I remember the week this game came out in the Philippine market. As soon as I got word that Deus Ex: Human Revolution was out, I hurriedly dashed to my local videogame store to grab me copy of it. It was 12 pm lunchtime when I reached the store only to find out (to my horror) that the game was SOLD OUT. SOLD OUT THAT EFFIN FAST! I had mixed emotions, like getting free tickets to a Jamiroquai concert in Tokyo; I was stuck in the middle. It was a week after that I got my own copy, tore the box, and installed it. Moreover, I have been playing it ever since. DX is a solid game that is one for the books (more on that later.) and I could not believe how complex, compelling, and addictive it is. I wanted to share my joy with somebody, someone close and dear to me. Therefore, I went ahead and grabbed my wife, (gently and with so much love.) convinced her take a seat at my surprisingly uncomfortable gaming chair and taught her how to play Deus Ex: human Revolution.
This is the retelling of the days that followed:
DAY 1:
The first day I taught my wife to play the game was like the time I taught her how to drive my car. After telling her that the controls are like the ones from Counterstrike, (Yes she’s familiar with the game, that’s why I married her.) she took her sweet time just walking around looking at every detail of the virtual world, admiring the realism of every single thing, even took her time looking at the enemies up close; she died every time. Seventh time’s the charm as she managed to “infiltrate” the first stage warehouse; she took her sweet time just walking around looking at every detail of the virtual world… yet again. By the time we reached the first cluster of enemies in the augmentation pit, she already exhausted all her ammo and only carried a solitary concussion grenade. She kept on dying countless of times, screaming, and pointing at the anti augmentation purists that kept on killing her at every turn. After a failed attempt to throw the grenade and dash for the door, we stopped for the day.
DX is a cyber-punk inspired action RPG that puts you in the not so distant future where the technology to meld man and machine has been developed and only lately, claimed to be perfected. The Hero of the game is a cool looking, sultry voiced, ex-SWAT turned corporate security officer by the name of ADAM JENSEN.
DX is about you roaming around the different cities, trying to discover the truth behind the attack that happened at SARIF headquarters (The Company you work for.) at the beginning of the game. A deep lore embodies the game, loosely based on technology already available today (Artificial Intelligence, motorized prosthetics, and smart weapons.) and technology soon to come. (DARPA’s the Six million-dollar Man, The Future Soldier project, and Human augmentations.) A futuristic detective story, Deus EX: Human Revolution will take you on a rollercoaster ride towards the salvation of the human race. A quest to discover the truth, finding redemption along the way, this game will leave you breathless and wanting more.
DAY 2, 3, 4, AND 5:
Days pass by, my wife started to look like a pro gamer. Hiding behind walls and pulling off headshots, her game style is more of an aggressive run and gun tactic wielding the combat rifle effectively. (Upgraded with auto-tracking of course.) Still unfamiliar with the more advance concepts of the game, (like turning invisible and stealth killing two enemies at once.) she seems to be enjoying reading the eBooks scattered all over the world more than the actual combat of the game. Five days have passed and we are still in Detroit city. At least we get EXP from reading… moving on.
GAMEPLAY:
The developers want the players to play the game the way they want to play it. The key strategy to playing this game is simply to EXPLORE the world. Containing the spirit of the first Deus EX game, DX lets you walk into a mood-inducing world, mixing almost all the gaming genres to come up with a solid product.
FIRST AND THIRD PERSON SHOOTER:
The guns are actually the stars of the game. Adams arsenal is an armory’s worth of weapons, smartly tucked under his stylish cybernetic arms. Your firepower ranges from your everyday 10mm pistol, double barrel shotgun, and combat rifle to the hardcore futuristic weapons like your plasma rifle, a gigantic shoulder carried Beam gun, to the dread TYPHOON weapons system that hurls dozens of explosive ballistic balls in a 360-degree arc. A note-worthy game concept is the fluid transition of first person shooter gunning down enemies and shooting down giant mechs and such, to third person hiding behind crates, turning invisible to initiate a stealth takedown.
RPG:
An open world environment that lets you manipulate everything. From the sixty-inch HD screen on the wall, to security consoles by the doors and desktops, even when you go into a restroom flush the toilet or turning the water on the sink. Killing enemies yield tons of loot, from valuable ammo, to pocket secretaries that contain passwords to unlock devices, and of course money in the form of credits. Buy and sell items you do not want. Skills come in the form of AUGMENTATIONS, each having unique and handy uses turning Adam Jensen into a build specific character however the player imagines him to be. Be a bullet absorbing behemoth carrying heavy weapons and firing them without recoil. Or perhaps become a futuristic ninja that jump over fences, turn invisible taking down enemies with the use of hidden blades that ejects from Adam’s elbows. If combat is not your thing, become a “technomancer” hacking terminals with ease gaining control of turrets, cameras, or heavy-duty mechs dealing damage in your defense. Also scattered throughout the game are upgrade for weapons that makes them deal massive damage, bullets that explode on impact, or learning to bend the bullet with the auto tracker upgrade. Play the game like how you want to play it.
INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING:
Utilized by games like MASS EFFECT, DRAGON AGE, FALLOUT 3, and METAL GEAR PEACEWALKER, The decisions you make, how you talk to certain NPC’s affect how your story progresses. AUGMENTATIONS that affect this gaming concept let’s you make informed decisions that will produce optimal results that drive the storytelling thus the game forward. Tailoring the game experience to have you react to these NPC’s is one of DX’s highlights that compel gamers to play the game multiple times.
STORYLINE:
What sets DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION from all the games in the market today that catapults the game to top tier is the award winning storyline worthy of turning it into a movie.
The game is set in the year 2027. A dark dystopian future where corporations are more powerful than the government and cloak and dagger ops happen on a daily basis, You stand among the people who are about to usher in a renaissance for that age. A rapid grafting of technology on contemporary culture that screams cyber-renaissance that at the beginning makes everybody excited. Then an attack was done on SARIF HEADQUARTERS that ends with you dead and the top scientists kidnapped.
Then you wake up…
Everyone looks at you as if you are an abomination, but you feel different; you actually like it. From here on you run the gauntlet in search of answers that leads you from country to country, ultimately leaving you at the top of the world at the brink of revolution or extinction. How it plays out is completely up to you.
DAY X: Conclusion
After being slaughtered repeatedly by the first boss, my wife finally gave up and carried on with her life. As for me, this is my second play through on hard difficulty as I am writing this article. I am still captivated by the game. DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION is a relevant game whose gem is in the fact that it’s relevant to you, the kind of energy it emanates from the statements the game makes are borderline philosophical. I guess that is why my wife played it for as long as she did, it captured her imagination and made her question her own beliefs. Seldom do games pull off what DX has pulled off for all three games. A complex game that can reach many people, DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION deserves to be game of the year. If not, well at least the DLC is coming out soon.
DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION QUOTABLE QUOTES:
"It's not the end of the world, but you can see it from here" -Eliza Cassan
"Oh by the way, Jensen, I know you have gone through a lot of physical changes of late, but you didn’t become a woman, stay out of the ladies restroom.” –Prichard.
“Tell them Barret sent you.” – Barret
“I’m sorry Adam, I truly am.” -Eliza Cassan
“If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” -Adam Jensen
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