'Deus Ex: Human Revolution' Review

It's not often that I can say one of my fondest memories of an espionage, first-person shooter, role-playing game was spending half an hour playing basketball, or rather, trying to sink a basketball through a hoop in the middle of downtown Detroit. This is the case, however, with "Deus Ex: Human Revolution."

At first glance the game's strongest point may be player choice, but as soon as the first major hub world becomes available, it becomes evident that the amount of detail placed not only authenticates the game's many settings, but establishes a connection with players unlike most games of recent memory. Setting is such an important aspect to a game like "Deus Ex" because, while having an endless amount of choices is great, without an effective environment or consequences to utilize those choices, they quickly become meaningless. Downtown Detroit, then later Lower Heng-Sha, and even every building becomes a virtual playground for players to explore.

While the detail and setting of this game can't be praised enough, the dialogue options, choices, and upgrades are nothing to scoff at either. Having at least three dialogue options for each encounter means truly branching conversations with differing outcomes. Then using the information acquired in one of those conversations players can make a decision on how to infiltrate their next destination: silently, guns blazing, or some hybrid combination of the two. To help players achieve whichever path they chose, the augmentations available prove to not only be unique, but actually quite useful too.

The augmentations also serve as a point of weakness for the game. While they are creative, and a main motivation for players to continue, their offerings early on become quite overwhelming to players just starting out. It's virtually impossible to try out different play styles through branching augmentations. Once a Praxis point is spent, abandoning a full suite of augmentations is very difficult. A simple remedy to this would have been an outline or example of how certain augments would shape one's character. Certainly Eidos Montreal chose to give players the element of discovery over this, for which it is hard to fault them.

Using the Daedalus hover system to fall from a six story building in a dimly lit downtown Detroit is truly a sight thanks to the amazing visuals of "Human Revolution." Being published by Square Enix has no doubt yeilded some impressive graphical results, as not only cutscenes, but even the in-game takedowns look fantastic. From lighting, to particle effects, even to the weapon and cybernetic designs, the game is so singular and focused in its design that players won't help but feel that this world is real. If it weren't for the character animations. When characters speak in the game, the animation is so horrendous, it's the equivalent as a big massage at the top of the screen reading "THIS IS A VIDEO GAME!" It's a mystery how so much of the world of "Deus Ex" is fully detailed, yet perhaps the most important part, dealing with humans in the game, is so unpolished.

Not to be outdone by the visuals, the sound design in "Deus Ex" goes a long way to grounding it in reality. The ambient noises on the streets, including a random, jarring scream far off in the distance, and all of the whizzing and metallic sounds of much of the game's cybernetics create a disturbingly realistic illusion. And while the voice acting of main characters is well done, voices of NPCs and minor characters could have had more attention.

So with almost every major element in the game working together so well, the last major piece being the story, it seems almost like it would be an afterthought in its implementation in the game. And indeed that is the way it seems. While the story is great for the most part, it never truly builds up enough tension and certainly doesn't hold it for a satisfying conclusion. Yes, Adam Jensen wants revenge on who killed his girlfriend; yes, he wants to uncover the secret behind his boss David Sarif; yes, he wants the power to make a world-changing decision. But being able to take down to bad guys at once through an augmentation proves far more compelling, and is all the motivation players need to continue playing. The story is a little bit of a let down, but it's not bad by any means, only when compared to the rest of the game.

With so many things going on in one game, and with such a grand sense of choice allowed players,  what type of game is "Deus Ex?" It is a genre-spanner after all, not being confined as simply a shooter, action game, RPG, or adventure either. It certainly takes the best elements from games like "Metal Gear Solid," Mass Effect," and "Fallout," but becomes something that is greater than the sum of its parts. So what kind of game is "Human Revolution?" The best answer is, it's a "Deus Ex" game.