A Very Fitting & Addictive Prequel To A Great Series.
Deus Ex: HR does a great job of making itself a prequel as well as a game that is ready to play for anyone who it not familiar with the series. If you've never played the original game, you're not going to lose out on anything at all. However if you have played the game, the names, the easter eggs, etc. are all there waiting for you to make you smile and give you a bit of satisfaction in understanding certain origins. The game plays very true to the augmentation system in making it so the augments you have are believable for a story that is taking place 25 or so years before the original game. There are certain items that aren't quite available to you in this game that become part of the later game. The primary difference for those of you who have played the original is the things that are "skills" in the original Deus Ex, are actually augmentations in this game.
The story of the game is pretty well detailed and keeps you interested from start to finish. You keep wanting to know what happens next and who you really might be fighting against. It keeps you guessing all the way through, which is definitely something that is to be expected from this series. Like the original games as well, there are several side quests that you can take part in, though many of them are rather meaningless other than to gain extra experience or learn a little bit more about the allies you are involved with throughout the game. You can honestly play from start to finish without doing a single side-quest and not miss a thing. They ultimately are pointless, but they are there to add more game time.
The battle system of the game is quite similar to its predecessor with a few minor exceptions. While Deus Ex has always given you the option having stealth and taking out enemies quietly to avoid detection, this game takes it a step further in allowing you hug walls, boxes, furniture, and even stairwells, all while peaking around to take pot shots at your enemy with lethal or non-lethal force. For some this might be an annoyance more than anything, being in 3rd-person view, for others though who can master the technique it will become a dream to play this way. It's not necessary to use at all, but it is a nice new feature added to this game. As always though you have stun guns, tranquilizer darts, etc. to take down enemies without ever needing to be hugging the wall to do so. Their back being turned suffices as always.
It's hard to truly find a complaint about this game when comparing it to the original. The original game is 11 years old and even by today's standards holds up to almost anything they put out there. There's a reason why it's one of the greatest PC games of all time. Story, depth, battle system. Even the graphics at the time were top notch, and nothing better would come along for a few years. This game may not be the original Deus Ex, but it definitely comes close in how addictive it is to play and how much it keeps you begging for more.
We do need to find some complaints though, as it's only fitting to have one or two. After all is said and done, there are a couple of 'annoyances' about the game. First off, if you've played the original Deus Ex, you're well aware of Jock's Stealth Helicopter. The chopper/airship that you fly around in is much further advanced than the chopper that is being used supposedly 25 years later. Second off when it comes to 'choosing your fate' at the end of the game, the way it has you choose is absurd. To seriously stand in a room with 4 choices and to just 'pick one' is ridiculous. No last battle based on your decision, no further consequences based on your decision, just wham, bam, done. For such a great game throughout, it leaves something very lacking at the end. Perhaps that's how it had to be to keep each scenario fitting keeping it as a prequel, but one has to wonder if there's something more they could have done.
All in all, it's a damn good game and one that is definitely worth playing through more than once. If you like an FPS and if you like a semi-RPG, then this is definitely the game for you. If you're also a fan of the original games, you won't be disappointed at all.
The Good:
-Story
-Gameplay
-Weapons
-Voiceovers
-Primary Graphics
-Setup for the original game
The Bad:
-Deep background graphics
-Vehicle Technology
-Left Wanting Something More From Ending