Deus Ex: Human Revolution. People have been waiting years for this game, pondering what riches it would hold, how good it would be and most importantly how “Deus Ex Like” it would be. I was not one of those people. Don’t get me wrong I have been following the game’s development for a while now but I haven’t played the previous games and I wasn’t too fussed on the idea behind them. Then I played Human Revolution.

Not only did I play it but I literally couldn’t tear myself away from the screen to go to bed, or do any other important tasks. The story is very engaging and depicts the tale of humanities struggle with augmentations (mechanical/electrical implants into the human body) with big name corporations and rich business types being able to afford fancy upgrades where the lower class struggle to pay for the drugs needed to keep the augmentations from being rejected from the body. This results in gangs of “Purists” and terrorists where it is a fine line whether what they are doing is right or wrong. This actually makes you think about what side you would be on and properly engages you in the story. The game itself is story driven but with plenty of optional side quests to help you on your way in each of the city hubs.

What about the gameplay? the graphics? This game has been in development for so long surely the graphics would be dated. Not at all. The world has a unique futuristic setting that fits perfectly with the story. It also looks AMAZING.

The gameplay is focused on you being able to tackle situations in a multitude of different ways. For example, you can just do a frontal assault guns blazing. You can sneak around evading patrols and hacking doors/cameras or you can find an alternative entrance in and slowly pick off each patrol one by one. It is simply great fun and very rewarding. The feeling you get when you successfully sneak around 2 patrols, assassinate a target and then escape undetected is surprising. You also in a sense “level up” where you gain a point to put in a large tree of abilities. There is also an inventory where you keep your guns, ammunition and other items. This means you have to take weapons specific to what you want to achieve, rather than having every weapon at your disposal at all times.

Hacking is also a large part of the game. It involves a minigame where you try to reach a certain terminal before the computer shuts you out (I am really sorry for writing this but trust me it’s really hard to explain) The point is the hacking is done very well and while requires skill is not too difficult. Along with hacking there is achieving your goals through social means, were you can convince people to aid you or reveal secrets.

It is a fantastic game but not perfect. I actually found the game very difficult if going by conventional shooter means. While it is possible to do so the game feels definitely geared to sneaking around more than straight up combat. I didn’t mind this so much but think that it almost rules out one of the different “paths” I mentioned earlier. It also leads me on to my next point.

My biggest gripe though (and it is a biggy) are the boss fights. Why oh why did you have to include these into you’re game. I built Jenson into a sneaky assassin. Slowly taking targets out 1 by 1 with a silenced pistol and some insane hacking knowledge. So when I get to a boss fight where all I can do is shoot at him one on one it really is a struggle. It seems bizarre when you are encouraged to sneak around to throw in unavoidable parts of the game where you need to have upgraded your combat to have any success.

But you can get past this. You can soak in the amazing atmosphere and dialogue, enjoy the sneaking and the feeling you get when you succeed. Just be aware of putting at least some points in combat. Just to note, I have the PC version. For me this game gets –

Rating: A