| Deus Ex: Human Revolution | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Eidos Montreal Nixxes Software (PC)[1][2] |
| Publisher(s) | Square Enix[3] |
| Producer(s) | David Anfossi[4] |
| Designer(s) | Jean-François Dugas |
| Writer(s) | Mary DeMarle[5] James Swallow |
| Composer(s) | Michael McCann[6] |
| Series | Deus Ex |
| Engine | Modified Crystal Dynamics Crystal engine[7] |
| Version | 1.3.643.1 1.0.62.9 (Missing Link) |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 Mac OS X[8] |
| Release date(s) | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360 NA August 23, 2011 AU August 25, 2011 EU August 26, 2011 JP October 20, 2011 [9] Mac OS X NA Q1 2012[8] |
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | |
| Media/distribution | Optical disc, Download, Cloud computing |
| System requirements | |
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a science fiction action role-playing video game developed by Eidos Montreal and published by Square Enix. Released in August 2011, it is the third game in the Deus Ex series, and a prequel to the original game released in 2000.[11]
The game is set in 2027, 25 years before the first title of the series, at a time when cutthroat multinationals have developed their operations beyond the control of national governments. The game follows Adam Jensen, the newly hired director of in-house security for an up-and-coming biotechnology firm specialising in human cybernetic enhancement, Sarif Industries. After a brutal act of industrial terrorist sabotage at Sarif's Detroit-based headquarters and primary R&D facilities, the mortally wounded Jensen is forced to undergo radical life-saving surgeries that replace large areas of his body with advanced prostheses. Upon returning to work, he becomes embroiled in the global politics of the human enhancement movement in the search for those responsible for the attack.
Human Revolution received critical acclaim upon its release, with many reviewers praising the open-ended nature of the game and the weight of social interaction on the outcome of events.[12]
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The different "pillars of gameplay", as called by the developers, are "Combat", "Stealth", "Hacking", and "Social". Players can switch between these gameplay types whenever they please, and certain pillars may flow into others. For example, a failed hack may sound an alarm and start a fight, and social skills might lead to the player gaining access to certain areas more easily than otherwise possible (thus avoiding the need for stealth).
In the series, Augmentations are technological modifications to the body that allow the user to use superhuman abilities. While augmentations in the first two games were nanotech, Human Revolution is set prior to both and instead features mechanical augmentations. These Augmentations cater to each of the four gameplay types.[13] While the player character is highly capable of bringing death on his enemies, the player is never forced into acts of lethal violence, except during boss fights. Augmentations, while enhancing the player's performance in each of the gameplay types, also allow players to craft their own methods of play as they see fit.
Every enemy squad has an identifiable squad leader who directs the team's actions. If the leader is eliminated, the squad falls into disarray. Enemies also react to subtle player decisions, such as a change in behaviour or weapons, etc.[13] Unlike in Invisible War, weapons will fire distinct ammunition types instead of depleting a unified pool. They can also be upgraded to better suit the player's preference.[11]
Deviating from previous titles in the series, Human Revolution uses a regenerating health model. This change was made because the developers did not want players to get into a situation where they were unable to progress due to low health, and would be forced to "scrounge for med packs" and food.[11] This scrounging behavior breaks the flow of the game when the player retreats to search the entire level for medical supplies. Combat is highly lethal, so regenerative health is only a major factor between fights, not during them. However, the player can still use medical supplies (such as painkillers) to regenerate or even boost the character's health.[14] Despite regenerative health, the game still includes health restoring consumables such as medical supplies.
Similarly to regenerative health, the game also features a new regenerative energy system, deviating from the previous title's use of items to restore energy. While players will still need to use items to boost their energy cell charge past one, the final cell will gradually recharge.
