Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Title: Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Platform Played On: Xbox 360
Release Date: August 23, 2011
Date Played: March-April 2012
Time Played: 30 hours
Completed (Y/N): Yes
Score: 5/5




Opinion:
Deus Ex: Human Revolution had a lot to live up to. The fans were hoping for it to be as good as the first one, but were afraid of it failing with the fundamentals like the second entry in the series did.

Human Revolution starts 25 years before the first title in Deus Ex series. You are Adam Jensen, a perfectly normal human being. Pretty, and bad ass... sure.. but not augmented in any way. Action picks up pretty quickly and you find yourself transformed into basically a Robocop. From there you go on various missions throughout the world in attempt to direct the humanity in its augmentation use and research.

Human Revolution is the first time other than strategy games (that I remember) thinking to myself that a game would control much better on the PC than on the console. The aiming felt sluggish and I had a real hard time pulling off precise shots at the moments when they mattered the most. However as I progressed through the story I became more and more used to the way it controlled and by 10 hours in I felt completely comfortable with it. It also helped that the acquired gear and upgrades helped make certain maneuvers easier to pull off.

Weird controls coupled with brutal difficulty for a modern "shooter" (yes this is not a shooter, but most would compare it to one) made me feel iffy about Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The point where I finally "got it" and started really enjoying the game was when I found a silencer and laser upgrades for my pistol. From that point forth I simply couldn't get enough of it. The laser pointer allowed me to effectively snipe and get 1 shot kills and the silencer allowed me to do so without alerting the whole base to my presence. The game truly made me feel like a badass, a creeping, stalking ninja, with a gun and lethal kung-fu.

I found myself playing with run and gun style for about the first 1/3 of the game, and once I found the silencer I started sneaking around more, even finishing the "panic room" level without alerting anyone. And for the last several hours of the 30 hour adventure I found myself sneaking around and meleeing everyone (for the achievement, and because it was so easy with all the upgrades I have gotten).

Props go out to the developer for not falling into the trap of creating bigger and bigger bullet sponges as the game progresses. The fact that every single person (except the bosses) can be taken down with one well placed shot or karate-chop made the game so much more enjoyable. It is easy to die in Deus Ex, and its easy to kill. This game is not just about killing, it is about doing so professionally and effectively. I am glad that the developers get that.

I have to also give them props for the level design. True to the first two games (more-so the first one) there are several ways to approach each and every situation. It is quite impressive. I found myself using the ventilation ducts a lot in order to get the drop on the enemies.

The hacking system is quite interesting, and I really appreciate Eidos not plugging in some sort of pipe dream or Tetris clone in there. They made their own system, which actually is not explained as well as it could have, but it works well within the context of the game.

Human Revolution would have been a perfect game, however it has absolutely ridiculous boss fights that are not liked by anyone. For whatever reason in a game where stealth and tactics are emphasized more than anything else the developers decided to add bosses that run straight at you with Gatling guns or explosives. The first boss fight (against Barret) took me over a dozen times simply because in order to defeat him you had to do exactly the opposite of what the game has been telling you to do up to that point. Luckily there are only 4 boss fights and 2 of them are fairly easy.

Other than the boss fights, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a worthy sequel-prequel in the series. I rarely feel that I could replay a game in a completely different style, and this game is one of those rare ones. Not only can you approach every situation differently; moreover there are half a dozen story-line decisions that impact your relationship with other characters. It is an excellent tactical shooter that is fairly unique in today's marketplace. I hope we will see another one in a few years. Great job Eidos on reviving this franchise!

PS - There are 4 endings and I picked the ending to let the world know of the Illuminati and all of what happened which results in ban of augmentations.