Amidst much expectation Deus Ex: Human Revolution has arrived and in doing so gives fans of the award-winning series more what they have been waiting for.
The game is set in 2027 which makes it a prequel to the previous two games. Players take on the role of Adam Jensen, the security chief for Sarif Industries who on the eve of a series of meetings with lawmakers is brutally attacked by a hostile force. The attack leaves Adam near death and forces his employers to augment his body with numerous cybernetic enhancements in order to save his life.
Six months later and returns to work and must get to the bottom of the attack which as the investigation unfolds seems to indicate a lot of high-ranking people in the government.
The free-roaming environment, Adam is able to explore futuristic Detroit which is awash in neon and numerous questionable in dangerous areas were at a must explore in order to find the truth. When interacting with various NPC’s, players are able to select their responses and choose whether or not to accept side quests. The manner in which you answer questions as well as your tone will influence how characters respond to you as well as the outcome of the encounter.
In an early instance I had to attempt to talk down a dangerous hostage situation. I had the option to shoot first and ask questions later or attempt to defuse the situation by selecting the tone and responses offer to me from a pop-up menu.
Of course action is a high point of the game and prior to missions the option to use lethal or nonlethal weaponry was given to me. As somebody who has been raised on the run and gun mindset, the game does have a bit of a learning curve is ammunition is not very plentiful and engaging multiple targets at once often ends badly for the player.
The emphasis is on stealth and tactics as taking cover behind an object and taking an enemy out with an unarmed attack and then picking off other targets one by one is the name of the game. Not only is conserving your ammunition vital, but planning your melee attacks around your energy is key as you are not able to engage multiple targets at once in this manner.
I found this to be very frustrating as any normal person can throw multiple punches at one time therefore it seemed very odd to me that the cybernetically enhanced person was only able to engage one target before needing a recharge time.
Your cybernetic enhancements are extremely important and you are given the opportunity to upgrade them throughout the game. You can choose from a number of enhancements that will affect your stamina, hacking ability, combat ability, and many more options which will come in handy throughout the game.
Hacking is a key point of the game as it numerous times locks, computers, and other devices need to be hacked by a minigame in order to obtain needed accessory information. The greater your skills at hacking, the easier it is to complete these tasks.
Combat in the game is very satisfying when you have the correct amount of ammunition as even though you can recover ammunition from fallen enemies you will find you chamber clicking on empty very quickly.
Graphically the game shines as the cyberpunk vision of the future combines well with the electronic soundtrack to give the game and immersive quality. The cinematics graphics are extremely sharp and at times you felt like you were dictating and watching futuristic detective thriller and action rather than playing the videogame.
The controls in the game are fairly standard and if you are playing on a PC, you can customize the controls to whichever options best meet your needs. The voice acting the game is solid if unspectacular has earned numerous characters for you to interact with. It was very rewarding to uncover the secrets of the various characters and their place within the complex storyline of the game.
Unlike previous games in the series, a regenerative health system is used which allows players to recover from injuries if they simply take themselves out the line of fire for a few moments. This again underscores the emphasis on stealth and tactics, and requires players to use the ample cover that the maps provide.
Players can also attack from behind cover which can become necessary when one is pinned down. There are an impressive array of weapons in the game ranging from pistols to stun darts and machine guns. Oddly enough the game does not offer a multiplayer component which is a shame as it would be nice to test your skills and enhancements against flesh and blood players rather than the AI players who do become fairly predictable in their tactics over time.
That being said, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a very entertaining and satisfying game for players looking for a solid storyline and numerous hours of open ended gameplay as opposed to nonstop run and gun action.
Yes there are some issues such as long load times, checkpoint save systems, boss battles, and ammunition management that can become very frustrating but do not overshadow the enjoyable and immersive experience of the game.
4 stars out of 5
