Deus Ex: Human Revolution Review
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
In 2000, the PC gaming world was introduced to Deus Ex, an action RPG which introduced players to the never-before felt experience of allowing players to make their own choices in the game. Though games released since then have attempted to allow players to make choices, none have been able to capture the way that Deus Ex did it.
Even the 2003 sequel Deus Ex: Invisible War was unable to live up to the standards of its predecessor. To this day, Deus Ex is considered to be one of the greatest games of all time. With such a legacy behind it, I am glad to say that developer Eidos Montreal was able to live up to the name Deus Ex with Human Revolution.
The game is set in 2027, where humanity has developed augmentations, bio-mechanical machinery that can allow someone to jump higher, lift heavier objects, become invisible or even become a master speaker in social situations.
Players take on the role of Adam Jensen, an ex-SWAT officer turned head of security for Sarif Industries, one of the top augmentation corporations in the world. An attack from a terrorist cell leaves Adam near death, leading to the installation of top-tier augmentations. Now more machine than man, Adam is tasked with trying to find who attacked Sarif Industries, leading to a globe-hopping adventure full of intrigue and conspiracy.
As stated before, Deus Ex is famous for allowing choice to affect the game, and Human Revolution is no different. As Adam Jensen, players can choose which augmentations to activate, allowing him to become a master hacker, punch through walls, or become invisible.
This allows players to choose how they wish to play: they can go the Rambo route with guns blazing approach, or they can play it more stealthily. The latter option remains viable throughout, as players can go through the entire game without firing a single bullet.
Besides deciding how to augment yourself, the levels are designed in such a way that if you can think of a way to get through, you can do it.
Air vents and ladders will allow players to find various paths through levels. Conversely, if stealth and shooting aren’t a gamer’s strong suits, they can hack doors and computers or, with the right augmentation, actually talk your way through a stage.
The visual and artistic design of the game is absolutely beautiful. Though not the graphic powerhouse of some other games out there, Deus Ex is able to create a world that is easy to imagine, feeling like one part Blade Runner and one part Renaissance movement. The golden tint to the world adds greatly to the feel of the game.
Despite all of these accomplishments, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is not a perfect game. The boss battles will most likely suck players out of the experience that the game tries so hard to create, especially for those that choose the pacifistic route.
The voice acting, while not horrible, does not manage to make the characters very memorable. Adam Jensen is probably the biggest example of this flaw. For a man who was forced into surgery and given augmentations, I imagine someone who doesn’t sound like Christian Bale’s Batman.
The biggest problems, however, are the loading times. Most loading times last at least 30 seconds from start to finish. Between the numerous times players will enter a new area or die, these times will add up.
Despite the few problems, Deus Ex: Human Revolution managed to live up to the name of its revered predecessor, creating a new experience that will keep players going all the way to the end, and even after to find a new method of success. Ultimately, any fan of the FPS or RPG genres or the science fiction genre should make it their goal to explore the augmented world of Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
