65| Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Released: August 23rd, 2011

Definitive Version: PC (Windows & OSX); Also on: Wii U, PS3, and Xbox 360

It was understandable to be worried about Deus Ex: Human Revolution when it was first announced. For starters the Deus Ex series didn't really have the best track record for sequels. The second entry was praised by critics, but panned by fans. There was then the first person shooter Project Snowblind which was in a way a spiritual sequel to the game that was merely an average game and hardly had any RPG elements. Another factor is that since Western role playing games made it big on consoles with The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, they began to cater to the mass market. The result were games that gutted the role playing elements for things that appealed more to the casual consumer such as large open worlds and action oriented combat. However, once the game was released all fears subsided as the result was one of the best role playing games of the generation.

The game takes place in the not so distant future Human augmentation is the hot new industry as it involves turning average joes into the Six Million Dollar Man. Clearly this power is too much for one person to have as it seems that multiple organizations want a piece of the pie. The proceeding story plays out in a very complex and messy manner you would expect form these types of science fiction video games. In all honesty, the plot is probably the worst part of the game as it is a bit difficult to follow. However, strangely enough it still manages to keep the player engaged in the story due to the game having well directed interactive cutscenes ala Metro 2033 and Half-Life 2, though it is not quite as good as those games.

The game plays exactly like Deus Ex. It controls like a first person shooter, but the player has the ability to augment their body for super speed, super strength, high intelligence, and other features. As one travels through the map they will be able to talk and interact with others. A dialogued box pops up that gives the player choice in what to say. Depending on what choice they pick results in a different response from each individual. Sometimes the difference in responses don't really make a difference, other times certain responses will result in interesting scenarios or will even result in new objectives being available. It is the bare bones basic of a Western role playing game. But what makes the game quality entry in the genre boils down to two things. The first is that your choices have weight to them. Throughout the game the player will come across multiple choices that have potential to change the story itself quite significantly. These choices also aren't as obvious as something that pops into a text box, as at times they are also incorporated into real-time gameplay. The other reason is just how well done the game's non-RPG elements are. Unlike many WRPGs with action backdrops where the action is mediocre at best, such as say Alpha Protocol, the gunplay and stealth in Deus Ex: Human Revolution is very well done. Sure the gunplay isn't Crysis and the stealth isn't Metal Gear Solid, but it is all still very enjoyable. The feedback from shooting enemies has a certain "omph" to it and many areas of the game are actually designed with sneaking around in mind.It really raises the bar for the genre.

Again, the story is nothing special. However, one unique aspect of it is that it gives the game an excuse to have the player move to different areas. The game starts off in Montreal, then moves to Detroit, then moves to China, and concludes in Singapore. To be fair almost all of the game takes place in Detroit and China, however the maps in these areas are so well done it doesn't leave much to complain about. While the maps aren't huge they are very well designed and encourage the player to explore to find extra side-quests and loot. They are multi-layered as there are things to discover on the ground floor, on the high rises, and even down in the sewers. It seems that half of the game was spent walking around town seeing what interesting things there were to find.

In short, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a proper sequel to the classic original game. It updates the controls and combat, while keeping the role playing elements intact. While many well respected RPG series were bastardized by modern entires, Deus Ex: Human Revolution managed to walk a different path.