Deus Ex 3
Encyclopedia
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a science fiction
action role-playing
video game developed by Eidos Montreal and published by Square Enix
. Released in August 2011, it is the third game in the Deus Ex series, and a prequel
to the original game released in 2000
.
The game is set in 2027, 25 years before the first title of the series, at a time when cutthroat multinationals have developed their operations beyond the control of national governments. The game follows Adam Jensen, the newly hired director of in-house security for an up-and-coming biotechnology firm specialising in human cybernetic enhancement, Sarif Industries. After a brutal act of industrial terrorist sabotage at Sarif's Detroit-based headquarters and primary R&D
facilities, the mortally wounded Jensen is forced to undergo radical life-saving surgeries that replace large areas of his body with advanced prostheses, and upon returning to work, he becomes embroiled in the global politics of the human enhancement
movement in the search for those responsible for the attack.
Human Revolution received critical acclaim upon its release, with many reviewers praising the open-ended nature of the game and the weight of social interaction on the outcome of events.
In the series, Augmentations are technological modifications to the body that allow the user to use superhuman abilities. While augmentations in the first two games were nanotech
, Human Revolution is set prior to both and instead features mechanical augmentations. These Augmentations cater to each of the four gameplay types. While the player character is highly capable of bringing death on his enemies, the player is never forced into acts of lethal violence, except during boss fights. Augmentations, while enhancing the player's performance in each of the gameplay types, also allow players to craft their own methods of play as they see fit.
Every enemy squad has an identifiable squad leader who directs the team's actions. If the leader is killed, the squad falls into disarray. Enemies also react to subtle player decisions, such as a change in behaviour or weapons, etc. Unlike in Invisible War
, weapons will fire distinct ammunition types instead of depleting a unified pool. They can also be upgraded to better suit the player's preference.
Deviating from previous titles in the series, Human Revolution uses a regenerating health model. This change was made because the developers did not want players to get into a situation where they were unable to progress due to low health, and would be forced to "scrounge for med packs" and food. This scrounging behavior breaks the flow of the game when the player retreats to search the entire level for medical supplies. Combat is highly lethal, so regenerative health is only a major factor between fights, not during them. However, the player can still use medical supplies (such as painkillers) to regenerate or even boost the character's health. Despite regenerative health, the game still includes health restoring consumables such as medical supplies.
Similarly to regenerative health, the game also features a new regenerative energy system, deviating from the previous title's use of items to restore energy. While players will still need to use items to boost their energy cell charge past one, the final cell will gradually recharge.
Another major change seen in Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the highlighting of objects a player can interact with, explained via the in-game plot as tactical vision Augmentation. This feature can be seen in the game play preview released in March 2011. This highlighting of objects can be turned off in the game options. Human Revolution is primarily a first-person game, but switches to a contextual third-person viewpoint when using the cover system, certain Augmentations, or for melee combat.
-inspired game takes place during the year 2027, 25 years before Deus Ex. Nanotechnological augmentations have yet to be developed and biomechanical augmentations are the current state of the art. The player's character, Adam Jensen (voiced by Elias Toufexis), is a private security officer with Sarif Industries, a leading biotech company that specializes in human augmentations. After an attack on his company leaves him horrifically injured and forced to undergo augmentation to survive, "the conspiracy begins." The player travels to several locations over the course of the game: Detroit, Montreal
, Shanghai
, Singapore
and Panchea, a facility in the Arctic Ocean
.
hearing to discuss the need for augmentation technology regulation. At this congress, Megan Reed, Adam's ex-girlfriend, is to detail a revolutionary discovery made by her and her team that allows people to augment themselves freely (i.e. without having to resort to anti-rejection drugs). However, she is nervous as she fears people will ask about the source of her discovery, a subject referred to as "Patient X." During a meeting between Adam and Sarif Industries' CEO David Sarif, the company is suddenly attacked by a group of heavily armed soldiers led by three heavily-augmented mercenaries. Adam tries to rescue Megan, but is caught by their leader Jaron Namir, who severely injures Adam. The attackers also burn most of the victims in order to make them unrecognizable.
