Deus Ex: Human Revolution - First Review

Now with in-game advertising.

By ZehDon on August 5, 2011 9:04:07 PM from

I don't normally post about the first reviews for games, however apart from Skyrim, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is literally the only PC Game I really give a damn about.

PC Gamer has the honour of the first review. Scans are here. 94/100 is their verdict.

The reviewer makers their love for 'Deus Ex' apparent from the beginning; they state that they consider the original 'Deus Ex' to be the best game ever made. Their overall opinion then is nice to hear; that "this is the Deus Ex of our time."
The only reason it didn't get full marks was because Human Revolution apparently shys away from the "improvisation" of the first game; remember the bat-shit-crazy stuff you pulled off from the first game? Not all of it is possible, and there are areas where you don't have the option of thinking off the wall.

I must say, I'm now looking forward to this. I just pray it sells; Deus Ex wasn't a finacial hit - I hope this one is.

Edit:

Well, hold your horses folks. Missed this interesting development.

It was the Australian advertisement and everything, with Shane Warne’s face hidden behind a packet of chickeny goods, and labelled with the Australian price. When I went back again to take a screenshot, it had changed to an advertisement for Adidas sports instead, indicating that whatever server was up and running delivering these ads was already working quite well. We’ve contact the Australian distributors, Namco Bandai, for further clarification on how these in-game ads will work, and will let you know once we receive a response.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution will feature in-game advertising. Considering the developers have spent literally thousands of hours making hundreds of fake brands for their game - and have been very public in this - sticking real-worlds ads as jaring as this into a futuristic game seems in bad taste. Being as the game is already locked with Steamworks, it seems Eidos is doing everything in their power to ensure Deus Ex: Human Revolution doesn't get off the ground.

The offical forums aren't happy, to be kind. The moderators doesn't seem to know what's going on; looks like Eidos hoped to slip this past us.

Thoughts?

+115 Karma | 84 Replies

Well, as I understand ze world of ze god machine, it is all about fighting massive corporate powers. So, ze game becomes quite meta when you must face ze real corporate powers that have apparently taken over ze game (german accent notwithstanding). I plan to play it as a browncoat, as I am always in games since Fox (bluesun corp.) destroyed firefly in much the same meta-fashion.

We have truly arrived at dark times my internet companions.

Despite PCG's review, I'm still very much on the fence. The first "3 Ways to Play" video Eidos put out (the alley scene) really turned me off. It showcased a small, enclosed, and surprisingly linear level. The amount of choice offered was superficial, and well below the level offered in Deus Ex. The newer video does a better job of showing how the different approaches play out differently, but not by enough to clear that terrible first impression. Gone, as the PC Gamer review glossed over, is the player's ability to really improvise.

So it seems to me, from what I have seen and read, that the game will be lacking a lot of the exploration of not only areas, but of options as well. Those were hallmarks of the first game, and my favorite aspects.

And then there's the lingering spectre of "console-porting." We all saw what happened to Invisible War. Expect a lot of inter-level loading points.

I read it got achievements, and I kinda liked Deus Ex so I'll get this on a STEAM sale for 5euros.

Quoting louist,

reply 2

...So it seems to me, from what I have seen and read, that the game will be lacking a lot of the exploration of not only areas, but of options as well. Those were hallmarks of the first game, and my favorite aspects...

In terms of area exploration, impressions from the leaked build (which I haven't played myself) all describe large areas filled with numerous side quests and additional, optional content. Will we find an MJ12 base hidden underneath Detroit? Doubtful - but we should still have enough content to satisfy. 27 hours on a review playthrough seems refreshingly long.

I agree with your thoughts on the options, however. Something I really liked about Deus Ex was that a lot of the major choices where simply gameplay; I didn't pick options from a context-sensitive UI menu - I just bloody did what I want, and the game kept score. The choice between killing Anna or Lebadev was made in-game - and for a lot of people, they didn't even realise killing Anna was a choice they could make.
As for the bat-shit-crazy stuff, like building a wall of crates and using it to block LOS, moving it systematically through the level crate by crate, I don't mind so much that some of that isn't in there. It's more breaking the rules - or abusing holes in the rules - than it is really improvising a 'proper' solution. That's my personal opinion, however.

Quoting louist,

reply 2

And then there's the lingering spectre of "console-porting." We all saw what happened to Invisible War. Expect a lot of inter-level loading points.

