himself, but they had more going for them. For one, there was more interaction. With Taggart, the main "plot twist" occurs in the last hour of the game. The only argument he gives to convert you consists of the same shallow "Too much unbridled power!" one he gives whenever you first hear him on TV. With Morgan Everett there is an actual set of things that must occur before you are even allowed to meet him, and when you do they don't just tell you "Agree or don't". There still remains a significant part of the game, with Infolinks and such from him commenting and competing with Tong as you work your way through. You don't have a choice in terms of any certain gameplay mechanic, but in terms of story they give you a lot more to chew on.
Additionally, in Deus Ex there exist real supporting characters, both protagonist and antagonist. Everett, Tong, Page, and Helios aren't just guys surrounded by 'Civilian' 1, 2, 3, and 4. You had Lucius DeBeers who could make you go either way with regards to Everett. Your old UNATCO buddies all existed as mediators, and had their own philosophical shifts over the course of the game. I don't think that "Francis" goes any deeper than "You might want to look into this Jensen; I sense a conspiracy". The antagonists aren't just characterless meatheads like the first three bosses. Gunther, on the other hand, was incredibly memorable, and you could both converse with him many times and read up on him through email to understand his motive. There is so much more depth to a character like that than "Loyal professional evil private mercenary". Malik is admittedly more explored than Jock, but that's basically the exception, and when you get to the minor/non-critical characters, there is no comparison. How many exist in DX:HR, *period*? In chronological order...
1. Meghan's mom
2. The black couple you save...
3. ...from the terrorist leader dude who never appears again
4. The emo front-desk cop
5. The undercover-cop/false-prostitute
6/7. A couple of assorted criminal boss types, like the corrupt Irish cop
8. Sarif's secretary...
9. ...and desk lady
10. Oh, the guy giving out neuropozene to addicts
11/12. Asian prostitute, and the girl you save for her
13. The Dutch l33t hax0r
14. Tong (was he seriously supposed to be Tracer Tong? I mean, rly?)
15. The guy that murdered Malik's friend
16. Tong's bartender
17. The girl you can extort money from (who they delete before you can even get a thank you)
18. The ex-private mercenary gone rogue/vigilante
19. The guy that gives you the above quest
20. Tong's son
21. Hugh Darrow's Asian assistant woman
22/24/25. The three head scientists in Singapore
I pulled that all out of the top of my head, but for the most part that is all. Let's say I forgot some less memorable characters and we round up to thirty. Do I even *need* to list thirty minor characters in Deus Ex to prove that it wins on the quantity front? Probably not. Now, how about quality? Let's filter it down to characters that 1) Reappear later in the game and 2) Demonstrate repercussions for previous actions involving them.
1. The emo front-desk cop (confronts you, which can be remedied using the exact tactics used against him initially)
2. The Dutch l33t hax0r (infolinks you 2000 credits)
Do either of those hold up to the choices present when getting involved with the Rentons? Then there's Harley Filben, who will come back to bite you in the ass if you kill the NSF commander. Or even admittedly-minor-but-still-amusing events, like killing the bartender in NYC the first time around resulting in the remarks about her death later, or JC never living down the bathroom incident. Admittedly a lot of background characters don't pop up later on (NYC and UNATCO are the only places you ever properly revisit), but even the ones that disappear have more depth.
Ever noticed how 99% of characters in DX:IW have exactly two banter lines, the second of which is repeated infinitely until you walk away? Deus Ex has a random bum (not several randomly copies bums) that sing the entire Star Spangled Banner and bartenders that you can go on long political/philosophical digressions with. Just look at the Hong Kong dance club in general. The majority of the characters (not the guards IIRC) have their own voice, lines, and name. You have a lesbian couple flirting, you have the even-more-flirtatious door-woman, there are two women outside you can pay to give entry who then bum drinks off of you, there's the drunk obnoxious sailors (I speel my drink!), there's the conversation between the nerd and barfly, there are VersaLife employees on break discussing fullerene, nanotechnology, and the guy's video game developing brother in Austin. If you count heads there may be less than in The Hive, but aside from the characters already mentioned in the list (all three of them), they're faceless two-lined nobodies. I mean, back to the non-existent exploration of the bosses of DX:HR, you about as much about
Hela (a Woman in Black whose existence begins and ends in that level) through the banter of assorted MJ12 troops than you do about the DX:HR's bosses throughout the entire game.
I mean, I could go on and on and on but I think I've already said enough. I actually really liked Deus Ex: Human Revolution for the most part, but the story went from a half-assed rehash of the original to something entirely inane. Ok, I'm not done because the most offensive part of all was the ending. Now, I can accept the whole press-your-ending's-button thing since the original ultimately came down to buttons itself, but the story-content? I was literally offended. You had just rescued Meghan (not to mention potentially saved Malik and had interactions with a few other characters), and what do you get in your entire duration in Panchaea? Two (IIRC) infolinks from Francis, a LIMB doctor, and five conversations relevant to the plot, only one of which gives you the conversation minigame thing. I already explained the lack of quality in those five, and really, nothing else? No consultation from your friends like Paul Denton, Jaime Reyes, and Alex Jacobson had given you, not to mention the efforts of the big guns to influence you (Page included).
Ok then, so the world leaders have gone as far as they can in convincing me. Fair enough. At least I'll be able to see the outcome of my actions, right? So, out of morbid curiosity I decide to destroy Panchaea and see the results of my actions, i.e. plot resolution. What do I get? A monologue about what a good human being I am (despite killing hundreds) and how people deserve the chance to come to their own decisions, with a pastiche of Nelson Mandela signs and starving African children alternating in the background. W.T.F. Wait, then again, everybody did die, and they were in the dark about the conspiracy, so maybe there wasn't much to say. Yeah. They must have put that ending down the hall for a reason. Now let's try Sarif's ending. This will be good, this must be good, please be good, aaaaaaaaand... motivational pictures of people holding saplings in their palms, with more regurgitation of Sarif's same tired talking points. Twenty seconds of this and I ragequit. Honestly, THE most disappointing endings I have ever seen in a computer game.