Let's Talk... Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a reboot of the 2000 hit Deus Ex, excluding the infamously bad Deus Ex: Invisible War, and has opted to go down the prequel route. As far as reboots go, Deus Ex: Human Revolution isn't convoluted rubbish and is actually a deeply crafted stealth-action experience that lives up to the high standards of the original Deus Ex. Unfortunately, its a few minor issues that prevent this great title from being a classic.

The story follows ex-cop Adam Jensen, who's gruffly voice just sounds ridiculous, the newly hired security director at Sarif Industries, the market leader in cybernetic augmentations. At the beginning of the game Jensen is mortally wounded and undergoes a series of radical life-saving surgeries that replace many parts of his body with 'augmented' limbs. These augmentations play heavily in the story of Human Revolution, which sees the player get heavily involved in the philosophical and class-based conflict regarding biotechnology.

These augmentations act as a deep skill tree for you to navigate at your own leisure, and they add some nice variety to the gameplay. The player is given the choice of a range of skills that are all associated with particular areas of the body (eg. Augmenting your eyes mostly effects your HUD, whilst your arms dictate whether you can lift heavy objects). The variety of these augmentations opens up numerous routes you can take to complete your objective, which may include from hacking security systems using the engaging hacking mechanic or exploring the area to find a ventilation shaft to crawl through. I suppose this may add some level of replayablity to Human Revolution, if you really want to experience every method of infiltration available.

Augmentations are varied and refreshing

These augmentations are a refreshing way to develop your character that stems away from the specialisations that tend to force you down one particular style of gameplay or limits the variation of gameplay, such as those found in popular RPGs like World of Warcraft or Borderlands. Most of the augmentations are fun and useful, such as reducing the amount of damage Jensen takes or the ability to turn completely invisible for a limited time. However, some feel a little worthless, such as an indication as to when the enemies are searching for you, which is pretty redundant considering enemies will usually shout 'WHERE IS HE?' until they found you anyway. Despite the odd pointless augmentation, the majority are fresh and fun to use.

One of the biggest strengths of this game is the depth of the social interaction between characters. For example, early in the story you are required to verbally defuse a very volatile situation (no spoilers) that can be resolved in completely different ways depending on your allocated skills and choice of words. The social mechanics allow you to control how you say things rather than just what you say to get a much more authentic social experience. This allows the player to take advantage of your opponent's weakness and intelligently manipulate them for better results. Whilst the consequence of your choices and words is something that's extremely common amongst RPGs, the way that Human Revolution handles it adds a very original level of depth.

 Of course, this is all accompanied with a few interesting characters and a rich, gritty world torn by class conflict, and during your exploits you'll visit international locations, including Detroit  Montreal, and Shanghai. Conversations you overhear, reading the incredibly detailed emails and pocket secretaries, and consistently pressing people give you more than enough information about the world and the ongoing war between the "purists" and the augmented. Although ethics and morals seem to be emphasised throughout the world, you don't really get a lot of sway over the game's proceedings. You can shake down people for extra rewards for side missions you take on and take on some questionable missions, but there isn't really a "good ending" and a "bad ending".   

The player is given an analysis of the personality of certain characters

The visuals do a great job of setting the dark tone that comes with such widespread unrest and deliver a truly memorable setting. The game is well-optimised and runs pretty well on low-to-medium gaming-rigs. The soundtrack of Deus Ex: Human Revolution is really top notch, and blends in perfectly with the cyberpunk setting.

Taking the stealth approach seems to be the most satisfying here, as flat out action can feel a little dry as the weapons in Human Revolution feel weak and lack any sort of real punch. However, knocking out an enemy with one of the game's great takedowns or sniping them with your tranquilliser sniper rifle and then dragging their bodies into the nearest ventilation shaft has a satisfying feeling of cleaning out the area. Stacking bodies into one vent is pretty funny, but makes looting the bodies quite a chore. Getting caught isn't the end of the world, however, as whilst shooting from cover isn't great it is in fact easy enough to evade enemies.

Unfortunately, Human Revolution's boss encounters are unengaging, and feel just a little too forced. The tedious encounters feel quite unnecessary and take the player away from the interesting world and force the player into a tiny room to just empty clip after clip into the boss until he/she goes down. Bosses can actually prove quite difficult for players who opt into a stealth approach (as I did first time), as they are likely to have few lethal weapons and skills that are effectively aimed at avoiding direct combat. The game gives you no indication as to how much damage you are actually inflicting on the boss, too, which can feel a little frustrating. Also, the enemy AI can seem very dim-witted at times, seeming to only have the ability to backwards or forwards whilst shooting at where they think you are and simply refusing to shoot through breakable glass, for some reason.

If you can get past the minor issues, the world of Deus Ex: Human Revolution is well worth exploring, and you should be able to get past the game's low points to find the next hackable terminal or well-written dialogue.

Strengths:

       -Deep and varied skill tree

         -Fun and satisfying stealth gameplay
         -Deep and open world full of lore and background information
         -Solid Deus Ex reboot
         -Fairly long game that invites replay
         -Great futuristic setting with evocative atmosphere

Weaknesses:

       -Tedious boss encounters that feel unnecessary and don't feel very engaging 

       -Enemy AI are pretty stupid when in combat