The world of first-person shooters (FPS) has been pretty plain over the years. The player goes into them expecting the regular old shoot ‘em up style with a generic story line. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is nothing like that.
Human Revolution, however, takes place in the year 2027, approximately 25 years before the first Deus Ex game. While preparing to give a speech about human cybernetic augmentation, Doctor Megan Reed and ex-SWAT-turned-private-security-agent Adam Jensen wonder how Doctor Reed’s research will come into play in helping those who have cybernetic augmentation. However, they are abruptly attacked by unknown assailants.
The last thing player sees is a gun pointed to his face with the trigger being pulled. Six months later, Adam Jensen awakens in a reconstructed body armed with amazing cybernetic augmentations. This is where the conspiracy begins.
The first few missions of the game involve getting to know the controls and various skills you will need to be successful in the game. The game may seem like your standard FPS, but once the tutorial area is completed, the player is taken to an open world area where the player can travel around as he or she pleases. The player will also be able to complete side missions in addition to the story line missions. While optional, they offer more insight into the story of the game and its universe.
The game has role-playing elements as well. Completing main and side quests will earn the player experience. When enough experience is accumulated, the player will gain a Praxis Point which they can then use to upgrade or obtain new augmentations for use in future missions. There are also many possible interactions while talking to other characters and how the player chooses to answer questions will affect how the other characters view the player.
There is more to missions than combat. The player will need to be stealthy in order to complete objectives such as sneaking into a police station or hacking the open code to a certain door undetected. Sometimes, the player will need to be quite creative in order to complete objectives undetected. Of course, if the player wishes to, he or she can mount a full frontal assault.
Without multiplayer, the game does lose a bit of replay value, but it is made up in the idea that the game can be replayed building your character differently than how it was done the first play-through in terms of reputation. The main campaign is also long enough to keep someone entertained for quite some time.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution brings first-person shooters to a completely different level. The added stealth and role-playing aspects make this game so impressive. It is definitely something to check out.