GB Feature: Deus Ex: Human Revolution Review

As you might have guessed from our preview back in March, we were pretty impressed by the first few hours of Eidos Montreal’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution. But what about the whole 30+ hour experience? Find out what we thought in our full four-page review:

Once again following in its elder’s footsteps, Human Revolution is defined by player choice, both in building Jensen’s abilities and skills, as well as in overcoming the various challenges found throughout the world and during missions. In any given situation, it’s common to be given, at the very least, three or so different approaches, usually split between frontal assault, stealth and subterfuge, and acrobatics/traversal, with social options often provided as well, usually involving some persuasion via dialogue. Occasionally, additional possibilities are available, and can drastically change play. For instance, getting into a secure complex can be a daunting task without the proper authorization, but, take the time to find a passkey, and you won’t have to fire a single shot or sneak past a single guard to make progress.

On the character development side, Human Revolution actually resembles Invisible War more so than it does Deus Ex, though in truth the intent seems to have been an amalgamation between the two games’ systems. Skills have been stripped away and fully replaced by augmentations, attached to an experience system – accumulate enough experience, whether by exploring the world, completing quests, or dealing with enemies, and you earn a Praxis Point to spend on a new upgrade for Jensen (justified by the fact that his mechanical augmentations require no physical upgrades; their improvements are a reflection of his body’s improved handling of the augmentations). Although not as varied in effect as Deus Ex’s augmentations and skill trees, in general the number of options are enough to make the choice in upgrades difficult, and important in defining play-style, especially early in the game.