Another major change seen in Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the highlighting of objects a player can interact with, explained via the in-game plot as tactical vision Augmentation. This feature can be seen in the gameplay preview released in March 2011.[15] This highlighting of objects can be turned off in the game options.[16] Human Revolution is primarily a first-person game, but switches to a contextual third-person viewpoint when using the cover system, certain Augmentations, or for melee combat.[17]
This cyberpunk-inspired game takes place during the year 2027, 25 years before Deus Ex. Nanotechnological augmentations have yet to be developed and biomechanical augmentations are the current state of the art. The player's character, Adam Jensen (voiced by Elias Toufexis), is a private security officer with Sarif Industries, a leading biotech company that specializes in human augmentations. After an attack on his company leaves him horrifically injured and forced to undergo augmentation to survive, "the conspiracy begins."[11] The player travels to several locations over the course of the game: Detroit, Hengsha (a fictional city on Hengsha Island in the Yangtze River near Shanghai), Montreal, Singapore and Panchea, a facility in the Arctic Ocean.[7]
The game begins with Adam Jensen in Sarif Industries' Detroit headquarters taking care of security preparations for the company's forthcoming presence at a National Science Board hearing to discuss the need for augmentation technology regulation. At this congress, Megan Reed, Adam's ex-girlfriend, is to detail a revolutionary discovery made by her and her team that allows people to augment themselves freely (i.e. without having to resort to anti-rejection drugs). However, she is nervous as she fears people will ask about the source of her discovery, a subject referred to as "Patient X." During a meeting between Adam and Sarif Industries' CEO David Sarif, the company is suddenly attacked by a group of heavily armed soldiers led by three heavily-augmented mercenaries. Adam tries to rescue Megan, but is caught by their leader Jaron Namir, who severely injures Adam. The attackers also burn most of the victims in order to make them unrecognizable.
After escaping from this assault, Adam, heavily injured, undergoes extensive augmentation surgery provided by Sarif. He is called back to action six months after the attack to intervene in a hostage crisis in a Sarif manufacturing plant, which was taken over by the radical anti-augmentation terrorist group Purity First. Inside, Adam encounters an augmented terrorist attempting to steal the Typhoon, an experimental military-purposed augmentation. Upon being found, the hacker shoots himself while pleading for help, apparently forced against his will. Adam confronts the Purity First leader Zeke Sanders, who denies any knowledge about the augmented hacker, leading Adam to believe that Purity First is being manipulated by a third party. Zeke can be killed, captured, or allowed to escape.
After the hostage crisis is resolved, Sarif tells Adam that the police reports do not mention any augmentation on the hacker, indicating a cover-up. Sarif sends Adam to the Detroit Police Department morgue to investigate the corpse himself and retrieve the hacker's neural hub. Evidence scattered in the police department reveals that both the plant incident and the original attack had crucial pieces of evidence covered up by government official Joseph Manderley. Sarif Industries' cyber-security head Francis Pritchard analyses the hub and discovers that the hacker was a literal "human proxy," controlled by someone else. Pritchard traces the source of the control signal to an abandoned factory complex, which Adam investigates. There, he finds the augmented mercenaries involved in the Sarif attack. Adam descends into the facility and finds a massive underground secret internment camp run by FEMA. Deep inside the facility, Adam fights Lawrence Barrett, one of the augmented mercenaries. After defeating Barrett, Adam demands to know how FEMA is involved, to which Barrett brushes FEMA off as just being used by a higher authority. Barrett gives Adam an address in Heng Sha Island in China before attempting to suicide bomb Adam.
Adam travels to Heng Sha only to find the building mentioned by Barrett under lockdown by the private military company Belltower Associates, the de facto police in Heng Sha. Adam infiltrates the building's penthouse and discovers that it was the residence of the hacker controlling the proxy, Arie van Bruggen. Investigating the apartment, Adam learns that van Bruggen had gone into hiding with the help of another client of his, Triad crime boss Tong Si Hung. At Tong's nightclub, The Hive, Adam learns that van Bruggen is hiding out at a nearby capsule hotel. When confronted, van Bruggen claims he was hired by Zhao Yun Ru, CEO of Tai Yong Medical, Sarif Industries's main competitor, though she's now sent in Belltower to dispose of him, his purpose having been fulfilled. However, van Bruggen had left a compromising recording of Zhao inside the Tai Yong Medical headquarters as an "insurance policy" and enlists Adam to retrieve it, claiming it has the information he requires. After van Bruggen forges a Tai Yong access pass for Adam, Belltower soldiers storm the hotel, prompting the former to hide and the latter to escape.
