Yes, I'm alive! I remember seeing you playing it, as well as some other GS users. I was sick last week -- enough so that I couldn't be productive for more than a few minutes before exhausting myself, so I just played DX as much as I could First playthrough was about 30 hours for me (including all the side-quests I could find).

I completely agree about this game mixing the best elements of the first two games. It felt perfect. Some things I didn't even realise could play out differently until the second playthrough, such as (only click if you've finished the game and don't mind seeing how something could be done differently)I didn't want to kill anyone unnecessarily, and managed to remain a pacifist until about two thirds of the way into the game when I had to (click if you've finished the Montreal mission, or at least are far enough through it that you think you know what I'm talking about -- it's nothing huge or story related) After that I'd defend myself lethally in tough positions or to pass a room that made stealth almost impossible. On this playthrough, (same deal as before, played differently)I'm going for the Pacifist achievement this time, so I'm stealthing it up again and complementing it with hacking (as I did first playthrough). First playthrough I invested heavily in hacking stealth, and this time I invested in hacking fortification instead, so even my extensive hacking is playing out differently.

Next playthrough I'm going for stealth again, but without reservations about killing -- and no hacking. I want to find all the alternatives to hacking. I think some stealth is integral to the gameplay, but there's enough difference between lethal and non-lethal that it'll be very different. Stun-gun is so short range, and the tranq gun is very limited compared to their lethal counterparts.

A couple of issues with the game:
1. Punching through walls with an enemy on the other side is always lethal. This is such a shame I found a cool and stealthy shortcut on this playthrough that I didn't find on my first, but couldn't get through the last bit because there was someone on the other side of the wall, and I'm going for Pacifist. Stealth is an obvious choice for a pacifist, so being hamstrung in this and other circumstances really bothered me.
2. Bosses. But less so than reviewers say. There are usually a few ways to approach their destruction, so even if it takes a few tries, realising the strategy best suited to your upgrades is rewarding.

And yes, I have been playing on the highest difficulty. When they called it "Give me Deus Ex" I had no choice.

How far are you into the game?

Jibb