|
Steve Tudor
United Kingdom
Malvern
Worcestershire
-
How do you remake a classic? With fast advances in gaming technology a remake to take advantage of shinier graphics or better AI is tempting. The original Deus Ex is considered a classic in video gaming. It’s an intelligent game that allowed the player many choices and cleverly bridged the genres of RPG, first person shooter and stealth game. Deus Ex Human Revolution is as much of a modern remake as it is the prequel it claims to be and the good news is that fans of the original Deus Ex will be more that happy.
"Hi, I'm Adam Jensen and because of my supercool cyborg sunglasses I think I can get away with a naff Clint Eastwood impersonation."
In Human Revolution you take the role of Adam Jensen, a security officer for a biotech company who has been kitted out with a variety of cyborg like enhancements, known as augmentations. Your goal is to discover why your company was attacked and delve into the shadowy world of corporate espionage, government conspiracy and the ethics of human augmentation. It’s this ethical dilemma that makes up the emotional core of the game. Much of the plot is based around various groups acting for or against human augmentation and many of the characters you meet in the game will respond to Adam obvious robotic accessories.
The game predominantly takes place in a first person view as you control Adam’s movements through city streets, factories, offices and military facilities. The game has a sneak / cover mechanic that allows you to hide behind walls, crates and furniture, at which point the view turns to a third person view to give a better perspective of Adam’s surroundings. The game also cuts to third person if you conduct a take down move; sneak up on an opponent and you can use Adam’s robotic arms to sock them out cold or stab them into a perforated pulp.
The gameplay of Human Revolution is all about freedom of choice. Every objective has multiple methods to complete, multiple routes to the end. Do you kill that card or knock him out? Do you run in through the front door, all guns blazing or sneak in through a 2nd storey window? Do you hack the door lock or blow it up with explosives? A good example of this is the mission that requires you to investigate a body in the morgue of the Detroit police station. You could just fight your way to the morgue but that will bring down the wrath of the entire Detroit police department. You could sneak in via an unguarded side entrance or hack your way in through the back, but if you get caught on CCTV that aforementioned wrath will be upon you again. Or you could sweet talk the officer sitting on the front desk to just let you in, saving yourself ammo and stress. At every point in the game you get the options to play it as you want. Every point that is, except one; boss fights.
A number of boss fights are scattered through the game and these stick out like a clown at a funeral. Each boss is a heavily augmented super soldier much like yourself and you’ll have to take them down using destructive weaponry. This isn’t an issue if you’ve been playing as a gun-totting bad ass, but if you’ve been playing as a merciful ninja; silently creeping through the levels and quietly knocking out guards you’ll find yourself woefully unprepared for these fights. The game does throw you a bone by littering the area with offensive weapons but the whole style of these sections seems to go completely against the spirit of the rest of the game.
The RPG aspects of the game may be considered a little light to those who enjoy giant sprawling games like the Elder Scrolls or Baldur’s gates series but has enough upgrade options to make it just as much of an RPG as Mass Effect. You upgrade Adam via Praxis Points that are mostly unlocked through experience points but can also be bought for cash. There is a wealth of options available including computer hacking, body armour and invisibility and many of the augments are multileveled. A particular favourite is the Icarus landing system that allows Adam to jump from any height and land safely in an aura of yellow lightning. There is also a simple conversation mechanic that is handled extremely well, in most conversation you only run through the conversation options once. Say the wrong thing and you can offend who you’re talking to hindering your progress.
The Praxis Upgrade system; do I go for the Icarus Landing System or the build in alarm clock?
Human Revolution is a good looking game, it’s not as jaw droppingly beautiful as some other games but the graphics are nice enough to do the world justice. Where the game graphically succeeds is the stylishness of the world. The game is predominantly yellow and black giving everything a very distinctive feel. There is also a high level of incidental detail that makes it feel like a lived in world. One remarkable instance is a night club in Shanghai that has a massive video display on its walls.
The mean streets of Detroit are tinged in yellow.
The sound in Human Revolution is of particular note. Musically the soundtrack can feel a little too much like Mass Effects at times but it helps to evoke the high tech near future world you inhabit. The voice acting is acceptable with the exception of Adam Jensen’s Clint Eastwood impersonation which quickly becomes annoying. You will want to make sure your Xbox is hooked up to a good surround sound especially if you are taking the stealthy route as the 3D sound is of particular good quality. It’s also for this reason that you may want to install this game on your Xbox hard drive, there’s nothing worse than trying to quietly sneak round a guard but you can’t hear the 2nd guard behind you because of the ungodly noise the Xbox disk drive is making.
Human Revolution is an intelligent game that treats the player as intelligent. It likes you to make your own choices and you’ll be rewarded no matter the choice you make. It’s also a game that plays fair, when you make a mistake you know it’s your fault and you can’t blame this on the game. The only exception is the out of place boss fights that add a slight tarnish to an otherwise highly polished game.
-
|
|
Posted Fri Jan 20, 2012 1:14 pm