After escaping from this assault, Adam, heavily injured, undergoes extensive augmentation surgery provided by Sarif. He is called back to action six months after the attack to intervene in a hostage crisis
in a Sarif manufacturing plant, which was taken over by the radical anti-augmentation terrorist group Purity First. Inside, Adam encounters an augmented terrorist attempting to steal the Typhoon, an experimental military-purposed augmentation. Upon being found, the hacker shoots himself while pleading for help, apparently forced against his will. Adam confronts the Purity First leader Zeke Sanders, who denies any knowledge about the augmented hacker, leading Adam to believe that Purity First is being manipulated by a third party. Zeke can be killed, captured, or allowed to escape.
After the hostage crisis is resolved, Sarif tells Adam that the police reports do not mention any augmentation on the hacker, indicating a cover-up
. Sarif sends Adam to the Detroit Police Department morgue to investigate the corpse himself and retrieve the hacker's neural hub. Evidence scattered in the police department reveals that both the plant incident and the original attack had crucial pieces of evidence covered up by government official Joseph Manderley. Sarif Industries' cyber-security head Francis Pritchard analyses the hub and discovers that the hacker was a literal "human proxy," controlled by someone else. Pritchard traces the source of the control signal to an abandoned factory complex, which Adam investigates. There, he finds the augmented mercenaries involved in the Sarif attack. Adam descends into the facility and finds a massive underground secret internment camp run by FEMA. Deep inside the facility, Adam fights Lawrence Barrett, one of the augmented mercenaries. After defeating Barrett, Adam demands to know how FEMA is involved, to which Barrett brushes FEMA off as just being used by a higher authority. Barrett gives Adam an address in Heng Sha Island in China
before attempting to suicide bomb Adam.
Adam travels to Heng Sha only to find the building mentioned by Barrett under lockdown by the private military company
Belltower Associates, the de facto police in Heng Sha. Adam infiltrates the building's penthouse and discovers that it was the residence of the hacker controlling the proxy, Arie van Bruggen. Investigating the apartment, Adam learns that van Bruggen had gone into hiding with the help of another client of his, Triad crime boss Tong Si Hung. At Tong's nightclub, The Hive, Adam learns that van Bruggen is hiding out at a nearby capsule hotel
. When confronted, van Bruggen claims he was hired by Zhao Yun Ru, CEO of Tai Yong Medical, Sarif Industries's main competitor, though she's now sent in Belltower to dispose of him, his purpose having been fulfilled. However, van Bruggen had left a compromising recording of Zhao inside the Tai Yong Medical headquarters as an "insurance policy" and enlists Adam to retrieve it, claiming it has the information he requires. After van Bruggen forges a Tai Yong access pass for Adam, Belltower soldiers storm the hotel, prompting the former to hide and the latter to escape.
Adam recovers the recording inside Tai Yong Medical's headquarters, in which Zhao reveals that the Sarif scientists were kidnapped and had their tracking implants disabled, meaning they, along with Megan, could still be alive. She also reveals that Eliza Cassan, the celebrity news anchor of media conglomerate Picus, is also involved. Adam finds and confronts Zhao at her private penthouse but she flees into a panic room
and sets off an alarm, forcing Adam to escape. Adam makes his way to Picus headquarters in Montreal
to confront Eliza, only to find a hologram instead. Belltower spec ops soldiers storm the building, prompting Adam to make his way to the source of the hologram's signal in a secret sub-basement. There, he discovers that Eliza is actually a self-aware Artificial Intelligence
designed to manipulate public perception through the media. Their meeting is interrupted by another of the augmented mercenaries, Yelena Fedorova. After Adam defeats Fedorova, Eliza informs Adam that the scientists' tracking implants were removed by Doctor Isaias Sandoval, the aide of William Taggart, leader of the peaceful anti-augmentation organization Humanity Front. She adds that David Sarif knows more than he appears to.
