Before I start rambling on, I should mention that, unfortunately, I did not have the pleasure of playing the game’s humble predecessor Deus Ex, nor its sequel sub-titled Invisible Wars. Having not done so, others wouldn’t likely consider me to be sufficiently qualified to judge any aspects of the game. Fear not however, as I struggled to point out any downfalls.
DEHR is heavily aimed towards those gamers that like to soak up every ounce of available information in the plot and know its goings on inside out, gamers that I like to refer to as “Sherlocks”, I am a Sherlock and I felt very much aimed at. In fact, in your first location, there are 5 items and 4 e-mails that contribute to the story, Examine them all and see be rewarded with and achievement.
The game offers a seemingly unending amount of background information throughout your adventure, so much so that committing to investigate and adopt that detective approach is hard to keep up. Let’s admit, many of us found ourselves hacking people’s computers, might I add quite easily considering the future setting , and sifting through their e-mails to see what juicy, plot relevant info we could find and more often than not, you would. Some way or another, what seemingly irrelevant and insignificant info you’d stumble across in those e-books, newspapers, e-mails and pocket secretary’s, would manage to tie into the game in more plot revealing ways than what you might have thought.
Upon beginning your journey, what are immediately apparent are the long loading screens that appear to delay it. However, after the first 20 or so you become immune to the impatience that they would first bring on. Therefore it wouldn’t really be fair to interpret this as a con, especially considering the vast and networked maps that understandably take just a little longer to construct during loading time.
A labyrinth of countless alleyways, corridors and apartments in every city gives almost too many opportunities to carry out your detective work and learn about your surroundings. By incorporating this feature, it allows missions and quests to be approached differently depending on which direction or path you follow, in doing so definitely brings about a ‘Mass Effect’ feel about it. Again, your quests are influenced by the decisions you make and what you choose to say, having to sneak into the police precinct while avoiding being caught after upsetting the receptionist in an earlier conversation may prove a lot more difficult than being allowed to freely enter the station and explore as you please after having had a more positive and successful discussion.
Augments, mechanical add-ons and adjustments, play a key part in the story. After having been severely injured, Adam Jenson (your character) is robotically reconstructed with augmentations in order to save his life. Adam, not too pleased with his recent reconstructive surgery, must learn to cope and come to terms with his new capabilities and absence of sensation, making him feel more machine than man. These views, however, are not shared with the game player as progressing through the game and earning experience means you can ‘level up’ your specific augmentations that consequently let your Deus Ex adventure become easier and more enjoyable. With upgrades such as super-human feats of strength, x-ray vision and increased cardiovascular capacity, you’ll want as many of these mechanical developments as possible so saving up for what are called ‘Praxis Kits’ (boxed augmentations) would prove to be a wise decision as they come to 5000 credits a piece. Before you try to purchase your way to augmented perfection though, Limb clinics (the places you go to purchase health related products and praxis kits) only stock a maximum of two praxis kits and will only replenish once you have exited an re-entered that city, shame…
Human revolution also comprises of boss levels which some have argued ruin the choice making theme by forcing Jensen to deal with the baddies by unleashing his torrent of weaponry to be used up against them, although personally I didn’t deem this to be such a bad thing as it kept in check and limited ammo which in turn would mean the usage and exploration of different guns, keeping the game interesting.
I conclude, you will be glad to see, by summing up Deus Ex Human Revolution in a highly spoken manner thanks to its well thought out plot that incorporates every bit of info, bountiful investigating and decision making opportunities, impressive artistic design and engulfing story line.
