Deus Ex style games

[GoodSarmatian]

I have just completed Mass Effect 3 and the ending has left me in no mood for a replay so my gaming schedule is pretty empty now and I need something I can waste a couple of days with. My preferred genre is something like the Deus Ex games: Shooter-RPG hybrids with a good balance between stealth, combat and other skills and a complex plot where actions have consequences and decisions matter.
Games like:
Deus Ex and sequels
Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines
Alpha Protocol

I've played those to the point that I've had just about enough of them. Are there any similar games any of you can recommend ? I've played the first Bioshock and the new Fallout games and they're a bit too heavy on the shooting and too light on the stealth.
PC games only, I don't own a console (newer than the original Playstation).

 

[Maniacal]

The Witcher 1 & 2 have decisions that affect the outcome. They aren't shooters though.

 

[OrsonM]

Arcanum could be the game you are looking for. It was made by the same people from the original Fallout and it is overall a great game, and of course the same people that worked on Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines.

Leonard Boyarsky is working on Diablo 3, which will be hack and slash, but a promising one if they learned their lessons from Starcraft 2.

 

[The_J]

Arcanum [...]

Seems you overlooked the "shooter" part .


If you want to go...long back into gaming history, then the "Thief" series might maybe sound like it could fit.

 

[Benefactor]

System Shock 2 maybe?

No One Lives Forever might qualify as well, can't say for certain as I haven't actually played it myself.

 

[Akka]

Err...

I'm a bit surprised that nobody talked about Fallout 3 and especially Fallout : New Vegas. They are exactly what you're looking for.
I still haven't played it, but S.T.A.L.K.E.R. seems to be adequate too.

 

[Polycrates]

Not sure you're going to find anything that ticks off everything on your checklist....


I'd have to say NOLF 1&2 probably come the closest...they're shooters with a big emphasis on the stealth, and there's also spy gadgets and such as well. Awesome games. Don't think you make any decisions that matter, but they're fairly story-heavy, and the stories and characters are quite fun and the theme is really well-handled. There's a rudimentary xp and skills mechanic in the second one as well, for what it's worth. Be warned that the second one has respawning guards in a couple of levels though...

System Shock 2 is the other obvious candidate

STALKER is completely awesome and based on the games you've listed you'd probably like it, but there's not really any significant stealth element

The Splinter Cell games have the stealth down but that's pretty much all they're about

A bit left-field, but Arkham Asylum has really excellent stealth sections, excellent combat, a good mix of stealth/combat/other skills, and a teensy bit of character customisation, it's just that the combat is all biffo rather than shooting.

 

[Maniacal]

I dunno, getting a stealthy jump on your enemies/prey is pretty important in STALKER.

 

[Dachs]

Err...

I'm a bit surprised that nobody talked about Fallout 3 and especially Fallout : New Vegas. They are exactly what you're looking for.

Possibly because he specifically mentioned that he played them and found them wanting?

 

[Polycrates]

I dunno, getting a stealthy jump on your enemies/prey is pretty important in STALKER.

Oh yeah point taken, but I guess I meant it's more just stealth in prelude to a firefight or deciding discretion is the better part of valour for a given encounter - rather than sneakily taking them out one-by-one without anyone noticing or anything like that. I haven't played the sequels though - is it more prominent in them?

 

[Akka]

Possibly because he specifically mentioned that he played them and found them wanting?

My bad, sorry, even after reading twice the posts I still missed the "new Fallout games" 0_o

 

[GoodSarmatian]

Some good suggestions here .

System Shock 2 maybe?

No One Lives Forever might qualify as well, can't say for certain as I haven't actually played it myself.

Ah, very good. No One Lives Forever is one of those games I've heard about years ago and found interesting but never made it on my priority list. System Shock 2 might be a bit too oldschool and poorly balanced, but I can try to hunt it down (provided it even runs on Vista).

Not sure you're going to find anything that ticks off everything on your checklist....

That's one of those problems that comes with age. Your tastes get more refined and a little bit too specific.

STALKER is completely awesome and based on the games you've listed you'd probably like it, but there's not really any significant stealth element

The game I'm looking for is just as much a RPG as it is a shooter. I don't know if STALKER would qualify.

A bit left-field, but Arkham Asylum has really excellent stealth sections, excellent combat, a good mix of stealth/combat/other skills, and a teensy bit of character customisation, it's just that the combat is all biffo rather than shooting.

Biffo means melee ? I can live with that. Another game worth checking out. Thanks

 

[Racsoviale]

If you can find it cheap I would recommend Call of Cthulhu: Dark corners of the Earth.

It's not open-ended and is very storydriven but it has quite a bit of sneaking around, mainly because it takes a while before you even get a gun. I especially liked the way the game handled sanity.

It might be too far off from what you are looking for though, but it did have some cool parts like the before-mentioned sanity system as well as certain parts of the story and ofcoarse being set in the 20s. Sadly it is a port from xbox and it shows so it has some bugs, but if you enjoyed vampire: Bloodlines I suppose you would be able to look beyond that

Also I feel I need to admit I never played it through, my old comp died and my new one has a problem with the discdrive