Deus Ex: Human Revolution Review
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is an engrossing and overall fun experience that players should not miss. Despite some minor technical faults the fact is that you'll be awarded with a game that carries you through an absorbing and fascinating cyber-punk, science fiction, action role-playing experience that you will not soon forget.
Overal Impressions
Great:
- Atmospheric world design
- Fantastic music score and overall great sound effects
- Compelling story
- Varied game-play mechanics
- Emphasis on player choice
Not so Great:
- Loading times
- Dumb down character animations and textures
- Boss fights
Full Review
Developed by Eidos Montereal and published by Square Enix, Deus EX Human Revolution is now available for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. This cyber-punk, science fiction, action role-playing video game is the third installment on the Deus EX series and a prequel to the first game. The year is 2027, exactly 25 years before the events of the first game and you are Adam Jensen the security chief of a powerful human augmentation corporation named Sarif Industries.
Right at the start of the game the Detroit Sarif Industries corporation suffers a violent terrorist attack, most of the research staff is killed and Adam Jensen ends up seriously injured and struggling to stay alive. In order to save him, David Sarif, the founder and CEO of Sarif Industries, submits Adam to an extensive augmentation surgery.
Six moths pass and the now augmented Adam Jensen is called to the Sarif Industries in Detroit were he's asked to intervene on a hostage situation in a Sarif manufacturing plant. There he discovers evidences that relate the hostage crisis to the attack on Sarif Industries six moths ago. In order to uncover the truth, Adam Jensen starts an investigation that takes him trough several different locations like, Detroit, Shanghai, Montreal, and Singapore, only to find himself in the middle of a global conspiracy to control the world.
The story is very deep and engrossing, the cyber-punk theme is portrayed in a very mature and believable way and the ethics of trans-humanism together with global conspiracy themes, which are the base of the story, are so well presented that questions will be raised regarding the future of mankind.
Another big feature on Deus EX Human Revolution is the element of choice introduced in the gameplay. Here you will find that you can play the game almost any way you wan't, being that a more stealthy or action oriented, using your hacking skills to access restricted areas, computers or even disable torrents and cameras, traveling trough vents, use claimable objects to your benefit or use force to break walls. The options are almost unlimited and sometimes you may feel overwhelmed by so many choices to make, nevertheless there is no need to worry since the game does a great job in rewarding you regardless of your playing stile.
It's true that some elements of gamepaly seem more balanced than others, but the fact is that Deus EX Human Revolution doesn't play as a normal first-person shooter, in fact if you intend to play this game with guns blazing be prepared to die allot since a few gun shots in Adam Jensen will be sufficient for him to fall. This game rewards exploration, searching every corner, vent, drawer. Trying different hidden paths can be really fun, and you'll find that each level can be played in a different way and that your objective can be met with different outcomes. Aside from the main quest you will have numerous side-quest that you have the option to play and some of theme are very complex with several layers and ramifications that can lead to several different results.
As you progress trough the game you'll win experience in the form of praxis points that can then be used to improve or unlock your augmentation powers. Improve your hacking abilities, turn invisible to human eyes, reinforce your body, use special vision to see trough walls are some of the few powers at your disposal, and again the choice is yours in which way you develop your character. The game makes a great job on making your decisions meaningful but not in a way that you feel frustrated for not choosing another path.
In terms of visuals the distinctive grade of black and gold mixture really set this game apart from many others out there, and gives a unique character to this game. The futuristic atmosphere together with some renascence themes also defines the game identity with an artistic design that does a great job of making the Deus Ex Human Revolution world a believable one. Helping this is also a fantastic music score and overall great sound effects, the soundtrack composed by Michael McCann is absolutely fantastic and complements in perfection the world atmosphere.
It's a shame that the time lost by the developers in creating such a believable world, didn't translate in terms of character animations and textures. Some textures seem dumb down when compared to some other features in the game and the character animations are stiffed and move in awkward manner. Some character look like they had to much coffee and can't just stop moving.
Conclusion
In the end Deus Ex Human Revolution is an engrossing and overall fun experience that players should not miss. The game takes around 20 to 30 hours to finish and rewards players in many levels. Despite some minor technical faults the fact is that you'll be awarded with a game that carries you through an absorbing and fascinating cyber-punk, science fiction, action role-playing experience that you will not soon forget.
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