Adam returns to a riot-torn Detroit, where Taggart is scheduled to give a speech. After mentioning Eliza's claims to Sarif, the latter informs Adam that everything that has happened so far is consistent with the actions of the Illuminati
. After publicly confronting Taggart during his televised speech, Adam learns that he was unaware of Sandoval's actions and that Sandoval is also Zeke Sanders's brother. Adam goes to Sandoval's apartment where he finds a secret bunker filled with Purity First members, proving his allegiance to the terrorist group. Adam confronts Sandoval, who reveals that he was unable to remove the tracking implants, so he changed the frequency to avert tracking attempts. Publicly disowned by Taggart, Sandoval attempts to commit suicide, though Adam talks him out of it. Pritchard manages to track one of the implants belonging to Sarif scientist Vasili Sevchenko, to Heng Sha. Nearing his arrival to the island, however, Adam's aircraft is shot down by Belltower, leading to a massive ambush which, depending on the player's efficiency in fighting off the attackers, may result in the death of the craft's pilot, Faridah Malik. Adam discovers that Belltower is on a manhunt for him and that augmentation users all over the world are being advised to have their biochips replaced due to a defect. Adam tracks the signal which leads him to Tong Si Hung wearing Sevchenko's arm, who states that Sevchenko's corpse was sold to his gang by Belltower. Not having any love for Belltower himself, Tong directs Adam to one of Belltower's ships and gives him a bomb to plant as a distraction. When Adam detonates the bomb, he notices that the distraction also allowed Tong's son to escape Heng Sha. Adam then stows away in a high-tech hibernation pod.
Adam wakes up some time later and finds that he is currently in Omega Ranch, a biotech research complex in Singapore
. Adam finds the three Sarif scientists, who perform a distraction allowing him to access the secure part of the complex where Megan is held. In the secure sector, Adam once again encounters Zhao and confronts her with knowledge gained from the scientists that the Illuminati are creating a "killswitch" for all augmented people worldwide so they will not challenge their rule. After succeeding or failing (depending on if Adam has the new biochip) to use the killswitch on Adam, she orders Namir to kill him.
After defeating Namir, Adam finds Megan who reveals that the facility is owned by Hugh Darrow, a world famous millionaire and the "father" of augmentation technology. Darrow is currently involved with Panchaea
, a massive geoengineering
facility in the Arctic Ocean
designed to stop global warming
via iron seeding. She also reveals that the basis of her revolutionary discovery is Adam's DNA, who is unknowingly Patient X. At that moment, while giving a press conference from Panchaea, Darrow activates a signal that causes everyone who got the biochip upgrade to turn violently insane (if Adam got the upgrade, Megan uses a device to isolate him from the signal). Adam travels to Panchaea to confront Darrow. There, Darrow explains that he invented the technology to help the less fortunate, but it has since become just another means for the powerful to exert control over the rest of the world, as well as potentially causing humanity to lose its moral center. Darrow used the insanity-inducing signal as an attempt to get the technology permanently banned, but with the correct augmentation, he can reveal that this is not entirely pro bono—he is ironically one of the few people whose DNA is completely incompatible with augmentations which is why he wears a leg brace. He is thoroughly bitter about being unable to enjoy his creation. Adam races to shut the signal down, encountering Sarif and Taggart along the way who each suggest a different course of action for Adam.
Adam later arrives at the core of Panchaea, where Zhao merges with the Hyron Project. Adam successfully destroys Hyron and Zhao, making his way to the broadcast center where he is contacted by Eliza. Eliza explains to him the various options he can take: he can broadcast Darrow's confession about augmentation and the Illuminati, thus ensuring that augmentation is permanently banned; he can blame the Humanity Front for the biochip sabotage, thus ensuring that augmentation is developed further (Sarif's suggestion); he can blame the event on tainted augmentation anti-rejection drugs, thus ensuring tight regulation on augmentations (Taggart's suggestion); or he can set the entire facility to self-destruct, destroying the truth along with those who would spin it—including himself—letting humanity decide for itself. When Adam makes his choice, the game ends, and Adam reflects on how his augmentations have interfered with his own human nature. Knowing that the whole world could progress the same way, Adam is left either confident in mankind's ability to retain its fundamental humanity underneath its augmented physiology, or worried, with the thought of a future in which the human revolution becomes significantly less human.
