Deus Ex: Human Revolution Review

We had our collective eyes on Deus Ex for a while, and while it seemed promising there were a couple of things that had us concerned. One was the history of the franchise. The first game was an amazing achievement which did things not many had seen before. It was loved by critics and consumers alike and it has cemented it's place in gaming history forever. The sequel... not so much. On the other hand, it has been years since the second game and they've certainly had time to improve on it, but that leads us to our second concern. Why were we barely hearing anything about it until about a month before release? We were conflicted! We were concerned! We wanted to know what the hell was up! Well, after finishing my play-through (all the while dealing with the aftermath of a minor wreck) I know. And I am immensely pleased.

Before I get to the heart of the matter, I need to weigh-in on it's epidermis. It's polished. In fact, it might be one of the most polished games I've ever seen. The yellow/gold lights and atmosphere bring a certain amazing aesthetic that must absolutely be experienced to be understood. The objects, buildings, and rooms have all been designed to look like they belong in the future and reflect the taste of those who own them. One amazing example comes from a moment where you break into the main office (palace) of a company's CEO to find her. The statues, furniture, and floors all look like a custom designer job that fit the character perfectly. Offices have different patterns of papers strewn everywhere reflecting the busy-body nature of some of the scientists you run into. If you told me that the game was playable over a year ago and that they spent all that remaining time putting the polish on I would absolutely believe you. It's obvious that they loved their project and wanted everything to stand out and fit. And it does. It absolutely does. But how does everything else hold up to this high standard?

In proper Deus Ex fashion, it's a first-person shooter/RPG hybrid. I use the term first-person shooter only due to the lack of a better term, mainly because, with the exception of the boss fights, you don't have to shoot anyone. If you spec just right, and trust me when I say it shouldn't be a problem, you could sneak past every enemy in the game without touching them. Granted, this approach would take the patience of a saint. That's why you also have the option to take down your opponents, whether by lethal or non-lethal means, and hide the bodies ensuring those guards never bother you again. However, you'll also have cameras, turrets, and security robots to contend with. Of course, you could also just rush in guns blazing and kill everything that moves. The choice is up to you. The great thing is, is that the game doesn't punish a certain style of gameplay. While you will gain experience from taking out troops, you will also gain experience from finding hidden paths around them. I'm not quite sure what happens when you kill everyone (or anyone), but getting through a level completely undetected leaving nothing but knocked out bodies in my wake granted me tons of experience upon the completion of an objective. Basically, if you choose a path and execute that path well you will be rewarded. This is most welcome in an RPG these days.

Pictured above: Not stealth.

 In terms of abilities, there are plenty of great ones. Invisibility, making your footsteps silent,  taking out two people at once: this is all just the tip of the iceberg. The thing that I liked, that I sort of mentioned earlier, is that upgrades aren't overly rare. If you preform well and complete the side missions you will receive upgrades. Earning money is also essential, as you can buy two upgrades per chapter from your local L.I.M.B. clinic. If you do all these things, you will have more than enough upgrades to go around. By the end of the game, I had done enough to not only make myself the perfect stealthy, non-lethal machine that I was, but I also had several contingent abilities completely upgraded just in case things went wrong. The only options I had left were completely useless to how I was playing the game. Even as a stealthy character who could turn invisible and detect anyone around me, I could still walk into a room and wipe out everyone if I needed too. If you play well, the game rewards you by making you nearly as powerful as possible and I appreciated that immensely.

In the future, we'll all have lung and liver augments... and life will be wonderful.

On the subject of things I appreciate, the system you use to convince people to do what you want is better than most games I've played. Instead of you being good enough to charm or threaten people automatically, you actually have to observe a person's behavior and read a personality file to select the right things to say. If you get the pheromone upgrade, then you can even see what kind of personality type they are and convince them to take certain actions accordingly.  It adds an extra layer of gameplay to the dialogue which I've been waiting for.

Unfortunately, there are a few things that keep it from being as good as the original. For one, it's a little more linear than Deus Ex. Granted, the areas you play each chapter in have plenty to see and explore (you can break into rooms you're never told to go to and find cool stuff). This is only a minor concern, though. The big issue is that you have no choice but to engage bosses in direct combat. Sure, this is no problem for people who have leveled their character for such things, but by the first boss fight I was mostly prepared for hacking, non-lethal take-downs, and sneaking. Needless to say, this unavoidable boss fight was a big pain. Other than that, I feel like a few more side missions were called for, but that might just be me.

The price for looking up porn at work is also high.

So it's not quite as good as the original, but that is hardly an insult. The first Deus Ex was such an amazing new idea that just being close is an amazing feat. Human Revolution is so deep, so polished, and has so much to do, that I easily sunk over 40 hours into it. Trying to uphold my sneakiness near the end got a little old, but for the most part I enjoyed my time in the 2020s immensely.

10 out of 10