Deus Ex: Human Revolution Reviews and Interview

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Written by WorstUsernameEver on August 24th, 2011

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Deus Ex: Human Revolution is fan-fucking-tastic. It's the sort of game you don't want to stop playing. You can talk about it with a friend, compare notes, and learn all new ways to play. That makes it a true and utterly faithful sequel to Deus Ex, perhaps more so than all the reasons I've already listed. If you've waited eleven years since the original game for a real sequel, you have no excuse. Play this game and love every second of it.

For all that it gets right, Deus Ex isn't perfect. Some of the problems, like the confusing story and ridiculous Illuminati references, are just the nature the beast. There are other problems, however, that ought to have been addressed. The game's few boss fights feel outdated and inappropriate next to the rest of the gameplay. To move from open-ended, environmental problem solving to circle strafing super soldiers with rocket launchers is a huge step backwards. Additionally, the game's economy is almost entirely unnecessary. I had tons of cash and loot in the game, but no consistent place to buy or sell equipment.

By far the biggest problems are the moments where control of my character's reactions was taken away for the sake of a story point. There's one betrayal halfway through the game that's so obvious, it's hard to imagine Jensen ever falling for it. The game had done such a great job of letting me decide who is and isn't to be trusted, that it felt wrong to force Jensen to be so obviously duped just for the sake of moving the plot along and cramming in one more big firefight. Even so, those are minor problems that never got in the way of me enjoying everything else that this game does.

Intelligent, fun, challenging and beautifully realized, DX:HR is an incredibly polished game that lives up to the impossibly high standard of its predecessor.

All things considered, Deus Ex: Human Revolution truly is a game that I feel every PC gamer out needs to own at some point. Whether at full price or at a discount, it's simply an experience that should not be missed by anyone. It's also a game that absolutely deserves to be supported, and it's an opportunity to speak with your wallet. The success of Deus Ex: Human Revolution on store shelves and digital storefronts would deliver a strong message to other developers and publishers out there that these (hardcore) games can exist, and even succeed in this generation.

No matter what you do, know this. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a fantastic game, one that nearly earned a perfect score.

Even with the outstanding issues, I'm having a hard time mustering up any overly negative words for Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Its thought-provoking plot and characters, slick action, sensible stealth system, multiple solutions for nearly every problem, and many choices for RPG-style advancement mix together in a way that tweaks the Deus Ex formula without compromising it. New players to the franchise can happily jump right in without too much worry of playing the previous game(s), although I again have to stress that this game is not intended to be played as a straight-up shooter, and the more you blast your way through each area, the less you'll get out of the game overall. For fans of the original, Human Revolution isn't exactly what you were likely looking for, but it's nearly as good, and that's much more than many hoped for when publisher Square Enix announced it years ago. Despite a few issues, this one's easily a must-have for PC gamers and DX fans, so get over to Steam and put your money down.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a triumph of open-ended gameplay, impeccable level design and the realisation of a believable, authentic universe. Its scant flaws are thrown into sharp relief by the exceptional quality of the overall experience, and Human Revolution is as good as we could possibly want from a prequel to an epic series. We have no doubt that its successor has the potential to be the best game of all time.

Oh, wait. It already is.

There is so much to like in this game that the flaws are easy to overlook. The replay value is also staggering, and playing through in an entirely different way will be like playing a different game altogether, as new story elements present themselves and fill in blanks. Although the rest of the year is stacked with major titles, Deus Ex: Human Revolution has to be in the conversation for one best games of the year. The flaws will prevent it from winning, but it still deserves the consideration.

DX:HR is a long game, with a richly layered world that rewards exploration and trial-and-error. It's rare that you'll feel hemmed in by a lack of upgrades or strategy; with enough thinking, you'll almost always find a way around a threat. This excellent design philosophy makes you want to play it over and over and see how different things wind up.

Human Revolution waves the Deus Ex flag proudly and give gamers a new milestone that's a classic in its own right.

It has its issues, but it's the world, the setting, and the story that make Human Revolution great. These aspects of the game are so solid that I happily waded through the game's low points in search of the next hackable terminal or other flavor-filled bit of dialogue or text. That stuff is so strong that, unless you're an extreme stickler for the above-mentioned problems, you'll more than likely be able to look past the game's weak points as well.

Despite the game's bugs, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is an excellent action-RPG with tons of re-playability as well as featuring a wonderfully-crafted blend of modern and classic gameplay sure to please old and young alike.

The world Deus Ex: Human Revolution portrays is wonderfully realized and fleshed out past the main storyline in sidequests and optional avenues such as e-books. It's a brilliantly imperfect vision of the future that is frightening and engrossing all at once, which makes it an apt thing to compare to the game itself. Like the world it portays, Deus Ex: Human Revolution has imperfections bought about by some very deliberate and questionable design decisions, but the overall package of what it offers is engrossing and well worth exploring anyway.

RPGSite: Most recently you took on the lead role Deus Ex: Human Revolution, prequel to Deus Ex and Deus Ex: Invisible War. Did you ever play the first two games in the series?

Elias: I played the first one back in the day. Loved it. I was a big fan of games like Wing Commander where the choices you make affect the outcome so Deus Ex was right up my alley.

RPGSite: As someone familiar with the series, did you actively seek out an audition for Human Revolution?

Elias: I didn't know what I was auditioning for! These videogame companies don't tell you anything. All I remember was a character description for an undisclosed' videogame.

(...)

RPGSite: How much freedom did you have when it came to building Adam's personality and was there a moment in the studio where you thought 'this is it, I've found Adam' or was it a more gradual thing?

Elias: Just like when I watch it now, there are days when I say "Perfect! I couldn't have done it better" and times when I wish I could just go back and re-record one sentence. It definitely took a few sessions but we hit our stride pretty quick. In terms of freedom I didn't really need any as we all agreed on who Adam is early on. We all valued each other's opinion on the subject.

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