Deus Ex: Human Revolution

One of the things that I love about DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION is that it's not satisfied with giving you a simple "go here and get this mission." It sets you up with what you have to do, but then it wishes you good luck and leaves you to your options. Do you want to go in with guns blazing? Sneak in from the rooftop and catch everyone by surprise? How about the sewers? There might be a secret entrance down there. Walking in through the front door's another option, but the reception might not be so welcoming. Talking your way inside might help matters, as well.These are just some of the decisions that you'll be faced with during one mission out of many. And there are many. And each decision is not some throwaway thing; they'll have consequences, some good and some unfortunate. In a sense, this game's about digging your own grave, and whether or not you lie in it or chuck someone else down there in your stead.The game follows Adam Jensen, the chief of security for a multi-billion dollar corporation that specializes in making artificial limbs and enhancements (called "augments") for the world at large. After an attack by cyborg terrorists, Jensen is left for dead, but his employers decide to make him the near-future equivalent of the Six Million Dollar Man. It's back to work as usual, though over the course of the story, details concerning a conspiracy arise, leading Jensen to try his hand all sorts of things (player's choice) including corporate espionage to find the truth.His quest will send him running across two major quest hubs, Detroit and Shanghai (and several minor hubs, but they'd probably spoil things), and both are very well realized. They're huge, detailed, and allow for a more-than-decent amount of exploration. They're also completely gorgeous and immersive.Without having played the original DEUS EX, the only game I can really compare DE:HR to is Obsidian's ALPHA PROTOCOL, with its emphasis on choice and a very dynamic storyline. Unlike the MASS EFFECT series, the entire story will play out very differently depending on your choices, some of them as inconsequential as just talking to someone. I was surprised by how many things came back around to bite me, and all but forced me to treat every decision seriously. Because of this, entire sidequests opened and closed, and there were many parts of the game that I never even saw (not for lack of trying). DE:HR absolutely demands to be played more than once.And this is something that it can hold over ALPHA PROTOCOL (though I do love that game), it's very fun to play. Combat is as dynamic as you want it to be. Lethal, non-lethal, melee, stealth, and you can even hack turrets and robots to do the fighting for you. There are very few times when your preferred method of combat (or pacifism) will not be accommodated. It would be difficult, but I'd wager that there's a way to get through the game (excluding the boss fights) without even firing your weapon. (Probably wrong on that, but still, I'd still take that bet.)However, I do have one major criticism: the boss fights. Yes, there are actual boss fights in this game, which was completely shocking. And it's not like the FALLOUT series, where you can usually talk your way out of them or use your skills to get around them somehow. Nope, you'll be tossing aside whatever role-playing strategies you've been adhering to so you can gun down some bosses. I wouldn't be so opposed to them if they actually had some character (even the receptionist at the police station had more depth than these guys), but they're just a band of stereotypical brutes. Which is so odd, because the rest of the game is most definitely not cliche. They just stick out very plainly in comparison to the rest of the game. (Especially to those who chose to augment into stealth and hacking!)I have other criticisms like the handful of NPC animations and iffy lip-synching. It reminds me of ALAN WAKE, a game with so much dialogue and poor lip-synching. Thankfully, they don't get in the way of the overall experience; after a bit, I didn't even notice them. In between the amazing story and worldbuilding, the combat (the sneaking, in my case), and the stop-and-think decisions, animations were the last thing on my mind. Though, it would be nice if those were fixed in future games.Basically, this is the game that western RPG enthusiasts have been waiting for. MASS EFFECT and FALLOUT fans will definitely find something to like here - since it's sort of a happy medium - with its emphasis on role-playing as much as possible, in as many ways as you can think of. It's not only a great RPG, but it's also a worthy meditation on the future of human "advancement." There's just a lot going on here!

