Deus Ex,Penny Arcade, and Shank Question

IDK about Penny Arcade. For Deus Ex, no you don't.

Deus Ex Human Revolution is actually set before the other two games.

Play Deus Ex GOTY before Human Rev and don't even look at Invisible War, just shun it to a corner or something. I say play the older one first because well the gameplay is great, the graphics in it have not aged well at all. You will also hopefully have a better appreciation of some of the things Human Rev did by playing the older one first.

Because the Deus Ex games are so far apart, the order in which you play them doesn't really make a massive difference. No matter which one you play first, you can link the stories together in the same way.

Edit: Imho, since the gameplay of the original and HR are so different, you probably won't run into the problem of thinking, "Well, this is the same thing, but it's much worse." However, like Twitchious said, it may be a good idea to play the old one first so that you can appreciate the improvements that HR made.

Although playing through HR (after playing the original so long ago) made me think OMG!! at the end of HR with how it ties into the original game.

And search for the better texture mods for DE to make it even better.

Deus Ex, no (but the full back story on your character helps Human Revolution seem more relevant...Penny Arcade, no (but the 4 episodes make a full story, although each episode is playable alone...as for Shank and Shank 2, never played, but because of the type of game, I'd assume no

You dont need to do it with Deus Ex. Most people despised the second one, and most people refruse to play the original now because it's dated.

Infact, i'd say play DE:HR first, because it's probably a better game when you dont love the original.

No for all your questions. All the sequels you mention are accessible to new players. Especially Shank 2. Shank 1 was a basic revenge story, you'll have no trouble adapting to the developments of the sequel. Of course, I always feel compelled to play the original games before trying the sequels. It's nice to have the complete picture.

I love how people are constantly asking if "Game2 can be played before Game1". Assuming you have both of 'em (which at least is not OP's case), why the fuck someone would play a serie in a order different that the release date?
"Hey guys, should i watch the 7th season of How I Met Your Mother first or i begin with the 3rd?" "Nah, start with the 5th and then watch the 1st one". (i swear i actually read this)

add me on steam, i'll give you some keys, hopefully you will activate penny arcade 3 without needing to buy it :D

Was also wondering about Penny Arcade one, might get it on a sale. Would it be best to just get 3/4 or 1-4?