Deus Ex : Human Revolution

By Tristan Tancredi

Human Revolution, the third game in the Dues Ex series takes place in 2027 and is a prequel to the original Deus Ex game released back in 2000.

This Science-Fiction turn Cyberpunk game falls under the genre of Action / Role-playing as gamers combine strategy with skill.

Developed by Eidos Montreal and Nixxes Software, gamers play the role of Adam Jensen, a former SWAT team leader come chief of security at Sarif Industries (a leading corporation in human body augmentation).

The year 2027 has corporations reigning influence over the world. The people are divided between those augmented and those that aren't with the common theme of 'Humans doing Gods work' prevelant throughout the game.

As the game begins, Jensen is savagely attacked within an inch of his life and his body is radically fused with robotic augmentations, hence begins the enjoyable gameplay of Deus Ex : Human Revolution.

The storyline follows Jensen on his mission to uncover the truth behind the attack on Sarif industries, to find former love of his life Megan Reed whose research at Sarif industries caused worldwide interest and ultimately to discover the dire effects of meddling with the human body.

There are a few tricks to master this game, the keys of which include; hacking computer systems, managing your inventory wisely, the skill of persuasive conversation, the use of stealth and enhancing body augmentations.

If gamers become experienced at these facets of the game, Human Revolution will be a breeze (Just make sure you have a bit of patience).

The hacking aspect of Deus Ex is interesting and gradually becomes tricky, ultimately however I found it boring. The only times I decided to hack into a system was when it was required to advance in the game.

Managing of the inventory is poorly designed and frustrating. Too often I found myself mid battle having to pause the game to rearrage my inventory to pick up a measely 2 bullets.

The persuasive conversation is fun. One of the strongest attrubutes in this game is the ability to choose how a conversation pans out. You can be abrubt and rude or you can play the cool cat, knowing all the nice things to say. I found this aspect really enjoyable (Although the cut-scenes can be quite long).

Stealth is the most important skill to master. If mastered you can basically roll through the game undetected. A well tuned controlling system makes the movement easy, the hard part being which path to take. It is enjoyable to a degree however its often slow going as you wait for enemies to turn their backs.

Enhancing Jensens Robotic Augmentations throughout the game is made available through the use of Praxis Points. These are achieved throughout the game by completing missions or finding them in various hiding spots.

Augmentations include anything from enhancing stealth or hacking skills. Helping Jensen sprint further, jump higher, steady his aim or even improve his persuasive skills. One word of warning with the Augmentations however is to use them wisely. (I got stuck needing an enhancement with no Praxis points. Not fun).

The game looks, as expected, first rate. From the cities of Detroit, Shanghai, Singapore and Montreal. Delving into the sewers or climbing ladders to rooftops this free roaming game has great open environments.

The gruff and deep 'Clint Eastwood' like voice of main character Jensen is entertaining and sometimes hilarious. Other supporting characters and Sarif employees including David Sarif, Faridah Malik and Frank Pritchard set the scene for gamers inside the dynamic and twisting storyline.

The main missions are layered so that gamers can choose which path to take and which action to take. For instance, gamers may wish to climb through the air vents and hack the information out of a computer rather then confronting someone face to face for the information. These choices are what makes Dues Ex : Human Revolution.

Side missions are also available. Some of the side missions won't be found unless you interact with random people scattered throughout the scenes.

Along the futuristic journey throughout the robotic ruled streets, Jensen comes across several boss stages that are quite difficult. With ammo restraints (and sometimes even the loss of augmentations) some stages are impossible to continue without backtracking to previous saves in order to change guns or restock ammo.

As the game progresses and we notice the detrimental effect of evolving technology on humankind. Human Revolution confronts these problems in an enjoyable Sci-Fi, Action, Role playing game. Ultimately, the gamer decides the technological future of mankind with a variety of endings available.

Lovers of the Stealth games with idolise this game. Other gamers will enjoy it for what it is, a great enjoyable story, with entertaining, yet sometimes slow and frustrating gameplay.

Game: Deus Ex : Human Revolution
System: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC
Developer/Co-Developer: Eidos Montreal & Nixxes Software
Publisher: Square Enix

Rating: 75%

(Ratings Key/Explanation)