Deus Ex: Human Revolution Preview

The editors over at Eurogamer have cranked out the most in-depth Deus Ex: Human Revolution preview we’ve seen to date, thanks to what was most likely a hands-on, pre-E3 demonstration of Eidos Montreal’s cyberpunk RPG prequel. A couple of snips on the game’s environments and stealth mechanics:

The fashion among the chattering classes is that of a cyber-renaissance – themes of Da Vinci and his anatomical studies, bouffant frills and ruffs in clothing and even floor designs taken from real-world castles and cathedrals can be found wherever the posh and augmented roam. Even Jensen has a velvet-y swirl design on his shoulders that wouldn’t look entirely out of place on your grandmother’s curtains.

The whole world won’t be this way, however: not everyone has an art installation office apparently built only out of white walls, white floors, white furniture and with a general theme of white blinding light. The further down the social tree you go the less futuristic and frivolous the common man can afford to be.

Jensen himself lives in something of a halfway house: an apartment with arched windows, a vaulted ceiling, plush padded chairs and the occasional candelabra – but it’s also very much reminiscent of the near-future shown in Minority Report with a vast screen at one end ticking over the news and sports results and hexagonal lights hanging from the ceiling.

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The other prime way the third-person makes its hovering viewpoint known is through the stealth takedowns you can inflict on unwary guards. These can be non-lethal, but those with a more bloodthirsty outlook can enact some stunningly violent moves: a guard minding his own business watching security cameras can suddenly find himself gutted with your huge arm blades, or two guards with their backs turned can have their spines skewered in an Ezio-style pounce.

If you’ve got the right augs, meanwhile, you could perhaps turn on your X-ray vision and see a guard casually leaning against the inside of a building – then break through the wall behind him and snap his stupid guard neck.