Adam recovers the recording inside Tai Yong Medical's headquarters, in which Zhao reveals that the Sarif scientists were kidnapped and had their tracking implants disabled, meaning they, along with Megan, could still be alive. She also reveals that Eliza Cassan, the celebrity news anchor of media conglomerate Picus, is also involved. Adam finds and confronts Zhao at her private penthouse but she flees into a panic room and sets off an alarm, forcing Adam to escape. Adam makes his way to Picus headquarters in Montreal to confront Eliza, only to find a hologram instead. Belltower spec ops soldiers storm the building, prompting Adam to make his way to the source of the hologram's signal in a secret sub-basement. There, he discovers that Eliza is actually a self-aware Artificial Intelligence designed to manipulate public perception through the media. Their meeting is interrupted by another of the augmented mercenaries, Yelena Fedorova. After Adam defeats Fedorova, Eliza informs Adam that the scientists' tracking implants were removed by Doctor Isaias Sandoval, the aide of William Taggart, leader of the peaceful anti-augmentation organization Humanity Front. She adds that David Sarif knows more than he appears to.
Adam returns to a riot-torn Detroit, where Taggart is scheduled to give a speech. After mentioning Eliza's claims to Sarif, the latter informs Adam that everything that has happened so far is consistent with the actions of the Illuminati. After publicly confronting Taggart during his televised speech, Adam learns that he was unaware of Sandoval's actions and that Sandoval is also Zeke Sanders's brother. Adam goes to Sandoval's apartment where he finds a secret bunker filled with Purity First members, proving his allegiance to the terrorist group. Adam confronts Sandoval, who reveals that he was unable to remove the tracking implants, so he changed the frequency to avert tracking attempts. Publicly disowned by Taggart, Sandoval attempts to commit suicide, though Adam talks him out of it. Pritchard manages to track one of the implants belonging to Sarif scientist Vasili Sevchenko, to Heng Sha. Nearing his arrival to the island, however, Adam's aircraft is shot down by Belltower, leading to a massive ambush which, depending on the player's efficiency in fighting off the attackers, may result in the death of the craft's pilot, Faridah Malik. Adam discovers that Belltower is on a manhunt for him and that augmentation users all over the world are being advised to have their biochips replaced due to a defect. Adam tracks the signal which leads him to Tong Si Hung wearing Sevchenko's arm, who states that Sevchenko's corpse was sold to his gang by Belltower. Not having any love for Belltower himself, Tong directs Adam to one of Belltower's ships and gives him a bomb to plant as a distraction. When Adam detonates the bomb, he notices that the distraction also allowed Tong's son to escape Heng Sha. Adam then stows away in a high-tech hibernation pod.
Adam wakes up some time later and finds that he is currently in Omega Ranch, a biotech research complex in Singapore. Adam finds the three Sarif scientists, who perform a distraction allowing him to access the secure part of the complex where Megan is held. In the secure sector, Adam once again encounters Zhao and confronts her with knowledge gained from the scientists that the Illuminati are creating a "killswitch" for all augmented people worldwide so they will not challenge their rule. After succeeding or failing (depending on if Adam has the new biochip) to use the killswitch on Adam, she orders Namir to kill him.
After defeating Namir, Adam finds Megan who reveals that the facility is owned by Hugh Darrow, a world famous philanthropist and the "father" of augmentation technology. Darrow is currently involved with Panchaea, a massive geoengineering facility in the Arctic Ocean designed to stop global warming via iron seeding. She also reveals that the basis of her revolutionary discovery is Adam's DNA, who is unknowingly Patient X. At that moment, while giving a press conference from Panchaea, Darrow activates a signal that causes everyone who got the biochip upgrade to turn violently insane (if Adam got the upgrade, Megan uses a device to isolate him from the signal). Adam travels to Panchaea to confront Darrow. There, Darrow explains that he invented the technology to help the less fortunate, but it has since become just another means for the powerful to exert control over the rest of the world, as well as potentially causing humanity to lose its moral center. Darrow used the insanity-inducing signal as an attempt to get the technology permanently banned, but with the correct augmentation, he can reveal that he is ironically one of the few people whose DNA is completely incompatible with augmentations which is why he wears a leg brace. He is thoroughly bitter about being unable to enjoy his creation. Adam races to shut the signal down, encountering Sarif and Taggart along the way who each suggest a different course of action for Adam.
