Deus Ex: Human Revolution

one of the best cyberpunk games out there i would recommend the directors edition which features better boss fights

A hybrid of FPS, sandbox and RPG styles in this Blade Runner-esque story about augmented humans. It feels a lot less original than the first game and although there's nothing terribly wrong with it, it never feels particularly special either. A decent enough game, but the Mass Effect series does something similar and does it much better.

I feel like this is a game which when it came out in **** many people saw the appeal behind it and I got to ask myself...well why? It is a shame because I think personally if more people gave this game a chance (and its sequel) then it may become somewhat of a cult classic (like the original Deus Ex games on PC) That is not to say this game has its flaws because I do feel like it does. For me personally, my personal biggest gripe with this game was its control scheme. I dont know if it was due to me being a bit younger when I played it originally or due to me playing it on Xbox 360? But looking past that, This game has alot to offer. Gameplay itself is very clever as it gives you the option in a number of areas to either go stealthy or go in guns blazing. The latter not being the best option but a option there nether the less. It is a nice twist and the fact that is a RPG and gives you the options to tune the character to how you want to play just adds to the charm. Story/Visuals wise isn't too bad. Story is a interesting concept but I think considering how much freedom you get given to play how you want to play, I think they could of personally injected that into the story JUST A TAD bit more. But that is me being nitpicky now. In conclusion the game itself is a nice RPG. Has a lot of player choice/freedom which elevates it higher than some other games in this genre but those controls for me at least caused me to have some doubt.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

To begin I'll say that I really wanted to like this game. I was a massive fan of the original and the hype coupled with the live action advert for the game had me incredibly excited, nigh orgasmic. As such I had this game pre-ordered for months before the actual release and I was thoroughly prepared to like it. Unfortunately it is simply not a very good game. The characters are boring, eg Adam being a stereotype of every action character ever, and you never find yourself actually caring what happens to any of them. The story is really quite simple and plot twists can be seen miles off. Similarly, the graphics for the game are not up to standard and look about 3 years old and the voice acting is rather bad. A further note on the graphics is that almost everything is orange, black or green, at first glance this looks futuristic but after a while the lack of colour (along with the unimaginative level design) variety makes every other area look the same. My biggest gripe however is that this was marketed quite heavily as an open world game, when it is in reality very very linear. Similarly, it was heavily implied that the AI would be intelligent, this is simply not the case! They are mindless, they will find a body be alert for 45 seconds and then go back to moving around like nothing has happened. Similarly in combat they simply line up to be shot, there is very little use of tactics by the AI. As another reviewer said, this game tries to be all things to all men and while not totally unsuccessful it does not do any of them well. The stealth is fine but not up to the standard of Metal Gear Solid or Splinter Cell, the combat is frustrating but even at it's best it does not even come close to the standard of many other FPS games out there. The designers should have focused on making the game really good, even if it meant focusing on just combat or just stealth rather than making a mediocre mix of both. Similarly, the game can't decide whether it wants to be first or third person, this breaks immersion in the game and is remarkably annoying to use. Another issue is the whole "moral choice" aspect of the game, these choices have no effect on the game. Characters will re-act the same to you no matter how you act. Gun down half the police force and within 30 seconds the remaining police love you again. Choose a morally dubious solution to a crisis? No problem because it has no bearing on anything that happens in the game at all. Very poorly done, at least other games with similar choice systems have consequences for your actions. Rarely do I feel bored while playing a game but this game has managed it which is a shame because I was really excited to play it. I'm not saying that it's not worth playing, and there will certainly be some people who enjoy it, but I would say that it's not worth £39.99 and that it does not live up to the hype and glowing reviews that it has received from reviewers. Wait to buy it in a sale