Not to put to fine a point on it, but the leaked build impressions also mention that the PC version plays like a PC version - all the console centric shit, like highlighting EVERYTHING - is optional. Though, the reviewer mentions loading times - so I think you have a point there.

I'll wait for the rest of the reviews to come in, but I'm more optimistic than I was before reading the review. I honestly expected a massive 'CoD-Deus Ex' failure.

Multiplayer would kill the god machine. Sneak is the best function in the game and in many of its rivals. If they kept that, I will buy a copy.

Not a fan of in-game ads but dont really care in deus ex. kinda fits the world imo. as long as they're billboards or other parts of the game i can choose to ignore, i doubt ill notice anything.

I was initially quite skeptical about this game and the PC gamer review. However I've seen a lot of people praise the leaked build, including people who normally make it a point to hate evertyhing. So that's enough that I will probably give it a try.

Deus Ex was one of my favorite games of all time. Deus Ex 2 I obviously was not so impressed by, it wasn't all bad but I especially hated the generic ammo part. I want to be able to fire a few shots with a rocket launcher without it meaning that I have no pistol ammo left.

I have, however, heard good things about the leak, to the point where I wouldn't be surprised if they orchestrated it themselves. It wouldn't be the first game that completely dumps all over it's latter parts. The leak is supposedly about 1/3 of the game, but if the rest is on-rails shooter, what does it matter?

I bought the most recent issue of 'Australian Offical Xbox Magazine' for their Deus Ex review - they gave it 10/10.

They said at every single point in the game, you're making choices - either through action or in-action. There's a lot of choices they made just by playing a certain way, without even realising it. They gushed all over the visuals, though they mentioned that it's all high-tech pre-"fall" stuff, so it's not as dirty as Deus Ex felt.
They also said the combat never strays from the stealth-flavoured variety - which is a good thing, they believe. They said the Augs opened more options, but the game ramped up the difficulty - both in terms of number and intelligence of opponents - and that it meant that you were never 'safe'.

Oh, and they said the hacking mini-game is the best they've ever seen. Period.

I'm happy to take the risk; even if it's not as good as Deus Ex, it's certainly sounding like it's pretty damn good in its own right. I'll take that over "MODERN MILITARY SHOOTER #57".

Well I think was Deus Ex where a designer had said that all level showcases will by nature have an on-rails feel because the person going through them is doing so in such a practiced fashion and has a rest of things they are trying to demonstrate in a short time, rather then wandering around and looking at everything in the way that a player would. They had promised that it would not feel remotely on rails in actual play.

But of course you can't always trust what someone close to a project says about something like that. They aren't exactly giving you the most neutral and non biased look. Just look at all of the reassurances we got when elemental was first being released. That's why it's only the reaction to the leak that gives me hope. Even if it is orchestrated, the fact that they are capable of making a great 1/3 of the game suggests a greater chance for good things for the other 2/3.

Quoting Luckmann,

reply 8

I am still extremely hesitant about Human Revolution. It just doesn't look like Deus Ex to me - not in any way. The showcased level didn't really raise my hopes, either. It feels like they pre-programmed a number of set paths and that's it. Maybe they did this for Deus Ex, too, but it was never noticeable. It always felt natural, like you were doing your thing, independent from what the programmers/level designers expected.

I have, however, heard good things about the leak, to the point where I wouldn't be surprised if they orchestrated it themselves. It wouldn't be the first game that completely dumps all over it's latter parts. The leak is supposedly about 1/3 of the game, but if the rest is on-rails shooter, what does it matter?

This game looks interesting, but I A) am short on cash, and kind of feel like like I should play the two previous entries.

Also, my backlog is a little bigger than I'd like to see it, so that should be taken care of a bit.

I bet it will suffer from heavy consolitidis, it will be dumbed down to rat-in-a-canyon race, and will contain sequences when you will have to mash four colored buttons in pre-determined sequence.

So what, exactly, are you basing that on? Considering it's basically the exact opposite of everything said about it so far...

I missed the boat on Deus Ex. By the time I tried it, it was so dated that I didn't really play more than 20 minutes of it. I got what was probably good about it in the grand scheme of things. So to me this one seems fairly promising, a better blend of action/RPG than what Bethesda typically does. Not terribly wild about the in-game adverts because it's more shit on your connection, but eh. I'll definitely be waiting to see what reviews say. "Best hacking mini-game evar" certainly got my attention.

Something you should all be aware of, is that Square-Enix put strict terms on reviewers. That resulted in GameReactor (a free gamesmagazine I read sometimes) not reviewing it! English translation

PC Gamer apparently agreed to the terms....

