GB Feature: E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy Review
-
Category: News ArchiveHits: 1769
In another nod to Deus Ex, at several points throughout the story missions, you'll be called upon to choose your own objectives, in order to play to your character's strengths. If you've specialised in hacking, then you may well be able to use that ability to accomplish a mission accordingly. If you want to go for a frontal assault, you can simply kick down the doors and blow the head off of a bandit leader, while if you're the type to specialise in subterfuge, you can infiltrate them and run errands in order to gain access with the commander. These decisions are much appreciated, and add a degree of replayability, as well as chaos when you inevitably screw something up. Not all paths are created equally, either, so this game of Russian Roulette works both ways. The only real unfortunate thing here is that there simply isn't enough of it.
Despite the heavy RPG focus of the design, much of the game is spent in combat, whether that's dropping foes with assault rifles, sniping from a distance, cutting them up with swords, popping headshots with pistols, or mowing them down with miniguns. The selection of weapons is wide, and they're all varied well in terms of feel and effectiveness. Equipment is balanced by weight, with a grid-based inventory ensuring that you can only take as much as you can hold on you, and traveling light will carry the benefit of increased movement speed, something that shouldn't be taken for granted in chaotic firefights or while running from hordes of enemies. The equipment system is one major strength of the game, and it goes a long way to making different play-styles feel unique. The uniqueness of one's play-style is reinforced by stats, which factor into combat. Accuracy determines ranged damage bonuses and armour penetration, for instance, while Strength and Agility affect melee damage and attack speed. While more stats geared directly towards combat or certain types of weapons would have been nice, what's here is functional, and balanced by a wider selection of mobility and non-combat skills.
