This Week’s Geek Release: Deus Ex Human Revolution

At the turn of the 21st century, Deus Ex took gaming to considerably ambitious heights, attempting to move interactive entertainment into something perhaps outside the bounds of what was possible on 2000 technology. Only partly a first-person shooter, Deus Ex shares its roots in the deepest of role-playing games. The third entry in the series is actually a prequel to the original. While the ill-reviewed Deus Ex: Invisible war left fans and critics disappointed, reviews of Human Revolution seem almost universally favorable, heralding the game for going back to what made the original so great while bring scores of much-needed improvements and refinements to the underlying RPG systems and gameplay.

In the year 2027, security agent Adam Jensen is tasked with uncovering a conspiracy after an attack on his company, Serif Industries, leaves him horribly injured. Jensen is fitted with several Augmentations, technological enhancements to his body. Players can choose to enhance specific Augmentations depending on their play-style. Deus Ex caters to all types of players, allowing for trigger-happy folks to beef up their shooting abilities or channel your inner Sam Fischer and stealth through the shadows. A gorgeous art style accompanied by solid game mechanics and an engrossing conspiracy that tumbles down the rabbit hole make Deus Ex: Human Revolution a fitting way to kick-off the start of the push to the holidays.

From the IGN.com review:

It’s a visionary, considered piece of work, and while my thoughts drift to the things that could have been and the compromises made due to the possibilities of video games in 2011, they’re just as quick to consider playing through it again. Human Revolution is a smart, rewarding piece of transhumanist noir that does justice not just to Deus Ex, but to the fiction that inspired it.