By Luke Kirby
(Before I begin to discuss this game I feel there’s something important to note, I own Deus Ex: Human Revolution on the PS3 and PC as well as the Director’s Cut version also on PC. Finally I got round to playing it when I received it as a gift for the Wii U for Christmas.)
The year is 2027 and the lines of humanity are somewhat blurred with people being able to essentially become part human and part machine. In Deus Ex you find yourself taking the role of Sarif Industries (a growing biotech company) head of security Adam Jensen. After being severely wounded in a terrorist attack against the company he has to undergo surgery to be saved, resulting in him receiving advanced prosthesis to replace his damaged body. This attack also claims the lives of important researchers who were on the verge of making massive breakthrough for Sarif Industries including Jensen’s ex-girlfriend Megan Reed. Upon returning to work he finds himself in search of the attackers.
(Before I begin to discuss this game I feel there’s something important to note, I own Deus Ex: Human Revolution on the PS3 and PC as well as the Director’s Cut version also on PC. Finally I got round to playing it when I received it as a gift for the Wii U for Christmas.)
The year is 2027 and the lines of humanity are somewhat blurred with people being able to essentially become part human and part machine. In Deus Ex you find yourself taking the role of Sarif Industries (a growing biotech company) head of security Adam Jensen. After being severely wounded in a terrorist attack against the company he has to undergo surgery to be saved, resulting in him receiving advanced prosthesis to replace his damaged body. This attack also claims the lives of important researchers who were on the verge of making massive breakthrough for Sarif Industries including Jensen’s ex-girlfriend Megan Reed. Upon returning to work he finds himself in search of the attackers.
This game offers choice in how you play it but you naturally lean towards a more stealthy approach which makes perfect sense as every mission you go on, you are on your own. Getting into open gun fights with numerous enemies just isn’t convenient or smart; it’s a lot easier sneaking by without being noticed, or going for a melee takedown. Majority of the times I got discovered by the enemy I’d either run and hide, load up my latest save or try and shoot my way out… which usually left me being overwhelmed and causing me to die. You’re also rewarded with more experience for non-lethal takedowns, meaning you get praxis kits quicker and can upgrade what your character can do via augmentations.
The augmentations are varied, a lot are focused around stealth but there are also some at the other end of the spectrum, like being able to fire grenades from your prosthetic body if you feel the need rain fire upon your enemies. A personal favourite of mine was turning myself invisible, sneaking past enemies or just using a stun gun as soon as I get close enough. However this drained energy bars rather quickly so using invisibility was something to be used sparingly, this applies to a lot of augmentations a little bit of thinking is required when using them.
The main two areas of exploration in the game are situated in an open world Detroit and Hengsha environment, however while they aren’t huge areas to explore it works in the favour of the game. Going back and forth between large areas would grow tedious very quickly. There’s also a surprising amount to do in this game, you come across many side missions as well as the main missions given out to you and these all take time. The side missions are varied in what you do but a lot of it is based around gathering information pertaining to it, whether this information be from computers, reports or even from other characters.
I’ll give an example of one side mission where the objective is to gather evidence about a corrupt high ranking official, there are several pieces to collect to incriminate him and the more you get the stronger the case will be. This in turn means better rewards; more credits (currency), experience or even a praxis kit. So the game gives you a sense of you get what you put into it which makes you want to explore and make sure you get everything you can.
While I never played far enough into Human Revolution one of the greatest changes in the Director’s Cut version are the boss battles allowing for greater choice in combat and the ability to do more. If you want to be stealthy you can but if you feel the need use the biggest gun at your disposal you’re also more than welcome to do so. There are also other additions; a smoothly added piece of dlc is present that, quite honestly, I didn’t even realise was dlc. I honestly thought it was just part of the main story. Additional cut scene and dialogue are also present, a documentary, developer commentary as well as new game+ allowing you to carry over augmentations into a new game.
However the main aspect of change I’d like to talk about is the superb way the gamepad is used. The gamepad primarily serves as a radar which is amazingly useful when in cover or just generally being one stealthy son of a gun. It also has other uses, for one it’s used to manage inventory which gave me flashbacks of playing Resident Evil 4, upgrading augmentations, reading e-books, and e-mails and so on. It’s also used for the feature of hacking which is almost like a mini game and is very well suited to the touch screen on the gamepad. Certainly if I ever feel the need to play this game through again it will most likely be on the Wii U, for some reason I can’t imagine not using it while playing the game as I’ve grown too accustomed to the practicality of it.