It might have been something such as an extended sit down with the Square-Enix people on the content of the review before it published. An unpleasant but not unheard of request in the game journalism industry. The fact the blurb doesn't mention the specific conditions (probably because they can't) means we'll likely not know until after the game releases, if at all.

Bah, I can't dig up those Terms.
Hopefully its not something like "Let us read the review first, and if we don't like it you can't publish it."

Judging from the complete lack of information regarding the in-game advertising, I think it could possibly have something to do with that - though that is pure speculation.

The reviews of the leaked build are overwhelmingly positive. I suspect that a high percentage of the people who downloaded the leak are fans of the earlier games. If that is the case then it seems very likely that people who enjoyed the other games will enjoy the new one. Honestly, I have yet to see a bad review of the leak which makes me think it is extremely unlikely that is is 'on rails' with little to no customization.

Well reviews are coming in nicely. Lowest review so far that I have seen is a 8. That is pretty damn good. Only boss fights are the complaint ie comparing them to the original that keeps popping up. I haven't seen any complaints about in game advertisements yet in reviews. Tomorrow though is probably when the main flood of reviews will come in. Can't wait to play this friday!

There's an article on PCgamer about the advertisiing, apparently it wasn't in the review copy, which would explain the lack of complaints. But still they say they saw mock ups of what it would look like, and they didn't think it was that noticable. Basically there are billboards setup in places where it would be logical to have them, which advertise companies like Coke.

It is worth noting though that the article writer was still against it on principle. Someone else did make the fair point though that Deus Ex is strongly inspired by Blade Runner, and one of the most iconic things about the city in Blade Runner were the giant billboards advertising products.

Quoting ZehDon,

reply 17

Bah, I can't dig up those Terms.

From several PC reviews posts stating that their abstaining from reviewing the PC build until it goes live, I can kind of put together a basic picture of the Terms.

First is, obviously, the lack of in-game advertisements. The code that has been submitted for review has this feature turned off, where-as the Gold code has it turned on. Considering these were active in numerous preview builds, it seems Square-Enix didn't want word of this mentioned in any reviews.
Second, is that the PC review code is only representative of the Gold code, and isn't actually final. It comes with numerous caveats, mentioning crashes, glitches, a list things to avoid doing/trying, as well as a 'recommended' playthrough. The hacking mini-game is also incomplete, making it far easier than the live code.
Thirdly is optimisation, which the review code apparently lacks. The loading times are quite long, and the Terms mention them in some way, though I can't seem to get clarification on exactly what was said.

In any case, the 'real' reviews for the PC code go live in about 24 hours. I'll be looking forward to them then.

Judging from what I've read so far, the Boss Fights are terrible beyond description, and that's about the only bad thing.
Maybe Eidos have delivered...

Wow, I had no idea they limited what the journalists could say like that. That means they (the reviewers) are not really reporting the truth, which makes me wonder why I'm reading what they have to say at all.

Quoting Heavenfall,

reply 22

I'm surprised that's news to you. This isn't really that bad or unusual - the reviewers get a not so great version, and are told "ignore these problems, they won't be in the final game". It's nowhere near as bad as the buying or rating numbers, to me.

I don't like to say this, but the Elemental Beta Testers were told a similar thing. "Don't worry, it's all fixed in the Gold code." None of it was fixed, which is why a large portion of the player base are still waiting for the 'real' release.

The reviewers who got in early were told to overlook flaws, however their job is to relay the pros and cons of the game in question to their audience to assist them in their purchase decision. Asking them to overlook any flaw is, to me, simply wrong.
One version for the reviews, one version for the buyers? This is a fucking travesty.

In any case, some of my friends have got their hands on their copies now and are playing through. From all accounts, its fantastic, and really feels like a Looking Glass or Ion Storm game - though it does use the internet constantly, which is something we'll be looking at disabling right away. They did say the load times were a good 30 seconds long.

I agree, even thought it's a review copy, the flaws that may potentially end up in the final game should be mentioned.

Strange thing, no one's asked me so far to overlook flaws in the review code, although, the only people who send me review copies ahead of time are the folks at Paradox Interactive, they actually like feedback.

Being in Europe, I'll have to wait till the 26th for Deus Ex 3, well, probably even more since this months budget was redistributed on fixing the washing machine.

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Deus Ex: Human Revolution - First Review

Now with in-game advertising.