The original Deus Ex is still to this very day considered to be one of
the finest action/rpg's of all time and with good reason -- it
successfully told a poignant, well-realized story, merged stealth and
combat mechanics and showered the player with a ton of choices, which
added a ton of depth and variety to the proceedings. It's been a long
time coming but the next-gen offering in the Deus Ex series --dubbed
Human Revolution-- is finally here and it's without question one of the
most ambitious games you'll be able to play this year and it doesn't
rely on its prestigious pedigree to entertain and engross the player;
making it a cyberpunk-fueled experience anyone should check out.
It's 2027 and cyborg-like augmentations is pushing the boundaries of the
human race. Some activists believe that this technological advancement
is alienating society and that it must be stopped, while others think
it's a great innovation that's helping people with physical limitations
and that it's crucial in the evolution of science. You play as security
specialist Adam Jensen -- head of security for the multi-national,
augment enriched organization dubbed Sarif industries. One seemingly
normal day, the Sarif building is assaulted by a group of augmented
mercenaries who kill almost every employee, steal Sarif's research and
puts a bullet a through your head. You're resurrected by way of
augmentations and it's now your job to find out the cause of the attack
and who's responsible. The story and characters in the game is
excellent, and the intense color palate and all of the underlying themes
conspire to make the world of Deus Ex feel wholly alive. This is a game
that will resonate with you on multiple levels and suck you in,
something few games can accomplish.
Human Revolution's gameplay is divided into three separate mechanics;
combat, social and stealth. The latter is arguably the strongest
component in the game and being sneaky is largely how the game is meant
to be played. However, this is a game about choices and the variety of
upgrades and abilities, hidden paths and ways to tackle each situation
should convince those who say otherwise. When you're not busy sneaking
around or talking to NPC's, Human Revolution plays a lot like a
cover-based shooter. The shooting feels solid and there are tons of
weapons in the game; some are lethal whereas others are of the
tranquilizer or stun gun affair. As you play the game, you'll earn
experience which in turn leads to you leveling up and earning a praxis
point, which you can spend on a multitude of different augmentations or
upgrades. If you prefer playing the game stealthy, you can give yourself
invisibility and smart vision abilities while those who are breed on
First-person shooters can give themselves more health and reduced recoil
on weapons. But the choices don't stop there as the level design is
cluttered with alternate routes and ways to dispatch foes. You can even
choose if you want to incapacitate enemies, or outright kill them when
you pull off a takedown. These look slick and are satisfying to pull
off, even when the animations tend to get a little glitchy from time to
time.
Human Revolution features a solid structure where missions are
punctuated by short visits to hub areas where you're free to pursue side
quests or visit the local merchants. Less successful on the other hand
are the boss fights -- these encounters feel tedious and misplaced, as
players who are either ill-equipped or have spent their points in the
stealth upgrade trees will find them needlessly hard and annoying. There
aren't a whole lot of them but they still feel noticeably weak since
they don't provide any play styles other than straight up gunplay. There
are also a variety of technical issues, such as a few visual glitches
and the artificial-intelligence --especially during firefights-- is less
than adequate. Sound design on the other hand is outstanding and it
really helps you subject yourself to the atmosphere, and the
voice-acting during dialogues is most definitely solid.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a long, imminently replayable and
atmospheric experience and one that's full of marvelous intricacies. It
plays well and offers a ton of latitude in how you approach its
challenges and while technical annoyances will occasionally pull you out
of the experience, this is still one action/rpg hybrid that you should
be playing and an experience, you won't soon forget.
