Deus Ex: Human Revolution Review – Or: The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades

Yell! Magazine’s review of Deus Ex: Human Revolution:

As the 2011 gaming year starts to wrap up, a sizable wave of four-star releases is about to wash over us. Zombies will shuffle across the shuffleboard in Dead Island, Nathan Drake’s third anticipated outing will occur in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, Batman returns for another go at his arch-nemesis the Joker in Arkham City and ID releases their latest blockbuster in October with Rage. Overall, it’s a great time to be a fan of video games. The long summer months saw few major releases, but the drought is reaching its end.

Before we rejoin the adventures of Marcus Fenix and Nathan Drake, we must first delve back into the world of an old favorite. The eagerly anticipated and long-awaited Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the first product out of the gates and the first to deserve an onslaught of accolades for the triple-threat of story, gameplay and production values. Oh yes, prepare yourselves, my faithful cybernetic, bio-organic and biodegradable readers, this will be a review filled with much praise and very little complaints. Brace yourselves, I’m about to gush like a red-cheeked schoolgirl experiencing her first crush. SQUEEEEAL!

This is Yell! Magazine’s review of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, available for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. For review purposes, the PS3 version was used, along with some highly illegal body modifications, invasive circuitry, a Diet Pepsi, and a Kit-Kat. What? I get the munchies in between bouts of hacking and terrorist perforating.

Screw this guy! He’s just another look-alike phony! Goes by the name Voltaire.

The Story

Taking place 25 years before the events of the original, Deus Ex, Human Revolution opens on a world in crisis. Nanotechnology, previously stuck firmly in the realm of science fiction, is now reality. Furthermore, human augmentation is now available on the open market to anybody willing to have a bunch of wires and circuits shoved up their naughty bits. Heck, that’s just a pleasant Saturday evening for yours truly. Unfortunately for the conglomerates manufacturing these scientific breakthroughs, there’s an intense backlash from pro-human advocates and the streets of major cities soon degenerate into open warfare between security forces and these activists.

Personally, I had trouble sympathizing with their goals. Human augmentation, as presented in Deus Ex, seems more beneficial than harmful. For example, Human Revolution’s main protagonist, Adam Jensen, is catastrophically injured during the game’s opening moments, his survival is only possible because of the millions of dollars worth of tech installed throughout his body. There are other examples of people’s lives being saved or made better. Yes, the technology can be corrupted and made dangerous, several villains pull firearms out of their various orifices and nano-terrorists are prevalent, but overall the pro-human groups’ position never pulled at my heartstrings. Whether you agree with them or not, it’s telling that Human Revolution’s story actually kick starts such philosophical discussions.

In any case, Human Revolution ditches the Denton clan of previous games and places you in the shoes of the aforementioned Jensen, a security officer for Sarif Industries, who seems addicted to wearing dark sunglasses, regardless of time of day.

Who knew that Timbuk3 song was so prophetic?

Following a vicious attack on his home turf, Jensen must unravel the web of lies and deceit surrounding a worldwide conspiracy, which will lead him to several different locations, including Montreal, Detroit, and Shanghai. The Montreal setting is a nice nod to developer Eidos Montreal. To say that Human Revolution’s plot is intricate is like pointing out that a dictionary is full of words. In keeping with the tone of the previous games in the series, Revolution’s story features underground groups, fictitious secret organizations, references to the Illuminati, Area 51… it manages to hit pretty much all of the paranoid conspiracy theories. Whether you find this intriguing or silly is up to you. I manage to muddle through life daily without the use of a tin foil hat so most of the game’s plot, while well-written, made me snicker more often than not. Still, the story is told with an earnestness that is pleasing.

Delving deeper in the game’s story would require me to reveal more spoilers than I’m comfortable with. Suffice it to say, the 10-15 hours you’ll get out of Human Revolution’s main story are worthwhile. While task repetition does set in fairly early on, you’ll always be moving the plot forward.

Read about the gameplay, graphics, and the verdict for Deus Ex: Human Revolution after the jump…

M for Mature:

Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol

Yell! Rating (x/5 Skulls):

[rating:4]

Published by:

Square Enix

Developed by:

Eidos Studios – Montreal

Year Released:

August 23, 2011

Also Available On:

PC, Xbox 360

Genre:

First-Person Shooter

Official URL:

Deus Ex: Human Revolution