Adam later arrives at the core of Panchaea, where Zhao merges with the Hyron Project. Adam successfully destroys Hyron and Zhao, making his way to the broadcast center where he is contacted by Eliza. Eliza explains to him the various options he can take: he can broadcast Darrow's confession about augmentation and the Illuminati, which will warn the public of the potential dangers surrounding augmentations; he can blame the Humanity Front for the biochip sabotage, thus denouncing the anti-aug movement to the public (Sarif's suggestion); he can blame the event on tainted augmentation anti-rejection drugs, thus urging the public to impose regulation on augmentations (Taggart's suggestion); or he can set the entire facility to self-destruct, destroying the truth along with those who would spin it—including himself—letting humanity decide for itself. When Adam makes his choice, the game ends, and Adam reflects on how his augmentations have interfered with his own human nature. Knowing that the whole world could progress the same way, Adam is left either confident in mankind's ability to retain its fundamental humanity underneath its augmented physiology, or worried, with the thought of a future in which the human revolution becomes significantly less human.
In a post-credits scene foreshadowing the events of Deus Ex, Bob Page is heard talking to Morgan Everett about using the remaining "wreckage" of the Hyron Project for the "Morpheus project." Megan Reed is revealed to be working for him on a nanite-virus chimera. It's also implied by the achievement unlocked by viewing the scene ("The D Project") that Adam's DNA will be used as the basis for the creation of the Denton brothers.
The Missing Link downloadable content occurs during the period of time that Adam is aboard the cargo ship from Heng Sha to Singapore.
Adam is discovered and captured aboard the ship. Two Belltower commanders, Pieter Burke and Netanya Keitner, torture him for information on his identity. After the EMP chair holding him captive mysteriously deactivates, Adam is able to retrieve his armor with the help of an unknown hacker, who contacts him via radio. The ship docks at Rifleman Bank Station, a seaborne regional Belltower supply hub. After escaping into the station, Adam discovers that it was Keitner who set him free. Disillusioned with the unethical nature of local Belltower operations, she wants Adam to find concrete proof of illegal research that she can use to deliver to Interpol. She also instructs Adam to obtain weaponry from Garvin Quinn, resident technician and black market weapons trader.
After infiltrating the station's secure wing, Adam discovers that the station is in reality a massive detention camp - hundreds of innocents are kidnapped across the globe to further Illuminati research on human-quantum supercomputer hybrids. As the biological parameters are stringent, most captives die after being subjected to experimentation. After overhearing a conversation between Burke and two of the scientists, Gary Savage and Tiffany Kavanagh, Adam is able to gain access to a concealed elevator that takes him to a massive undersea research facility. Kavanagh, who already had misgivings about the inhumane nature of the research, agrees to turn informant. Burke discovers Keitner's mutiny, however, and have his soldiers kill her. Burke then initiates "Code Yellow": pumping toxic gas into both the detention camp and the research facility to eliminate any witnesses. As he can only redirect the gas flow, Adam is forced to choose between Kavanagh and the prisoners. A secret path nearby allows him to save both.
Adam then backtracks through the base and confronts Burke, who can be either killed or incapacitated. Adam is then contacted by the hacker, who informs him that another ship is about to depart to Reed's location. He then reveals himself as both "Quinn" and Keitner's Interpol contact. He explained that he was withholding the truth from both Jensen and Keitner to use them as pawns against Belltower, and in extension, the Illuminati. Quinn then proceeds to either commend or question Jensen's actions (based on whether he saved or sacrificed Kavanagh), before placing him back in a cyrosleep pod. The pod is then delivered via helicopter onto the departing ship.
