Deus Ex: Human Revolution Review

Pros: Dynamic choice and consequence system, multiple play-through options, interesting plot, great soundtrack and graphics, and high replay value.

Cons: Lackluster enemies, less than stellar stealth and combat mechanics, and an upgrade system that’s too easy to overpower.

Rating: 8.5/10

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a game that had potential – lots of potential, actually. However, it didn’t live up to the expectations that were built around it.

The tutorial starts the story and you are an ex-SWAT named Adam Jensen, hired as chief of security for a company that sells human prosthetics. The day before the scientist’s findings are about to be announced to the world, the laboratory is attacked, leaving you nearly dead. You are repaired with the same prosthetics that your company produces and then sent on a problem-solving mission to stop the attackers. You have the option of deal with your adversaries in a lethal or non-lethal way; if you’re not patient enough for non-lethal stealth, your best option is to take lethal and get past it.

The designers based a lot of this game on the original, allowing you a lot more freedom than most games do. If you get tired of sneaking around, then you can just shoot everyone. If you are too squeamish for the bloodshed, you can find your own way around to the target.

The main quest-line has you unraveling a conspiracy that spans the globe. The traditional side-quests of old role-playing games (RPGs) are no longer irrelevant, as every smaller mission is integrated into the whole and reveals more of the conspiracy and the world around you. The game gives you a good sense of choice throughout – an aspect that has been rather lacking in other RPGs. It still doesn’t give you the full range of consequences that would be available in real life, but it still surpasses most games in terms of reliable choice and consequence.

While the plot and the options are wonderful, the combat and controls are somewhat lacking, at least on the PlayStation 3. The original game was designed for the PC, so it may not have as many issues, but the PS3 version was a bit rough. While the game tells you that you can hide and shoot, actually doing so is not the same mechanic as they describe. You can’t ‘hug’ the cover and accurately fire at the same time – you must risk losing your cover to shoot. Since its first person, you may not notice until you’ve drifted off to the side with nothing to protect you.

Aiming is a similar problem. While some weapons have an effective scope that will pinpoint the enemy for you, there are just as many that won’t. You often find yourself missing the enemy because the aim was different than you thought. These control issues take some getting used to, especially if you don’t play a lot of First Person Shooter games. Part of this problem is because they included some realism in the guns, such as recoiling from fire, and therefore can throw you off if you’re not prepared.

The graphics are amazing, from the landscapes to the backgrounds. The cut scenes are remarkably well rendered and satisfyingly realistic. However, a common complaint in many video games is that the faces stay static, and Deus Ex is no different. While it may just be your character, whose voice acting also implies indifference, he’s not the only character that has a hard time with real emotion.

Despite its many great features, more than a few end up falling short. While the choice and consequence system is rather thorough, there are some events that will happen regardless of what you do, especially during one of the final battles, where your only choice is how you kill the enemy, not if.

Many of the boss battles are disappointing, with either no more difficulty than a regular battle, or just not enough to feel like a boss battle, they make the option rather boring. Another negative is the reliance on cell energy. Despite being a cyborg with awesome abilities, you have to eat a power bar to replenish your energy. While stopping to get a snack in the middle of a mission is logical, it’s a bit annoying for any gamer who is used to the more traditional wait and recharge method.

While useful, some of the augmentations to your form can overpower your character and make it boring to play. If it’s not even a challenge anymore to hack into the computer or stealthily take down an enemy, where is the fun? If you can plan well, it may just ruin it for you to focus on anything, but for those who like to be a jack-of-all-trades, it could add an interesting dynamic.

Overall, the game delivers on many levels but it doesn’t do what most people expected. It over-delivers on some parts that it didn’t really need to and falls short on some aspects that gamers wish it hadn’t. Is it playable? Definitely. Is it good? Absolutely. But not as good as expected.