Okay, I wrote this like last September but never posted it for some reason. So it’s behind the times, but I decided to post it anyway because my good man mister nine tenths shavin powda is playing through it. Still relevant!
Man it’s been like… FOREVER since the first one came out. “In the year two-thousaaaaand!”
I’m not going to get like, super deep into this game because as mainstream as it is, someone else has already said it, and probably said it way better than I could.
But let’s talk about what makes this cool: choices! An excellent example of the kind of options this game offers the player is when you need to examine some evidence being held within the Police Station. Being a former cop yourself, you may walk through the front door and use your conversational skills to persuade them to simply let you through. I tried this, but since I hadn’t purchased the SexyTalker upgrade, I totally got shot down. Okay, plan B? You could go down into the sewers and find a secret back-door entrance that will require some hacking skills to get open–I actually discovered that route later in the game. Or plan C, the route I took, navigate a series of alleyways, find the right fire escape, climb to the roof, and sneak in through an air duct! Gordon Freeman style in the airducts bitches! When will computer bad guys realize how easy it is to sneak inside ANYTHING just by climbing through the ventilation system?!
As I alluded to earlier, if you want certain avenues to be open to you, that means you need to develop the corresponding abilities. As the game went on, I pumped up my hacking ability, which was definitely the right move; tons of hidden ammo caches can be found by hacking into storage units, and alternate paths open up, allowing you to circumvent guards that otherwise would have required a firefight.
Another super cool benefit of hacking is the ability to shut down security cameras, and turn the automated turret/robot defense against your enemies. SWEET. There was one level, set in a shipping port, where I actually avoided almost all shooting, and just snuck from storage shed to storage shed, until I found the one with the high-level security terminal. The sounds of robotic defenses opening fire on the surprised guards was so worth the effort. I laughed an evil hoo hoo haa haaaa while watching it all happen over the security camera feed!
As with the original Deus Ex, you also get the power to choose your own ending. While the conspiracy theories aren’t QUITE as thick, you DO get to effectively decide the fate of the world. The actual ending itself is one of four versions of stock footage set to a dramatic score and a nicely-done voiceover. It works very well! Human Revolution had one of the more memorable video game endings that I’ve seen in a while.
Last thing I’ll note is that the musical score is top notch. The first one had a decent score, but I think they clearly surpassed it here. In fact, I’d say this game, at least for me, surpassed the original in a lot of ways. It’s a page-turner, plot-wise, and it was just… FUN! Except for the boss battles. Those sucked.
Tags: Games I Like, general nerdery, video games
I just beat this last night, so I feel compelled to write something. The original Deus Ex, which came out in 2000, blew me away. To me, it was the “All time best game ever” because it shattered so many expectations and limitations of every game I had played previously. Need to get an access code? Oh, you could talk to that homeless guy, he might tell you about the secret entrance behind the vending machine. Course, if you say the wrong thing he might attack you. Need to deal with a problem gang in the subway? Sweet talk them into giving you what you want, blast open the door guns blazing, or take them down one by one stealth ninja assassin stylie. This complete freedom in the ways in which you do things was even present in larger issues; you had to get to the roof of a building… would you hack the turrets/bots, sneak through a confined area filled with natural hazards, pick locks, or run and gun? The augmentations just enhanced your ability to choose how you wanted to play the game. On top of that, I think the ability to read emails/books/random stuff really helped the immersion, as it filled in the world without having to actually see it modeled and rendered. The literary references, the illuminati, the templars, and even the freakin ALiENS showed up in this game, and the ending was equally spectacular. I remember calling from the other room, “Hey Kristin… if you had a choice between creating another dark age, merging with an AI and realizing singularity, or join the illumunati?” Fucking awesome.
So, seeing as how I’ve been eagerly awaiting this game for about a DECADE… I’m happy to say I bought it about a month ago and beat it last night. Further review coming tonight.
I remember the original taking me complete surprise. The ability to upgrade yourself? Yeah, that was new and righteous. I felt smarter playing Deus Ex than Half-Life because of options iike that, heh heh.