Deus Ex 3 was announced on May 17, 2007, in an interview with Patrick Melchior, the director of Eidos France, on the French-Canadian television show M. Net.[18] An initial teaser trailer was released on November 26, 2007,[19] and around one year later PC Zone ran a first preview which detailed some of the game's mechanics and setting and provided the first true artwork and screenshots.[11] Several of the design decisions mentioned, most notably the introduction of regenerating health, precipitated an initial backlash amongst many fans of the original Deus Ex.[20] In November 2009 it was announced that Square Enix was to publish the game, and that the CGI sequences were to be created at its Japanese Visual Works studio with direction from Goldtooth Creative in Canada. The results of this international partnership were first seen in the teaser trailer shown at the 2010 Game Developers Conference (by which point the game's subtitle had changed to Human Revolution and its release pushed back to "early 2011"), which was expanded to a three-minute trailer at E3 2010. E3 2010 also saw a second major preview of the game, this time in PC Gamer UK, which provided engine-rendered screenshots and gameplay details.[17]
At Gamescom 2010,[21] producer David Anfossi told VG247 he was creating downloadable content for the game which, he says, is "an extension of Deus Ex: Human Revolution." On December 16, 2010, Square Enix announced that the game had been pushed back to their next fiscal year, which began April 6, 2011.[22] At the Penny Arcade Expo East in March 2011, it was announced that the game was being released on August 23, 2011 in North America and August 26, 2011 in Europe. On May 31, 2011, a preview build of the game was leaked online.[23][24] The Japanese release of the game has been given a CERO Z rating, but it will have one cutscene edited because it shows a man's internal organs exposed and a sexual object.[25][26] Originally Eidos had intended to make the PC retail version of the game region locked. The reason behind this was due to DVD limitations which meant the languages on the game had to be split.[27] However due to negative reaction from the public, this lock was not implemented.[28]
Human Revolution deals with the ethics of transhumanism, and carries an overarching message of humanity's reach exceeding its grasp. "Mankind is using mechanical augmentations," director Jean-Francois Dugas said before the game's release, "but there is still much to be determined in terms of their effect on society and the ultimate direction it will lead us in."[7] The Greek myth of Daedalus and Icarus appears in Adam Jensen's dreams as an allegory to this thought, and also—given that both Daedalus and Icarus were the names of artificial intelligences in Deus Ex—an intellectual bridge to the original game. With correct provocation in the final location of Human Revolution, Hugh Darrow likens himself to Daedalus having seen his creation seemingly spiral out of control. The pace of technological development is reflected visually by a Renaissance theme. Characters supportive of the human augmentation movement dress themselves and decorate their homes in reinterpreted late-medieval Italian style, and the game as a whole has a sepia-tinted colour palette reminiscent of historic manuscripts. In contrast, characters who are opposed to or are of neutral persuasion toward the human enhancement movement wear clothing that is more reminiscent of contemporary fashions.[29] As was the case in Deus Ex, conspiracy theories and immensely powerful corporations feature strongly.[7]
An "Augmented Edition" was released in select European countries, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. It includes a making-of documentary, motion-comic, E3 trailer, game soundtrack by Michael McCann, animated storyboard, and a 40-page Artbook. In-game, the player will receive an additional mission, weapons, and cash via the included Explosive Mission Pack and the Tactical Enhancement Pack.[30] The Augmented Edition is also available in North America, but does not include the Explosive Mission Pack or the Tactical Enhancement Pack.[30] These packs are available solely as pre-order bonuses from select retailers.[31] In addition, there is a "Collector's Edition" which includes all the contents of the Augmented Edition as well as a Play Arts Kai figure of the game's protagonist, Adam Jensen. This edition was released exclusively in Europe.[32] A "Nordic Edition" was released as the default game version in Scandinavian countries, which included both the Explosive Mission Pack and the Tactical Enhancement Pack.
GameStop, a video game retailer, came under fire from critics when customers discovered that content had been removed from the original packaging of the game.[33][34][35] They had instructed employees to remove coupons for a free copy of Human Revolution on OnLive, an online digital distribution service. They stated that the coupon promoted a competitor of one of its subsidiaries, Spawn Labs and Impulse, which it had recently acquired in April 2011.
