A prequel to Deus Ex, Human Revolution is set in the early days of mass cybernetic augmentation. Left for dead after the company he works for is attacked, Adam Jensen is rebuilt and tasked with investigating the terrorists responsible. The plot, in true cyberpunk fashion, spirals into a web of corporate lies and world-controlling conspiracies.

I feel like this game is a fairly slow burn and that's not going to be for everyone. After the exciting opener we're dropped into a tense stealth operation; while you can put your experience points into becoming a walking grumbling tank, the game prefers you to be quiet - that is, apart from the boss fights, which are the weakest aspect of Human Revolution, given that they force you into open combat. Fans of writing will find a lot to love amidst Detroit's grimy streets and Hengsha's seedy underbelly; many of your decisions can have ranging consequences, and are also weighted by your role-playing and leveling choices.

Although it's a prequel to the game that's often held up as the quintessential immersive sim, Human Revolution is in fact an entirely different beast. Sure, it looks like a Deus Ex game, but when I peer deeply into its mechanics, I see two major influences, neither of which was produced by Ion Storm.

Those influences are none other than Metal Gear Solid and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

The radar, the tranquilizer rifle, the shifts between first- and third-person POV ... maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like these devs wanted to emulate Kojima. And it's not just Metal Gear -- they were clearly fans of Japanese games in general. These are guys who grew up playing Final Fantasy VII and they aren't shy about it.

The quest design, on the other hand, follows more of a Western approach. Quests are doled out just as they would be in a Bethesda game, with clear goals recorded in a journal and juicy rewards upon completion. While the side quests take a back seat later in the game, the early areas of Detroit and Hengsha play as like miniature open-world RPGs.

MGS gameplay plus Western RPG elements, then? It's a perfect combination, and for the most part Human Revolution makes good use of it. Outside of the boss battles, which are universally lame, the game plays smoothly and maintaining stealth is fun. I think I had more fun with the stealth here than I did in any of Arkane's games, if I'm being honest.

What drags the game down, then, is the big-picture stuff. The story makes sense, but there are too many characters who each get too little screentime, and because of this nothing resonates like it should. You can tell the developers wanted to make this game absolutely epic -- a globe-trotting Oblivion, if you will -- but ultimately they ran out of time. The end product is still great but it feels oddly incomplete. Hengsha really suffers in this regard -- it's essentially a copy/paste dystopia of ma-and-pop convenience stores and butcher stalls with a few key locations added for good measure.

Before I sign off, I just want to say that I do really admire the game's visual design. Like I said in my review of Bulletstorm, games from this era feel huge in a way that modern games often don't. It turns out massive dams and endlessly sprawling cities are more impressive when you can only gaze at them from afar -- once you can visit and explore them, the spell is broken.

Human Revolution was my introduction to the immersive sim, and it's excellent. Combat and stealth feel really good. I also enjoyed the story and its characters. The levels really blew my mind when I first played, but upon subsequent playthroughs I've realized they're rather uninspired. They're good enough for an immersive sim, but definitely a far cry from the original Deus Ex. It also has far less emergent gameplay, which sucks. However the gameplay elements that do exist feel a lot better. I also think this game is an easier entry point for people than the original Deus Ex considering this game is much newer and much more approachable.

All together, Human Revolution is a good game. I believed the narrative to be quite well put together, as well as having a lot of interesting world building. However, and I feel as if I am maybe a little bit of an out-liar here, but this game is not amazing. The mechanics are good for what it is, but sometimes feels confused. I know this game wants you to really control the way everything works out in the end with stealth vs gunning, but I never really felt good doing either; from a narrative standpoint, and more so a gameplay one. Do not get me wrong however, I did have fun, just could not really get into it.

I love this game dearly. I love the atmosphere, the stealth, the intrigue of the story, and the brilliant soundtrack. In short, it vibes.

It's great fun to play stealthily and find hidden routes, and to get creative with the many tools you're given. It always struck me as odd, however, to make stealth takedowns a mini cutscene instead of making them part of normal gameplay like every other stealth game. They look really jarring and awkward.

While I did enjoy the story, it doesn't have much in common with the original Deus Ex and at times even feels like a different universe. The story focuses almost exclusively on the singular issue of human augmentation and it happens to be the only issue characters will comment on and debate throughout the game. The original Deus Ex explored a number of issues and most of them are a lot more thoughtful and relevant, even after 23 years, than the conflicts of Human Revolution. While some aspects of gameplay like stealth and shooting are vastly improved from the original game, a lot of interactivity with objects and the environment has fallen by the wayside.

In summary, as a successor to the original Deus Ex it feels somewhat dissonant for a story that's supposed to be in the same universe, but as a stealth-action game it's immensely fun and the atmosphere and soundtrack are excellent. I give it such a high rating because I love it so much in spite of its flaws.

Unfortunately the Director's Cut (which is the only version you can buy on PC) has a terrible implementation of mediocre DLC in the middle of the campaign which is a black mark on an otherwise great game.