Deus Ex: Human Revolution Previews

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Written by Brother None on February 22nd, 2011

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Human Revolution plays out in first person, but you swap to third person whenever you get cover. (Few FPS games transition to third-person for actual shooting segments, but this one does it very smoothly.) It seems like cover isn't as heavily leaned on as a crutch for combat here, which is nice for those who got sick of having to stick to low walls so often in Mass Effect or Gears of War. From what I've played, I think you could go with weapon and augmentation choices that would allow you to use very little cover at all.

Now that I have control over Jensen, I can take in Human Revolution's gorgeous graphics. I'm not talking in terms of sheer polygons, although it has plenty of those. If anything, Human Revolution looks so good because of the liveliness in the environment, the NPCs interacting with each other, their surroundings, and you. Human Revolution's baroque visual style also marks the first time I've benefited from the art history background I got in school.

The AI is a concern. Though this concern is off-set by the fact that the code is still early, it remains. well, a concern. (The fact that the enemies were lining up in a single file to be shot didn't really didn't impress. having said that, it's not like either of the previous Deus Ex titles have gone down in history as having the best AI (in fact, we'd go so far as to say it was '˜a bit shit' on the original game). But we're remaining positive on this factor, as the rest of the game impressed us so much.)

The lab is under attack and the only option is a firefight. Well, you can slip past enemies, but stealth is limited while the game explains the controls through a series of tutorial videos. Deus Ex: Human Revolution started with the cover system, which pops the camera out so you can see Adam. Press L1 next to an object and Adam will use it for cover. On screen prompts inform players you can roll to the next cover point by tapping the X button and pressing a direction to move. Hold X and move the analog stick to make Adam walk around a corner while staying under cover. It's possible to pick up boxes and use them as makeshift cover points, but that was unnecessary in this area. Lab benches make great hiding spots. Using the boxes as a distraction was more amusing. Throw a box and enemies will inspect it giving you a chance to surprise them with bullets by holding down the R1 button. If you want to stay in cover you have to hold the L1 button down too. The screen's contrast shifts to red when you get hit, but Adam still has auto-regenerative health even though he isn't augmented.

There's an easter-egg surrounding Sarif's private elevator for Deus Ex fans, but I won't spoil it here.Once Jensen hops onto the elevator towards the alert, he draws his assault rifle and it becomes evident that it's about to hit the fan.As you run through the labs of Sarif, it's evident that an attack is tacking place and it's an attack that Jensen is surely underpowered for, but seeing as how Megan is no where to be found, he has no choice but to press on. Since Jensen has yet to gain any form of augmentations, the mechanics in this opening tutorial focus on the most basic actions in the game such as combat, stealth, and cover. Default controls feel fairly comfortable, with the left trigger initiating cover which in turn will cause the camera to zoom-out temporarily turning the game in a 3rd-person shooter. You can blind-fire, or pop out to take more accurate shots. It becomes evident that cover will be a life-saving aspect of the game, even with regenerating health, as even on the Casual difficulty, Jensen went down pretty quickly. Once Jensen turns a corner, an unknown augmented soldier who makes quick work of Jensen, turning him into a bloody carcass, grabs him. Jensen looks up in time to see Megan get knocked out and whisked about by the group of super-soldiers.

The next part is more of a tutorial as you will learn to crouch, take cover, pick up objects, sprint and of course how to shoot. The tutorials pop up and show you in video form how to complete each movement. Now this whole section leading up to the opening credits you are incorporating all you have learned as you make your way to your human demise. But I must warn you this isn't as easy as it sounds as you will die and you will die a lot. Crouching, sprinting and picking up objects and using things in the environment are easily done, but the cover system left me wanting just a little more from it. The enemies you face are smart and the cover system felt like I was uncovered more at times than I was taking cover and cover is what you will rely on in this game. The shooting is what you would expect from any great first person shooter, but cover was what I relied on as I progressed because even the health system relied on cover as you regenerate health through time and of course staying away from the flying bullets. This is not to say you will be taking cover the whole time as you make your way to the opening credits, but cover is essential.

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