Summary [8.5 out of 10]

A prequel to the other games in the series, Deus Ex Human Revolution follows Adam Jensen, the head of security at a bio-tech corporation, who becomes embroiled in corporate and industrial espionage that turns into a much bigger plot than anyone expected. The game is a first person game that offers up a lot of choices for the player from stealth to combat and allows each of the game’s challenges to be solved multiple ways. The game is generally successful in offering up alternate paths and solutions without feeling too convoluted but in some cases the task requires specific skill sets and augments that the player may not have prepared for causing some frustration. These moments throw the balance off a bit but never completely derail the experience. Deus Ex is fun and engaging and the story keeps you interested when some of the gameplay gets frustrating and annoying.

What’s It Like?

• Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines: Everything about Human Revolution reminds me of Vampire. The missions, structure and combat are all very similar. This is a good thing as I loved this game a lot so if you are into that you should get into this. If you like this, check that out.
• Other Deus Ex Games: Human Revolution follows along with the previous games in the series and feels very similar.

The Great

• Storyline: The story here is right up the alley of anyone who is into cyberpunk as it is an excellent example of the genre. The ethical issues tackled give the story some extra substance and the mystery and intrigue keeps the player moving forward and keeps them engaged.

• Voice Acting: The voice acting here is pretty great and stays away from droning monotone. Jensen is kind of stoic and deadpan with his delivery  but it fits with the character so that isn’t a negative really. The vocal performances deliver just what the material needs and keeps it from veering into silly or campy territory.

• Variety: The game offers up a ton of things to do and ways to do it. This isn’t some kind of GTA game where you can do whatever you want but it is open world in so far as you can go wherever you want within the zone you are in and an abundance of side quests give the player options for a variety of missions. From a gameplay standpoint, you have more options than most games in terms of how to complete tasks with rewards for certain gameplay styles in the form of items and weapons. This provides the game with a great amount of replay value and a ton of things to do.

• Dialogue: Not only is the writing  and performance of the dialogue well done but the dialogue wheel and the augments to bolster the players ability to read the other character elevates it into LA Noire territory. The wheel is similar to Mass Effect’s choice structure gives the player a lot of options when dealing with other characters. If you play your cards right you can talk your way out of violence and into items and weapons with the dialogue choices. It is a fun and well balanced system.

The Good

• Graphics: While in some cases the graphics look muddled and unpolished, the graphics style and overall design are well done. The environments are interesting and effectively set the mood for the game while allowing for the proper level of immersion. The character designs look very sharp and the animation effectively puts those designs into motion in a realistic way. This isn’t the best looking game out there but the graphics are good and convey the tone and mood effectively.

• Combat: It takes a little getting used to but once you get in the swing of it, the combat is quick and responsive. Through augments you can make a go of running and gunning if you want or you use cover or stealth. Any of the options are valid and viable if you set your character up the right way and the controls and targeting work well. You aren’t going to be confounded by the game itself in terms of control. The high level of damage enemies can deal ups the challenge and makes the stakes high during combat but planning and strategy allow the player to overcome the difficulty if you do it right.

• Augments: The augments allow you to tailor your character to the sort of gameplay you want to utilize. The wide range of options here ensure that you are going to have the character you need to have to accommodate your chosen style of play. This can be a double edged sword as you can close off some options in the game as you open others but this encourages replay and and becomes an element of strategy to the character building.

The Bad

• Lack of Polish: As mentioned above, the graphics have some issues that could have been cleaned up given the time or maybe the budget. Some glitches in the game suggest that this was a systemic problem that plagued the game across the board. These are not game breaking issues, but some extra development time could have benefited the game quiet a bit.

• Unbalanced Game Play: The game gives the player a lot of options on how to customize and how to play the game but then hamstrings the player with some sequences that depend on particular builds and punish players without those builds. You can still maneuver around those obstacles if you don’t have the ideal build but it makes it much harder and if it is the first time through the game for you then there is really no way to anticipate what you need. Maybe this will promote replay but it is frustrating and takes away from the overall fun.

• Frustrating Hacking Mechanics: I absolutely hated the hacking game in this. There are aids to help you and skills you can bolster but even still it can suck some serious ass. I have talked to some people who liked the hacking and were very good at it but I almost stopped playing on several occasions because of the hacking and it makes me cringe whenever I have to do it. It wouldn’t be so bad if hacking weren’t such a big part of the game but it is and it closes off and alienates some players from particular goals in the game. There are devices to bypass this mechanic but those are limited and it is sort of annoying to have to buy something to get you through something this significant.

Conclusion [8.5 out of 10]

Deus Ex Human Revolution is a fun and engaging game that presents a compelling story and generally fun action. There are a lot of choices for gameplay and customization that will have players coming back to try new builds and new styles. The game loses points for some balance issues as well as a lack of overall polish but these issues don’t stop it from being a fun game that should remind series fans of why they dig these games in the first place.