As an apology, GameStop began giving customers a $50 Gift Card in-store to those who purchased copies of Deus Ex: Human Revolution for PC prior to August 26 and who brought the issue up to their staff.[33]
A purchasable downloadable content pack, The Missing Link, was released on October 18, 2011 for the PC and Xbox 360, with the PlayStation 3 content being available the day after.[36] According to VideoGamer.com, the content adds approximately 5 hours of gameplay.[36] The DLC addresses criticism of the core game's boss battles, featuring a boss developed in-house by Eidos Montreal who the player is not required to kill.[37]
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | (PC) 90.42%[38] (PS3) 89.89%[39] (X360) 89.41%[40] |
| Metacritic | (PC) 90/100[41] (PS3) 89/100[42] (X360) 89/100[43] |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Eurogamer | 9/10[44] |
| Game Informer | 8.5/10[45] |
| GameSpot | 8.5/10[46] |
| IGN | 9.0/10[47] |
| Official Xbox Magazine (UK) | 10/10[48] |
| PC Gamer UK | 94%[49] |
Deus Ex: Human Revolution has received widespread critical acclaim. Reviewers who had access to the game in February 2011 praised the open-ended experience of the game, similar to the first Deus Ex,[50][51] the importance of conversations in the missions,[52] and also the depth of the storyline.[53] PC Gamer UK gave the game a score of 94 and the Editor's Choice, describing it as a game that "puts almost everything else in the genre to shame." [49] Official Xbox Magazine UK gave the game a 10/10.[48] Official PlayStation Magazine UK gave it an 8/10, citing frustrations in ammo quantities, load times, and boss fights. PCPowerPlay praised the game highly saying "Yes, Eidos Montreal made a few missteps. But the fact that it got so much right is what matters. Human Revolution plays like a love letter to Deus Ex." Awarding the game a 9/10 citing "One of the finest PC games ever crafted. Eidos Montreal has touched the sun." Common criticisms included the game's inclusion of boss fights, which removed the element of player-choice and flexibility in combat. IGN gave the game 9.0, praising the nonlinearity of the main story quests and the side quests, saying, "Each of them has several layers, several angles to be explored or not, several perspectives to be considered and several possible outcomes." IGN also praised the freeform nature of the game, stating that they, "never felt punished for [their] playstyle", and that there was room for both stealth and 'all guns blazing', and that every path always had advantages and disadvantages, but ultimately, all led to success. PC Gamer UK rated Deus Ex: Human Revolution "action game of the year" for 2011.[54]
Many reviews complained about the game's boss fights. Specifically, for a game that promotes stealth and non-lethality, many reviewers found the boss fights (where Jensen is essentially forced into lethal firefights) incongruous. The British Daily Mirror newspaper wrote "the boss battles feel out of place",[55] PSM3 considered the game "Rich, atmospheric and open-ended, but let down by twitchy AI and out-of place boss fights".[56] Gamespot said "Poor boss fights remove the element of choice",[46] and finally Game Informer mentioned "horribly repetitious arena fights against super-powered foes that can usually drop Jensen before he even knows what hit him."[45] Square Enix outsourced the development of the boss fights to GRIP Entertainment.[57]
Criticisms in regards to the boss fights were addressed in the DLC The Missing Link, which were developed in-house by Eidos Montreal, rather than being outsourced to GRIP Entertainment. Eidos Montreal Production Co-ordinator Marc-Andre Dufort stated: "You can actually not kill the boss. You can do a non lethal takedown on him. And you can kill him from afar. You can even kill him without him seeing you. It's more of a bigger challenge than a standard boss fight like we have in many games."[58] The improved boss gained positive criticism from IGN's Keza MacDonald, who suggested that The Missing Link "rights the wrongs done to us by Human Revolution's boss battles, ending with a brilliant boss encounter that lets you put all of your skills and cunning to use. It's a tantalising glimpse at how good these fights could have been in the main story, if we hadn't been forced into face-to-face confrontations that felt totally antithetical to the rest of the game."[59]
The game has sold 2.18 million copies across all platforms as of September 30, 2011, 800,000 of which were sold in North America and 1.38 million in Europe.[60]
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