Deus Ex: Human Revolution: When Worlds Collide

Once you overlook the fact that the entry line refers to Deus Ex solely as a PS2 title that was released in 2002 (that was a 2-year-old inferior port, guys), this entry on the PlayStation blog is a pretty good read as it delves into Human Revolution’s strengths while also providing commentary from director Jean-Francois Dugas and producer David Anfossi.

Development on Deus Ex: Human Revolution began with Dugas and Anfossi carefully analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the franchise. The atmosphere, story, characters, and RPG elements were mesmerizing; the action was merely tolerable. (The shooting was flawed because it was heavily stat-based,) Dugas observes. (Your aim could be super precise, but the game artificially told you that you weren’t precise enough, which made for a clumsy combat experience.) For Human Revolution, Dugas and Anfossi streamlined the shooting and incorporated a visceral new tactical punch: You need to use cover effectively, prioritize enemies based on their location, and consider your weapon choices carefully. The result is a sleek, muscular stealth-action game that combines the original game’s sympathetic characters and intellectual themes with the kind of fearsome combat sequences you might expect from a Metal Gear Solid 4 or a Rainbow Six: Vegas.

Except that that protagonist Adam Jensen is capable of superhuman feats far beyond those of mere mortals. He can effortlessly eviscerate foes with retractable blades that sprout from his arms, carry and hurl massive objects with bone-crushing force, or release a 360-degree fan of cluster bombs to frag any fool who dares get close. With his security background, Jensen’s also a crack shot with firearms, all of which can be upgraded with enhanced ammunition, mods and more. The weapons run the gamut from low-tech to high-tech, lethal to non-lethal. We’re talking stealthy tranquilizer rifles, punchy 10mm handguns, devastating double-barreled shotguns, grenade launchers, the works.

But depending on your interpretation of Jensen, all that fancy firepower may be overkill. Sometimes all it takes is a little stealth, a silver tongue, and the right social augmentations. (You can play the entire game without killing anyone, save for the boss fights,) Dugas confirms. (It makes for a more challenging experience, but it’s very rewarding.) Anfossi agrees: (We want players to create a personalized version of Jensen and decide his approach. Some players will think, ‘˜This guy wouldn’t kill these people.’) Whatever your approach lethal or nonlethal, aggression or stealth the game meticulously tracks the player’s tactics and dishes out the consequences accordingly. And you can be certain of one thing: there will be consequences.