If you have any sense about you, especially those with insatiable hunger for every piece of info surrounding the third entry in the Deus Ex series, please sit down and make yourself comfortable, I’ve got a lot to talk about. Earlier this week I had the chance to share the thrilling sequences that open up Human Revolution, but Eidos Montreal has been kind enough to fully lift the curtain to allow me tell you everything that proceeds the opening credits up until the end of the first level. If my preview earlier in the week didn’t quite capture your heart, read every word below my friends, since the first 20 minutes of the game don’t even begin the explore the awesomely complex nature and wildly varied gameplay options that comprise HR. Last we saw Adam Jensen, his love was being taken from Sarif Industries and unknown and heavily augmented soldiers had handed him his ass as well as several other body parts on a silver platter. It wouldn’t be much of a tale if Jensen’s life had ended in those moments and as we quickly learn in the opening credits, there were some serious “adjustments” that have been made to Jensen’s physique. As with your typical “we can rebuild him” montage, Jensen’s story leaps forward six months with a very different Jensen entering Sarif Industries. It’s obvious that Adam had suffered a beating that would killed any normal, lame character but this is Jensen we are talking about and he’s one hell of a trooper. While Adam’s may not think highly of the robotic augments he received without given the chance to opt-in, he looks unbelievably badass with a fresh pair of shades that he can summon at a moments notice. Ok, maybe they are more than just polarized eyewear, but they certainly go well with his robotic limbs and the geometric stamp emblazoning his forehead.
Enough blabbering about how awesome Jensen looks with his new augments because a large component of what makes HR unique is all the interaction that takes place outside of combat and Jensen’s return to Sarif Industries introduces you to social interaction and environment exploration. Mary DeMarle, lead writer on HR explained to me that all of Adam’s social interactions will play a role in how “Adam as well as humanity ultimately evolve.” Upon entering Sarif, Jensen’s employer and king of Sarif Industries, David Sarif asks Jensen to hurry out to the helipad to test his new augments on a hostage situation taking place at a Sarif facility. Adam insists that he needs to get his eyewear checked out by resident technician, jerk and Jensen’s primary contact in the field, Pritchard. Once you take control of Jensen, HR gives you the freedom to play out the next chapter however you please. Ultimately, the primary component of HR is freedom. You can explore as you please, rush to your next objective, take on sidequests and it certainly doesn’t stop there. However, with the power of freedom that you are granted also comes rewards and consequences depending on how you choose to spend your time and where you choose to spend it. You can chat up Sarif’s secretary down at the front desk, you can check out your office overlooking the lobby, investigate an employee accused of stealing pharmaceuticals, and if you are feeling especially pervy, you can always take a quick peek in the ladies restroom. For every action, there is an equal.....well, you get the point. Without delving into spoiler-land, there is a consequence for getting caught up in chatting up every NPC in the Sarif offices. There are also a few rewarding moments for taking the time to check everything out. Point being, everyone will have a different first playthrough on HR depending on how you choose to utilize the freedom that you are given. If you are at all familiar with Alpha Protocol that harnessed a fantastic dialogue mechanic, then you’ll really feel at home with how dialogue trees play out in HR. You have four slots that will house different dialogue options in certain situations; those dialogue options will be notated by a specific “tone” such as empathy or a more direct, snarky option. You can use dialogue in Sarif to confront folks gossiping about Jensen’s incident or get in a heated discussion with Pritchard about Megan’s kidnapping.
These aren’t just throwaway conversations either as people will interact with you differently based on how you approach a conversation, which can have a direct effect on how characters perceive Jensen. Eidos didn’t include dialogue as a means of stretching the game or keeping you occupied, it already felt like a central component in the first few minutes of HR’s first chapter. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s just the social aspect of the HR which is nowhere near as complex as the actual combat or lack there of, depending out how you choose to build Adam. He’s a killing machine, he’s a silent assassin, or maybe Adam’s a pacifist, it’s all in your hands. Adam is the persona that you choose to project onto him; you aren’t Adam, Adam is most certainly you. This was evident in your control over dialogue and it goes to much greater depths during missions and character customization. As you take a chopper to the facility, David briefs you on the mission and presents with you options on how you may want to tackle the mission. Sarif presents you with the choice of starting the mission with a lethal or non-lethal weapon, and a sub-option to each of those whether it is close-quarters weapon or something that can be used from a distance. Taking a shot in the dark, I personally took him up on the offer of non-lethal weaponry, specifically something long range, to which Sarif presented me with a tranquilizer gun. Thankfully, the available weapons are noted in each sub-category, so it’s not a total surprise as to what David equips Adam with. If you find that your choice of tools isn’t fitting, you can always procure a weapon of choice from enemies or from various items dropped within the environments. If you are a long time fan you already get me, but for those unfamiliar with the franchise Adam’s only means of survival are the things that he can procure and utilize. Since I had gone with non-lethal, I decided that I was going to infiltrate rather than make myself known.
Outside of a few tutorials, Adam’s first mission allows you to feel your playing style out for yourself. You can tear through the Pro-Human Purists that are holding the facility hostage or you can slither your way through vents and beaten trails utilizing stealth without notifying a soul of your presence. That’s really what brought out the best in HR’s first mission. You are thrown directly into the scenario and the best way to learn is to feel your own way through the facility with a little trial and error if you find yourself having a tough time. Fans who were upset over HR’s inclusion of regenerative health can rejoice as the aspect of regenerative health gave Eidos a reason to make the game harder than it’s predecessors. I don’t want to go into the list of obscenities that were being thrown around by my fellow journalists, but we can definitely say that HR remains true to it’s predecessors intimidating levels of difficulty. Since I gave stealth a shot, I attempted to go through the mission using some very specific methods. I made my way past purists without making a sound and on occasion, I whipped out my tranq-gun to knock out leery guards. If I had to get up close, Adam is capable of incapacitating an enemy or straight up killing them using the energy bar. The energy bar is consumed by using the melee attack or most of Adam’s augments, which I’ll delve into later. The best part about this first environment was that I had a number of possible routes to take, some of which I may have never discovered, hidden behind crates or in obscure corners. HR uses both 1st-person and 3rd-person perspectives, mostly 1st but when taking to cover using the left trigger, the camera zooms out to show Adam sticking to whatever piece of cover you may choose. So the 3rd-person component can be used as a strategic advantage for pinpointing enemies, or as a tactical advantage via blind-fire or popping in and out to take shots.
This feature preview continues on the next page, please click below to see more of our Deus Ex: Human Revolution hands-on impressions.
