Deus Ex: Human Revolution Previews

The walkthrough available at the recenty held GamesCom has produced a few more previews for the upcoming Deus Ex sequel, Human Revolution. GameOn.

The game’s visuals are impressive and stay true to the general visual style of the series, with futuristic locations that have a distinctive grimy and downtrodden feel. As Jensen worked his way through the streets, homeless people milled around aimlessly while litter blew along the gutters. It was atmospheric and brought to mind the early Hell’s Kitchen levels of the original game. Futuristic cars and advertising billboards were prominent along the skyline which was also littered with high rise buildings. Here one of the developers pointed out Jensen’s own apartment, which acts as a base and will also feature a selection of secrets and tasks that can be accomplished as the game progresses.

Digital Spy.

While the game operates in first person with iron-sight mechanics, pressing against a column provides a familiar third-person viewpoint, as well as access to blindfire that predictably does little damage. Jenson can grab crates and copier machines to provide his own cover – the objects becoming see-through as he carries them first-person across hallways – and can be planted anywhere to suit his vantage point. Heavier objects require strength augmentations, and other role-playing mechanics fit into combat quite nicely, with experience for kills and the ability to fit your pistol with explosive rounds to knock enemies clean off their feet.

While the combat isn’t quite as honed as a dedicated shooter, it looks comparable to Mass Effect in that it effectively blended two genres together. After heading through an open-floor plan filled with desks and quickly deceased workers, Jenson makes his way down a staircase, pops a lone guard in the face and comes across the locked morgue that an explosive mine makes quick work of. The developer playing the demo barely pauses for breath as he sprays the hapless coroner with bullets, grabs the hub and flees into the sewers, ending the demonstration.

G4 TV.

The second time through showed off the game’s social systems. Similar to other RPGs, you can (talk) to any NPC in the game, but dialogue trees don’t necessarily factor into the conversation. So we chatted with the guard in front of the station for a second, sans dialogue system, just to get a feel for the situation. Once inside, we entered a conversation with the receptionist who was an old friend of ours but who was still haunted by an unfortunate incident from our collective pasts.

Throughout the conversation, you have to option to use the guard’s depression against him, or assuage his guilt and show him that whatever happened wasn’t his fault. This encounter was relatively easy to navigate, so there was no need to use social augmentations like charm or one that lets you scan your subject’s pupils to get a read on whether they are lying or not, giving you a strategic advantage in the conversation. We chose the (nice) path, which led to the guard happily giving us access to the station. And since we talked our way in, we were free to investigate the entire building (talk to people, use computers to access files, etc.). For the sake of time, we proceeded down to the morgue, got the chip, and calmly and quietly exited the front door without issue.