In a post-credits scene foreshadowing the events of Deus Ex, Bob Page is heard talking to Morgan Everett about the "Morpheus project." Megan Reed is revealed to be working for him on a nanite-virus chimera. It's also implied by the achievement unlocked by viewing the scene ("The D Project") that Adam's DNA will be used as the basis for the creation of the Denton
brothers.
Adam is discovered and captured aboard the ship. Two Belltower commanders, Pieter Burke and Netanya Keitner, torture him for information on his identity. After the EMP chair holding him captive mysteriously deactivates, Adam is able to retrieve his armor with the help of an unknown hacker, who contacts him via radio. The ship docks at Rifleman Bank Station, a seaborne regional Belltower supply hub. After escaping into the station, Adam discovers that it was Keitner who set him free. Disillusioned with the unethical nature of local Belltower operations, she wants Adam to find concrete proof of illegal research that she can use to deliver to Interpol
. She also instructs Adam to obtain weaponry from Garvin Quinn, resident technician and black market weapons trader.
After infiltrating the station's secure wing, Adam discovers that the station is in reality a massive detention camp - hundreds of innocents are kidnapped across the globe to further Illuminati research on human-quantum supercomputer hybrids. As the biological parameters are stringent, most captives die after being subjected to experimentation. After overhearing a conversation between Burke and two of the scientist, Gary Savage and Tiffany Kavanagh, Adam is able to gain access to a concealed elevator that takes him to a massive undersea research facility. Kavanagh, who already had misgivings about the inhumane nature of the research, agrees to turn informant. Burke discovers Keitner's mutiny, however, and have his soldiers kill her. Burke then initiates "Code Yellow": pumping toxic gas into both the detention camp and the research facility to eliminate any witnesses. As he can only redirect the gas flow, Adam is forced to choose between Kavanagh and the prisoners. A secret path nearby allows him to save both.
Adam then backtracks through the base and confronts Burke, who can be either killed or incapacitated. Adam is then contacted by the hacker, who informs him that another ship is about to depart to Reed's location. He then reveals himself as both "Quinn" and Keitner's Interpol contact. He explained that he was withholding the truth from both Jensen and Keitner to use them as pawns against Belltower, and in extension, the Illuminati. Quinn then proceeds to either commend or question Jensen's actions (based on whether he saved or sacrificed Kavanagh), before placing him back in a cyrosleep pod. The pod is then delivered via helicopter onto the departing ship.
, on the French-Canadian television show M. Net. An initial teaser trailer
was released on November 26, 2007, and around one year later PC Zone
ran a first preview which detailed some of the game's mechanics and setting and provided the first true artwork and screenshots. Several of the design decisions mentioned, most notably the introduction of regenerating health, precipitated an initial backlash amongst many fans of the original Deus Ex. In November 2009 it was announced that Square Enix
was to publish the game, and that the CGI
sequences were to be created at its Japanese Visual Works studio with direction from Goldtooth Creative in Canada. The results of this international partnership were first seen in the teaser trailer shown at the 2010 Game Developers Conference
(by which point the game's subtitle had changed to Human Revolution and its release pushed back to "early 2011"), which was expanded to a three-minute trailer at E3 2010. E3 2010 also saw a second major preview of the game, this time in PC Gamer UK, which provided engine-rendered screenshots and gameplay details.
