Deus Ex: Human Revolution Review

95/100
5/5
95%
A

Strengths
Story/Atmosphere/World
Music/Ambience
Characters/Voice Acting
Protagonist
Choices/Non-linear
Side Quests/Rewards
Length/Replayability

Opportunities
Boss Fights
Graphical Glitches/Mouths

***minor spoiler alert***
First of all, let me state that I haven’t finished the game but I have about 15+ hours into it and unless the game drastically alters course or the ending (there are multiple endings according to one achievement) then I highly doubt I will change my review.

This game delivers on almost every level that I can think of when it comes to rating video games. The summer doldrums are now officially over for me and I’m kind of shocked that I almost didn’t purchase this game. This was $45 (Steam pre-order cost) well spent and I’m very glad I bought this on an impulse as a “secondary” purchase. This game is definitely a pleasant surprise and much better than the second game in the series. It’s a worthy prequel to the first Deus Ex and I hope some great DLC is released for it.

Also, you do not need to have played the first game to play this one. There are references to the universe but very little connection. This is a prequel and occurs before the first Deus Ex.

Likes
Story/Atmosphere/World: The story gets you going from the start, drawing you into the world with the societal war revolving around human augmentation, very akin to the gay marriage debate going on today in the U.S. Some people believe human augmentation is the next step in human evolution while others believe it should be outlawed and is a violation of human biology. What the game lacks in graphics (and I think it looks good but it’s no Crysis 2) it makes up for in atmosphere. The world is fleshed out but not to the point where you feel distracted from your missions. The world will make you think of Shadowrun, the table top game, not the video game. I really enjoyed the gold/black feel to everything. It’s original and done well but not overdone to the point where there aren’t other colors in the game. There is a central city hub where you branch off of into apartment buildings or the Sarif building or a L.I.M.B. clinic to do side quests or parts of the main mission.
Music/Ambience: The music is pretty cool and really draws you into the cyberpunk world. It will make you want to go watch Blade Runner again, or go out and buy for those of us who aren’t smart enough to already own it in our movie collection. The soundtrack is eerie at times and really helps flesh out the world and the gold/black atmosphere.
Characters/Voice Acting: The voice-acting is well done and the characters are memorable, so much so that Adam Jensen gets his own special mention as I have a new favorite protagonist in my list of video game heroes (mentioned below). The mouth movement is seriously lacking and detracts from the great voice-acting. Your boss has a familiar voice that I can’t quite place but I swear he’s a well-known actor.
Protagonist: Adam Jensen smokes 5 packs a day. Normally, this gravelly voice would feel overdone and get annoying… but I really enjoyed it in this game and it helped flesh out the kind of character he was. He’s a hardcore ex-cop that you don’t want to mess with and even when he’s speaking “nice” lines of dialogue, he’s no push-over. I am now a fan of Adam Jensen and he could easily kick the crap out of a lot of other protagonists, with the help of his augmentations of course.
Choices/Non-linear: Surrounded by linear shooters, this game really gives you choices. So far, I haven’t killed a single soul, other than the few bosses I’ve faced and I love that! I made my way through a police station early on in the game and since I completely suck at stealth, I ended up having to take out every officer with my tranquilizer rifle, stun gun, and take-downs. Needless to say, I later found out from watching an IGN Easter egg video on youtube that I could have talked my way into the police station! I love it! The amount of choices in the game is fantastic and very reminiscent of the first game.
Side Quests/Rewards/Augmentations: The game rewards you for exploring and finding the different paths, whatever they may be. Little XP rewards pop up all the time and the majority of your XP will come not from killing/incapacitating your enemies but from everything else. XP let’s you “level up” which earns you a praxis point that you can stick into your augmentations. There are enough of them that you will not run out of augmentations to upgrade. I have upgraded my inventory, cloaking system, silent walking, targeting system so I can track enemies, etc., etc. I also decided to upgrade my dermal armor to help out in boss fights (see below) which are difficult for characters choosing a stealth path through the game. There are a decent amount of side quests but you won’t be able to complete all of them. I did not level up any of my hacking, mostly because I refused to as I wanted to save that for a second play-through. Take-downs require an energy cell, which seemed annoying at first, but makes sense because your arms are both augmented arms… and it also limits you from being over-powered. You can also sell gear and other stuff you find, like ammo, and then spend your money at L.I.M.B. clinics to purchase additional Praxis points for more upgrades.
Length/Replayability: I am 15 hours in and not sure when the game ends. I have explored a lot of areas and taken my time doing side quests so I haven’t hurried through. I thought it ended at one point but it was a boss fight. I love getting my money’s worth so for me, the length is great and the game also encourages you to replay it using another option, such as running and gunning as opposed to the (horrible) stealth and non-violence I am using this play through. I have held back from starting a second game but the game almost encourages you, if not pushes you to start a second game. It tempts you with computers you can’t hack because you have leveled your cloaking augmentation instead of your hacking. It’s great and I will 100% play through this game again at some point.

Opportunities
Boss Fights: These occurred exactly like other reviews said. If you went with the stealth option, you didn’t have your armor or reflexes upgrade and the boss fights were harder. I decided after the last boss fight to upgrade my dermal armor specifically for these boss fights. I had also upgraded most of the stealth upgrades you could with gear I had scavenged for credits to purchase more Praxis kits. This is a small complain but a complain none-the-less. I did find one boss, who looked exactly like Rihanna the pop singer, was susceptible to my stun gun so I would stun her and then pump her full of bullets. I also found I could quick save in the middle of the boss fights which helped a lot. Also note that these boss fights are fast and furious so if you die, which will happen a lot for stealth characters, you don’t feel like you’ve wasted a ton of time. I really wish the choices from the rest of the game carried over into the boss fights.
Graphical Glitches/Mouths: I’ve noticed some graphical errors, small glitches, and have had to reload a couple times. But I have two saves, there is an autosave, and a quicksave feature so I’ve never had a problem reloading and fixing whatever glitch there is. None of the glitches have been game breakers so these could all be patched out.

Final ThoughtsGo out and buy this game when you get a chance. I highly recommend it. It’s definitely worth the money. It’s a great blend of shooter and RPG with all the choices thrown in. If you like Elder Scrolls, shooters in general, Mass Effect, Crysis then go check this game out.

By the way, I can’t wait to shoot someone in the head on my second play-through. :)