One of the things that I love about DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION is that it's not satisfied with giving you a simple "go here and get this mission." It sets you up with what you have to do, but then it wishes you good luck and leaves you to your options. Do you want to go in with guns blazing? Sneak in from the rooftop and catch everyone by surprise? How about the sewers? There might be a secret entrance down there. Walking in through the front door's another option, but the reception might not be so welcoming. Talking your way inside might help matters, as well.
These are just some of the decisions that you'll be faced with during one mission out of many. And there are many. And each decision is not some throwaway thing; they'll have consequences, some good and some unfortunate. In a sense, this game's about digging your own grave, and whether or not you lie in it or chuck someone else down there in your stead.
The game follows Adam Jensen, the chief of security for a multi-billion dollar corporation that specializes in making artificial limbs and enhancements (called "augments") for the world at large. After an attack by cyborg terrorists, Jensen is left for dead, but his employers decide to make him the near-future equivalent of the Six Million Dollar Man. It's back to work as usual, though over the course of the story, details concerning a conspiracy arise, leading Jensen to try his hand all sorts of things (player's choice) including corporate espionage to find the truth.
His quest will send him running across two major quest hubs, Detroit and Shanghai (and several minor hubs, but they'd probably spoil things), and both are very well realized. They're huge, detailed, and allow for a more-than-decent amount of exploration. They're also completely gorgeous and immersive.
Without having played the original DEUS EX, the only game I can really compare DE:HR to is Obsidian's ALPHA PROTOCOL, with its emphasis on choice and a very dynamic storyline. Unlike the MASS EFFECT series, the entire story will play out very differently depending on your choices, some of them as inconsequential as just talking to someone. I was surprised by how many things came back around to bite me, and all but forced me to treat every decision seriously. Because of this, entire sidequests opened and closed, and there were many parts of the game that I never even saw (not for lack of trying). DE:HR absolutely demands to be played more than once.
And this is something that it can hold over ALPHA PROTOCOL (though I do love that game), it's very fun to play. Combat is as dynamic as you want it to be. Lethal, non-lethal, melee, stealth, and you can even hack turrets and robots to do the fighting for you. There are very few times when your preferred method of combat (or pacifism) will not be accommodated. It would be difficult, but I'd wager that there's a way to get through the game (excluding the boss fights) without even firing your weapon. (Probably wrong on that, but still, I'd still take that bet.)
However, I do have one major criticism: the boss fights. Yes, there are actual boss fights in this game, which was completely shocking. And it's not like the FALLOUT series, where you can usually talk your way out of them or use your skills to get around them somehow. Nope, you'll be tossing aside whatever role-playing strategies you've been adhering to so you can gun down some bosses. I wouldn't be so opposed to them if they actually had some character (even the receptionist at the police station had more depth than these guys), but they're just a band of stereotypical brutes. Which is so odd, because the rest of the game is most definitely not cliche. They just stick out very plainly in comparison to the rest of the game. (Especially to those who chose to augment into stealth and hacking!)
I have other criticisms like the handful of NPC animations and iffy lip-synching. It reminds me of ALAN WAKE, a game with so much dialogue and poor lip-synching. Thankfully, they don't get in the way of the overall experience; after a bit, I didn't even notice them. In between the amazing story and worldbuilding, the combat (the sneaking, in my case), and the stop-and-think decisions, animations were the last thing on my mind. Though, it would be nice if those were fixed in future games.
Basically, this is the game that western RPG enthusiasts have been waiting for. MASS EFFECT and FALLOUT fans will definitely find something to like here - since it's sort of a happy medium - with its emphasis on role-playing as much as possible, in as many ways as you can think of. It's not only a great RPG, but it's also a worthy meditation on the future of human "advancement." There's just a lot going on here!
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