Deus Ex: Human Revolution has been a long time coming. I still remember playing as JC Denton in the original and Alex Denton in "Invisible War." Both were satisfying experiences, especially with the first Deus Ex in the series. This was particularly true of the story - at the time there had not been a quality video game to address a subject like human augmentation, a topic not that far off from reality.As humans we try to better ourselves. We seek to learn and grow mentally and perhaps spiritually. We diet and exercise to improve our physical prowess. For the most part, we use conventional methods to improve our abilities. However, more and more these days we see performance enhancing drugs being used by those wanting to improve themselves mentally and physically in an efficient manner. To get an edge over the competition. And of course cosmetic surgeries have been around for a long time, providing various benefits or even negative consequences.Human Revolution delves into this subject. As a prequel to the original two games in the series, we get to see the reasons why humans become so focused on augmentations - the proponents and opponents of these enhancements - and the arguments for both sides. For me, this is where the game shines. The story is engrossing enough to make me think about the parallels to real life. More importantly, this game is fun and quite often feels like a well done throwback to the first/third person shooter, as well as games based on timing your in-game actions.The player assumes the role of Adam Jensen, the head of security for an augmentation corporation called Sarif Industries. Sarif is attacked by a seemingly anti-augmentation group, leaving Adam in critical (dead) condition. However, he's brought back through augmentation and is now set on a path of retribution for the attack which killed several of his co-workers, including an important person in his life.Pros for me:1) Some in-game repercussions are based on an invisible timer. Essentially, if you spend all your time messing around (exploring, finding hidden items, etc.) while there's a mission to complete elsewhere, this could have adverse consequences for your mission (i.e. people could die or certain objectives could be inaccessible).2) People react to the way your handle a mission. You may get praise for "ghosting" a mission (being undetected the entire mission), or get critisized for going too easy on somebody who people want you to kill.3) Hacking is fun and done well. Hacking into offices (hacking into and reading peoples' wacky e-mails), hacking turrets, hacking robots - really, what's there not to like. I love that kind of stuff in games.4) Side missions, for the most part, are congruent with the game and make sense. They're within the scope of the main missions and plotline. For instance, you're not asked to go collect 120 random statues hidden throughout the different cities you'll visit. There are hidden "ebooks", but these are not a side-mission per say. Rather, the incentive to finding them is that they give little bits and pieces of info about the Deus Ex world (and experience towards upgrades).5) Combat is simple yet highly satisfying. The non-lethal takedowns, for me, never seem to get old. On top of that, combat is not censored! You can attack just about anybody - cops, civilians and what have you, but there are consequences of course.6) Dialogue choices really make an impact on the immediate and later game situations/interactions. Be careful about what you say, and say what you mean! Speaking of dialogue, I am extremely happy that you can read what you're going to say before you choose it. A lot of games these days leave us guessing when making a dialogue choice and then our character says something stupid. Not so with Deus Ex, unless you choose it.7) Augmentation upgrades cater to the type of character you wish to be. Are you anti-violence? Make your footsteps silent and use stealth tracking upgrades to know exactly what your enemies are doing at all times. Are you the trigger-happy type? Get those weapon mods, and blast away. There's tons of customization and ways to make your way through missions.8) Great replay value. Ever play one of those games that you can save and re-load over and over to see all the choices you can make? You can do that in this game too (you can save pretty much anywhere, which is a plus), but I have found that it would be better to go through a completely different playthrough and make different choices. This game merits that in my opinion.Cons?:1) My bubble was burst when I realized that there's no possible way to have a completely kill-free game. This wasn't a big letdown, but it's a letdown nonetheless.2) AI can be very stupid. If you take out all henchmen in a room except for one, the one guy will continue to go through his normal routine. 'Hey! Don't you realize you're the only one left in this small room? I took out six of your buddies! They're not there anymore! So why are you still walking around like nothing's out of the ordinary!'Other than those few things, I find the game to be amazing. There's a reason why this is getting acclaim from both critics and players alike. Try it out and enjoy!