Deus Ex Human Revolution Preview
Eidos’ Deus Ex was an amazingly
innovative experience, one of the first titles to attempt providing multiple
solutions to a given problem. It took this core design feature and applied it
to a world-spanning, conspiracy-laden near-future dripping with character and
lore. Its sequel, Invisible War, was less than stellar,
with a great amount of simplification crippling the complexity of problems and
storyline. All was thought lost, until a light appeared upon the dawn in the
form of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. A prequel that
explores the beginnings of how human augmentation began, HR
is gunning for a total quality reboot and a return to its grittier and complex
roots.The story of Deus Ex: HR
takes place in 2027, a time when human/machine integrations were just being
introduced to the world at large. The player takes control of Adam Jensen,
chief of security at Sarif Industries, a company at the forefront of human
augmentations. During a tour of the facility, Adam is severely injured during
an attack and is forced to undergo augmentation to save his life. Initial
modifications include a cranial implant that allows him to identify points of
interest, as well as other mods that raise his performance to superhuman
dimensions. Other footage has revealed metal rods that emerge to stealth-kill
enemies, as well as a bomb-ejector system that emits small mines that detonate
in a circle around Adam, clearing the room of enemies. These mods and upgrades
are unlocked, or found as the game proceeds, allowing the player to customize
Adam as they see fit. As he is now built for performance as well as comfort,
Sarif Industries recruits him again to find out the identities of the
attackers; the journey will pass by several famous cities, like Detroit,
Shanghai and Montreal as well as culminating in the UNATCO of the original
game.
The core of the game revolves around the
transcendental aspects of augmentation, recalling the initial autopsies of the
renaissance era; this is emphasized by the similar clothing and architectural
styles used by those embracing the changes. However, those that protest
augmentations are dressed in a more contemporary style and represent a wish to
maintain the status quo.Deus Ex: Human Revolution
has had a variety of teaser material released, including several incarnations
of trailers, developer interviews and even a few playthoughs emphasizing the
multiple possibilities to resolve situations, such as the first level and a
more advanced mission in which the player must ascertain the location of a hostage
and proceed to implement his rescue. From a first glance, it appears that the
majority of the problems identified from Invisible War
have been reverted, including a full grid-based inventory system, multiple
ammunition types and much more interactivity with the environment. Computer
hacking has become a full-fledged endeavor, with computer terminals linking the
player with a grid of nodes that have to be unlocked in sequence to utilize
particular end-nodes that provide benefits, be it security control or background
info (i.e. logs, emails or notes).
Weapons can be modified or upgraded, with obvious
visual changes to reflect it. However, the removal of medkits from the game in
favor of a faster regeneration system reflects a desire of the developers to accommodate
more recent popular mechanics and to prevent having to search the level for
healing items. Despite this, there
are still healing items that can be used in a pinch. Enemies are guided by a
squad system in which the leader controls the movements of the team; if he is
incapacitated, the team becomes much less efficient at finding you. Other enemy
innovations include the ability to change demeanor depending on player actions.
Deus Ex: HR appears to be taking the series back to
its roots with a greatly expanded interface as well as putting importance on
manipulation of the environment to find new solutions to problems. The combat
has had a variety of improvements, such as a cover system and third person view
in some situations. The graphics are vastly improved, and once again the Deus
Ex series features what appears to be another epic story besotted with
conspiracy and world-changing technology.
Developed by Eidos Montreal in cooperation with Nixxes Software and
published by Square Enix, Deus Ex: Human Revolution
will be released August 23, 2011 on PC, Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360. With
the obviously high amount of production standards available, DE: HR
may shape up to be a venerable and proper successor to the original Deus Ex.
