Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the Hardcore RPG You Want

OXM offers a new editorial listing seven reasons why Deus Ex: Human Revolution is one of three titles (together with Bastion and TES V: Skyrim) that are bucking the trend on the RPG genre going “soft”.

1. It hits you with consequences straight off the bat
Shortly after Adam Jensen’s near-death and cybernetic full-body makeover, he’s summoned back to Sarif Industries HQ to deal with a terrorist threat at a manufacturing plant. Entering the lobby, you’re told to get your head straight (literally – Adam’s retinal implants are acting up) then come to the helicopter pad. We, however, decided to poke around a bit first – visiting the toilets, studying the parodic Final Fantasy art on an engineer’s wall and ducking into a vent shaft to retrieve a credit chip. Result: the situation at the manufacturing plant worsens, and we’re bawled out by our boss. Cripes. Human Revolution keeps its eye on you from the get-go.

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6. Character customisation has a real impact
We missed out on a lot of e-goodies during the first few hours because we’d neglected to augment our hacking software. Instead, we piled points into our social interaction systems, unlocking the ability to release behaviour-influencing aerosols. Result: we were able to talk our way into (and out of) situations a geekier sort would have had no choice but to resolve the hard way.

7. The dialogue pacing is on the money
NPCs don’t meander their way theatrically to the end of sentences Dragon-Age-style in Human Revolution, nor will they mutter rapidly as in Far Cry 2. Conversations are crisp enough that they don’t outstay their welcome, yet never leave you struggling to keep up. It sounds like a small touch but given the amount of plotting in this game, it pays dividends.