It gave a sense of fluid gameplay, despite horrendous loading times, as anything to do with information or organisational purposes were separate from the TV. Also it seemed to work well just simply because the game is set in a world where technology is of great importance, so having this other bit of hardware gave a nice touch to immersing myself in the game.
As it probably comes across in this article, I rather enjoyed this title. While for the most part the gameplay was solid, most notable issue for me was the strictness of the AI enemies and the first person shooting being a bit clunky, I really enjoyed the themes brought up in the game. Mostly the ethical issues of blurring the lines between human and cyborg which could very well be an issue at some point in the future, the ending is rather engrossing and, at least in my experience, left various thoughts to ponder after the credits. I would recommend this game, especially if you own a Wii U… there’s not too many games out for it but Deus Ex is definitely a game that should be played regardless.
The augmentations are varied, a lot are focused around stealth but there are also some at the other end of the spectrum, like being able to fire grenades from your prosthetic body if you feel the need rain fire upon your enemies. A personal favourite of mine was turning myself invisible, sneaking past enemies or just using a stun gun as soon as I get close enough. However this drained energy bars rather quickly so using invisibility was something to be used sparingly, this applies to a lot of augmentations a little bit of thinking is required when using them.
The main two areas of exploration in the game are situated in an open world Detroit and Hengsha environment, however while they aren’t huge areas to explore it works in the favour of the game. Going back and forth between large areas would grow tedious very quickly. There’s also a surprising amount to do in this game, you come across many side missions as well as the main missions given out to you and these all take time. The side missions are varied in what you do but a lot of it is based around gathering information pertaining to it, whether this information be from computers, reports or even from other characters.
I’ll give an example of one side mission where the objective is to gather evidence about a corrupt high ranking official, there are several pieces to collect to incriminate him and the more you get the stronger the case will be. This in turn means better rewards; more credits (currency), experience or even a praxis kit. So the game gives you a sense of you get what you put into it which makes you want to explore and make sure you get everything you can.
While I never played far enough into Human Revolution one of the greatest changes in the Director’s Cut version are the boss battles allowing for greater choice in combat and the ability to do more. If you want to be stealthy you can but if you feel the need use the biggest gun at your disposal you’re also more than welcome to do so. There are also other additions; a smoothly added piece of dlc is present that, quite honestly, I didn’t even realise was dlc. I honestly thought it was just part of the main story. Additional cut scene and dialogue are also present, a documentary, developer commentary as well as new game+ allowing you to carry over augmentations into a new game.
However the main aspect of change I’d like to talk about is the superb way the gamepad is used. The gamepad primarily serves as a radar which is amazingly useful when in cover or just generally being one stealthy son of a gun. It also has other uses, for one it’s used to manage inventory which gave me flashbacks of playing Resident Evil 4, upgrading augmentations, reading e-books, and e-mails and so on. It’s also used for the feature of hacking which is almost like a mini game and is very well suited to the touch screen on the gamepad. Certainly if I ever feel the need to play this game through again it will most likely be on the Wii U, for some reason I can’t imagine not using it while playing the game as I’ve grown too accustomed to the practicality of it.
It gave a sense of fluid gameplay, despite horrendous loading times, as anything to do with information or organisational purposes were separate from the TV. Also it seemed to work well just simply because the game is set in a world where technology is of great importance, so having this other bit of hardware gave a nice touch to immersing myself in the game.
As it probably comes across in this article, I rather enjoyed this title. While for the most part the gameplay was solid, most notable issue for me was the strictness of the AI enemies and the first person shooting being a bit clunky, I really enjoyed the themes brought up in the game. Mostly the ethical issues of blurring the lines between human and cyborg which could very well be an issue at some point in the future, the ending is rather engrossing and, at least in my experience, left various thoughts to ponder after the credits. I would recommend this game, especially if you own a Wii U… there’s not too many games out for it but Deus Ex is definitely a game that should be played regardless.
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