Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Even cyborgs love bourbon.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a game with amazing ideas, but some annoying design decisions hold it back from achieving true greatness. I'm maybe 10-12 hours into the game, past Detroit and maybe halfway through Shanghai. Not far enough yet for a final judgement yet, but certianly enough to get a good idea. (Unfortunately the rest is going to have to wait until I'm done with Transformers: Fall of Cybertron.) There's a lot here that I love, but a lot holding it back as well.



First of all, I love absolutely everything about the settting, story and aesthetic. It's very, very Blade Runner, with healthy amounts of Neuromancer and even a touch of Final Fantasy oddity to give it an alien feel. The writing and voice acting are more than a couple notches above the average game, and you can see they've put a lot of effort into making a real human story. It has a lot of themes that you might call "ripped from the headlines": the wealth gap, health care, prescription drugs, corporate power. At its core, though, is the question of our increasing integration of technology into our everyday lives, and what it means to be human as we become more reliant upon that technology. It's Science Fiction as Social Commentary; the future vision, the fantastic technology are all just ways to ask fundamental questions of human existence, and to explore in a meaningful way how we want to shape our future as a people and as a species.

Sneaky-sneaky.

However, that's not to say the game isn't sometimes heavy-handed in its approach. When you're rescuing prostitutes forced to undergo augmentations to please their customers, it's pretty clear the game has abandoned any sense of ambiguity. Plus, like a scientist in a '50s monster flick, they have a tendency to over-explain plot points. Still, I have to applaud Ubisoft/Square for going for the big ideas and treating their audience as mature, thoughtful adults.

As for the gameplay, the bones of a very good stealth game are here. Specifically, those bones belong to Sam Fisher. Wall hugging, patrol routes, enemy tagging-- it's all there. This is not a bad thing! You might remember that I love me some Splinter Cell. Adding in RPG-style ability growth is actually a welcome addition, as starting with a very basic skill set is forcing me to master the basics before gaining access to the more complex moves and abilities. That said, because the game looks so much like Splinter Cell, I sometimes get frustrated when I a can't do something that Sam Fisher does five times before breakfast.

But while the bones of this game are strong, the meat is kinda gristly and sparse. The problem is that as soon as you are spotted by an enemy, the game ceases being a decent stealth game and immediately becomes a clumsy and mediocre cover shooter. At one point I was cornered behind a desk in a cubicle with only one exit. I should have died quickly as the guards stood outside and lobbed grenades at my hiding spot, but instead they blindly filed one-by-one through the doorway only to be taken down by headshots from my pistol, clearly oblivious to the rising pile of their dead coworkers.

Gunplay is meh.

Then, there are the boss fights, which are seriously some of the worst encounters I've seen in a game in years. (An opinion largely shared by the gaming community.) In a game that is ostensibly about choice, they sure have no qualms about forcing you into a shootout that would do Michael Bay proud. It's strange, because the rest of the game clearly rewards you for taking the stealthy, non-lethal route.

That said, I'm still enjoying the game immensely. Walking around the well-realized hub worlds, picking up side quests and hacking e-mail accounts is a lot of fun. I'm planning on putting a whole lot more experience points into stealth abilities to wring as much enjoyment out of the game as possible. I'm looking forward to jumping back into it...as soon as I'm done with Transformers.