Deus Ex: Human Revolution Previews

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Written by BuckGB on June 18th, 2011

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Conveniently, just as we were killed, the developer-guided demo was beginning. When we sat down and saw that they would actually be playing through the same area we'd just seen, we weren't all too excited. Within seconds, however, it was clear that while we had technically played through the same segment, we hadn't even scratched the surface of what Deus Ex: Human Revolution had to offer.

(Everything can be approached in different ways) is a promise that developers often make, but it usually means you're given two options: stealth or commando. In Deus Ex, the options are much more robust than that. When we played, we started shooting as soon as we saw the first guard. When they played, they initiated a conversation, and bribed him to turn a blind eye to his infiltration. This let Jensen wander the facility freely, as long as he didn't pass into any restricted areas.

Thankfully, my Augmentation selections were good ones. For example, getting my lungs tricked out with filters proved to be supremely important as the umpteen guards in the facility I was infiltrating were armed to the teeth with poison grenades. Additionally, my tech skills were useful time and time again, helping me circumvent sticky situations quietly, granting access to equipment rooms, and opening up valuable resources through the hacking mini-game. It became clear that every skill enhancement one chooses will genuinely impact the way Deus Ex: Human Revolution will be played going forward finding ways through scenarios while playing to your Jensen's strengths is one of the most satisfying aspects of the game.

Despite my powerful character, I found myself getting turned around and coming up against apparent dead ends. In the same way Augmentations open up new options for players, shunning others will actually limit your progression that is, until you find a clever solution. This made the DXHR demo all the more enjoyable, though I can see how impatient gamers used to linear campaign experiences (the Call of Duty series comes to mind) would be compelled to toss their controllers, blurt out expletives, or flat-out wave the white flag. On the other hand, for persistent and composed RPG enthusiasts that are also handy shooters, they'll be rewarded with a deep progression system, branching paths, an engrossing story, a powerful hero, and dozens of hours of gameplay that challenges both itchy trigger fingers and pensive noggins alike.

Conversations are handled via a convenient menu that won't feel out of place to any Mass Effect gamer. The demo started off with Jenson bribing a security guard for access to a control room before scouting out the area. He was faced with a hefty patrol group that needed some attention. He used an augmentation, ability upgrades purchased using Prax points to unlock new abilities, to increase his accuracy before taking out the patrol with a silenced sniper rifle.

Augmentations will play a huge role in the game depending on how you want to play. During the hands off demo we saw a number of abilities purchased on the fly which were imperative to the success of a given route. X-ray vision was used to spot enemy patrols in a narrow hallway, we used a sound suppressor to hide our footsteps and we needed some super human strength to move an aptly placed vending machine. Weapon upgrades, stealth upgrades and more, everything the growing boy needs to explore the vast world of Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Art Director Jonathan Jacques-Belletete was talking journalists through a mission about half way through the game that saw protagonist Adam Jensen making his way from the bottom of a massive skyscraper all the way to the top where a research lab held something Jensen needed.

With half of the game behind him, the player at this point has access to some pretty high-level augmentations, including the ability to lift heavy objects, mute his or her footsteps and fall from a great height without taking damage. All of these were used to take a stealthy approach through the mission but at every silent opportunity lay another more explosive path to take. The options subtley make themselves known to the player throughout Human Revolution.

One of my favorite parts about the first two Deus Ex games was the storyline. Conspiracies, backstabbing, secret governement agencies - it had it all. In the thirty minutes I got my hands on Human Revolution, the story just felt... kind of jumbled. I was breaking into this base because I had history with someone who flubbed a mission or was a double agent now or some bollocks, and in actuality I didn't really need to know about the story at all. I was just funneled down corridors with very, very clear choice options that were almost insulting elementary.

Example: you're in a corridor. At the end is a guard relaxing and a turret. On the left side there's a room with a computer you can hack to make the turret attack the guard. On the right side there is a ventilation shaft you can sneak down, Solid Snake style. If you don't like either of those options, you can pop around the corner and shoot both of them. See, there's plenty of choice to be had in Deus Ex - more than, say, Call of Duty - but it's laid out so as to be clearly obvious. I don't know... Were the first two titles in the series so obtuse? For being the "thinking man's RPG," it felt very "presented" to the player. Perhaps this was just to show off to people that have maybe never played the game before, and the later levels/non-demo paths will have a greater sense of discovery. We'll see. For now, however, I am unimpressed with the negligible advances the series has made.

Speaking of taking on the campaign however you want, you have that option. Although keep in mind that skipping on one mission may affect others you have down the line. If you are the explorer type, just remember that the mission you were assigned 15 minutes ago may now be completely different since you went off wandering around. Again, you have the freedom, but waiting to tackle an assignment could make it that much harder later.or easier.

The inventory system used in Deus Ex is also a bit of a game is well. You can only hold so much. The bigger the item, the more space it takes up in your inventory. Combining items helps, however, as does.yes, augmenting your inventory system.

The level design was very linear, and the game would funnel me through a series of small action sequences that showed none of the variety for which the original title is so famous for. That there is a choice between dealing with enemies lethally or humanely is not really choice when both options extend to sneaking up behind a guy and pressing the same button but for different lengths of time, or using slightly different guns that ultimately have the same effect. As far as variation in combat is concerned, only ranged weapons offered any true variety, but for the purposes of the demo at least, this variation was negated by a complete lack of areas from which to snipe enemies from. It had a feel of a corridor built outside.

As for the game's narrative, dull would be a solid choice of verb. The cut scenes were overly long, and, apparently, despite a decade to work on direction, most of them are still a case of two characters staring stoically across from one another and spouting stiff and stilted dialogue. Annoyingly I couldn't skip any of the scenes despite it being listed as an option whenever I paused the title. Whether this was a glitch or Eidos just didn't want anyone skipping their ugly as shit cinematics I couldn't tell, but either way it meant I spent ten minutes doing absolutely nothing at all but listening to people talk and occasionally running forward.

Hacking in Human Revolution is more involving than the previous titles. The hacking system is complicated to explain in writing but believe us it is a well thought-out '˜mini-game' which involves getting to the desired files before the security tracing system catches you. This can become a tense affair though don't expect anywhere the same sort of depth seen in dedicated hacking game Uplink. With the terminal hacked and the bridge moved Adam could climb up to the walkway to get across. Unfortunately taking the higher path meant there was an inhumanly drop to get back down again. Lucky for the developer then that Adam is heavily augmented.

Augmentations in Human Revolution are a lot more accessible and varied than Invisible War. Split into four areas - combat, stealth, hacking and social augments can be bought and upgraded using '˜Praxis Points'. Everyone will be familiar of experience points (XP) by now these are gained by performing stealthy takedowns or completing objectives, for example. Once Adam has collected a certain amount of XP the player will receive a Praxis Point, which can then be spent on the augments. In this deep fall situation Adam can make use of a body augment that allows him to drop down and not agonisingly break both his legs. This drop was done in a third-person mini cut-scene, but the third-person view is actually more widely used for being stealthy, as Adam can move about cover Metal Gear Solid style.

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