At the risk of getting flamed I’m going to do something a little different here and add this thread’s first game review.
Deus Ex Human Revolution is the long awaited third game in the Deus Ex franchise and the prequel to the original game. Set in a dystopian near future where cybernetic augmentation is common but controversial with human purity groups squaring off against the corporations, you play Adam Jensen the security manager for a biotechnology firm that is just about to make a huge breakthrough when it is attacked by unknown assailants. Critically wounded and left for dead you are augmented in order to save your life and then begin a crusade to find those responsible for the attack.
As with the others in the franchise the game plays in first person perspective apart from when you use the cover system when it changes to third person and allows you multiple ways to complete your missions whether you like to hack security to get past, sneak around, find alternate routes or just blast through your opponents, there is no right or wrong way although there can be consequences to your actions later as the story progresses.
The world is rich and diverse and you can see where the designers drew their inspiration from, there are a number of subtle tips of the hat to science fiction films and authors from login details on computers to conversation you can eavesdrop. The game also does well setting the scene for the original games, The back story is incorporated well and also iintroduces some of the key characters from the other games. Manderly is mentioned in a number of emails you can read by hacking computers and you get to meet the young Tracer Tong.
The augmentation system works well instead of the traditional skills upgrade system seen in most RPGs, you can either upgrade naturally over time or buy/find praxis kits to further upgrade/unlock your augmentations. A number of kits are hidden in the game world so it is well worth exploring as much as possible. Jensen’s Augmentation powers give him options to persuade, see through walls, hack high security terminals or fall to the ground without injury and depending on how you upgrade yourself you can combine the effects of multiple augmentations, for example using upgraded sight to see an opponent through a wall and then punching through it to deal with him.
The core elements of the franchise are here, and in some areas improved over their predecessors. More dialogue options and the interesting persuasion system fits perfectly into the franchise. The open levels can present a wide array of options and you might find yourself going back to engage enemies. Even the Augmentation system has been carefully worked to enhance the options. My only real gripe about the game would be that if feels short, although with the announcement that three city hubs had been cut from the game due to production constraints Montreal, Upper Hengsha and an Indian city hub it sounds like there is going to be a raft of DLC to further expand the storyline and game world, the first of which comes out next month.
All in all this is an intelligent, well designed game with plenty of replay value due to the various ways you can complete the missions. Certainly one I’d recommend.
