Deus Ex: Human Revolution stands as one of the best games of the year, despite a few noticeable flaws.
In 2027, you play as Adam Jenson currently working at Sarif Industries as a security expert. Sarif Industries researches new augmentation technology. But after a attack at Adam Jenson's workplace leads to him being physically augmented himself, he is forced to search for answers as to why the attacked happened and who is behind it. The story is filled with much conspiracy, and takes many unexpected turns and twist. Something that helps the story is the dialog battles, which has you making quick decisions that will shape the ending and missions. The effect of this is heavy. For example, you can talk your way into a location, or you can sneak in. If you prefer to go in guns blazing, there's a option for that too.
Depending on how you play you can get anywhere from twenty hours, to a lengthy sixty out of your first playthrough. And when you finish the game, there is a extraordinary amount of replay value thanks to four endings; not to mention the many choices you may have missed out on. There are also side-quest many will miss on their first playthrough.
The graphical design is mostly stunning. The color yellow is used everywhere, but it does add to the futuristic atmosphere and is easy on the eyes. The translation from first-person to third-person is crisp, and the animations are realistic. Rendered cut-scenes look absolutely staggering and are filled with little subtle details. Nevertheless, facial animations are dated and it definitely stands out. It doesn't destroy the game but it takes away sometimes from the incredible voice acting, and the well-written script.
Overall the graphics are breathtaking, but the real treat is the attention to detail. Detroit is perfectly detailed, as well as all the other cities you visit. Gangs liter the alleys of Detroit, searching for trash in garbage cans, and become offensive over the most simplest of things. While in Shanghai, subway tunnels show off the future's transportation, and bicycles are parked everywhere. Little details are noticeable everywhere like the maximum load number in a elevator, or a simple no smoking sign on a wall. Ebooks and newspapers are found in places like apartments and emails produce a background on characters. It makes this really feel realistic and even shows a possible path the real world faces. These details also effect gameplay, and can be used as cover or distractions.
One of the most exciting things about Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the freedom of choice. If you want to play it as a cover shooter, you will find that if you take cover the camera pans to a third person view and offers a wide view of the battle. The weapons fire with weight, and the amount of weapons are vast: You can use shotguns, combat rifles, pistols, rocket launchers, grenades and more. You can also buy weapons from weapon dealers, as well as weapon upgrades. Ammo is rare, but you normally have enough to survive most firefights if you are a good shot. Augmentations offer a RPG element of the game, and allows you to upgrade your augmentations through a organized menu. You can punch through walls, lift heavier objects and strengthen your aim.
And all of these upgrades may seem combat-heavy, but the sneaking upgrades are just as vast. With sneaking you might prefer seeing through walls, turning invisible or improving your hacking skills. Sneaking feels just as fun as combat does, and feels even more opened. With sneaking you can find ways around enemies like eye-catching vents, hacking doors through a fun mini-game or you can simply knock them out.
Hand to hand combat is handled through 'takedowns'. When close to a enemy, you can preform a attack when stops time around you and plays a short cut-scene. Takedowns are satisfying but one thing makes them a disappointment. Takedowns take energy. You then have to wait a full thirty-seconds until your energy bar refills. It evens out the gameplay, but it also makes augmentations strangely confusing. You can still buy upgrades which gives you a shorter recharge time, but it still seems unnecessary. Nevertheless, takedowns are still an enjoyable way to defeat a enemy.
However, takedowns aren't the only downside to the gameplay. Boss fights are distressing, and feel forced. One of them feels drawn out, while another is annoying thanks to limited dialog that keeps repeating itself. They force you into action, so if you plan to play as a shadow you may feel underpowered entering these fights and annoyed after defeating them. Not only that, but the A.I has many issues. Sometimes they don't shoot, or they may prefer to get behind cover and shoot non-stop.
Audio is a very important aspect to a stealth game, if you prefer to play that way. Luckily, Human Revolution captures sound well. Footsteps help you decide how close a enemy is and sound also alerts you when a camera spots you. Voice acting is believable and the boldly written script makes the game feel that much more polished. Soundtrack is one of the most impressive noteworthy things in Human Revolution. Each theme makes the atmosphere and story more engrossing, and adds a large sense of emotion.
Human Revolution is held back due to dated facial impressions, hideous boss fights and poor A.I; but that's easily ignored thanks to a thrilling story, magnificent soundtrack, beautifully detailed cities and gameplay which allows choice. It isn't perfection, but you can see it from here.