At Gamescom
2010, producer David Anfossi told VG247
he was creating downloadable content for the game which, he says, is "an extension of Deus Ex: Human Revolution." On December 16, 2010, Square Enix announced that the game had been pushed back to their next fiscal year, which began April 6, 2011. At the Penny Arcade Expo East in March 2011, it was announced that the game was being released on August 23, 2011 in North America and August 26, 2011 in Europe. On May 31, 2011, a preview build of the game was leaked online. The Japanese release of the game has been given a CERO
Z rating, but it will have one cutscene edited because it shows a man's internal organs exposed and a sexual object. Originally Eidos had intended to make the PC retail version of the game region locked
. The reason behind this was due to DVD limitations which meant the languages on the game had to be split. However due to negative reaction from the public, this lock was not implemented.
, and carries an overarching message of humanity's reach exceeding its grasp. "Mankind is using mechanical augmentations," director Jean-Francois Dugas said before the game's release, "but there is still much to be determined in terms of their effect on society and the ultimate direction it will lead us in." The Greek myth of Daedalus
and Icarus
appears in Adam Jensen's dreams as an allegory to this thought, and also—given that both Daedalus and Icarus were the names of artificial intelligences in Deus Ex—an intellectual bridge to the original game. With correct provocation in the final location of Human Revolution, Hugh Darrow likens himself to Daedalus having seen his creation seemingly spiral out of control. The pace of technological development is reflected visually by a Renaissance
theme. Characters supportive of the human augmentation movement dress themselves and decorate their homes in reinterpreted late-medieval Italian style, and the game as a whole has a sepia-tinted colour palette reminiscent of historic manuscripts. In contrast, characters who are opposed to or are of neutral persuasion toward the human enhancement movement wear clothing that is more reminiscent of contemporary fashions. As was the case in Deus Ex, conspiracy theories and immensely powerful corporations feature strongly.
, animated storyboard, and a 40-page Artbook. In-game, the player will receive an additional mission, weapons, and cash via the included Explosive Mission Pack and the Tactical Enhancement Pack. The Augmented Edition is also available in North America, but does not include the Explosive Mission Pack or the Tactical Enhancement Pack. These packs are available solely as pre-order bonuses from select retailers. In addition, there is a "Collector's Edition" which includes all the contents of the Augmented Edition as well as a Play Arts Kai figure of the game's protagonist, Adam Jensen. This edition was released exclusively in Europe. A "Nordic Edition" was released as the default game version in Scandinavian countries, which included both the Explosive Mission Pack and the Tactical Enhancement Pack.
, a video game retailer, came under fire from critics when customers discovered that content had been removed from the original packaging of the game. They had instructed employees to remove coupons for a free copy of Human Revolution on OnLive
, an online digital distribution service. They stated that the coupon promoted a competitor of one of its subsidiaries, Spawn Labs and Impulse, which it had recently acquired in April 2011.
As an apology, GameStop began giving customers a $50 Gift Card in-store to those who purchased copies of Deus Ex: Human Revolution for PC prior to August 26 and who brought the issue up to their staff.
pack, The Missing Link, was released on October 18, 2011 for the PC and Xbox 360, with the PlayStation 3 content being available the day after. According to VideoGamer.com, the content adds approximately 5 hours of gameplay.
, the importance of conversations in the missions, and also the depth of the storyline. PC Gamer UK gave the game a score of 94 and the Editor's Choice, describing it as a game that "puts almost everything else in the genre to shame." Official Xbox Magazine UK
gave the game a 10/10. Official PlayStation Magazine UK gave it an 8/10, citing frustrations in ammo quantities, load times, and boss fights.
PCPowerPlay praised the game highly saying "Yes, Eidos Montreal made a few missteps. But the fact that it got so much right is what matters. Human Revolution plays like a love letter to Deus Ex." Awarding the game a 9/10 citing "One of the finest PC games ever crafted. Eidos Montreal has touched the sun." Common criticisms included the game's inclusion of boss fights, which removed the element of player-choice and flexibility in combat. IGN gave the game 9.0, praising the nonlinearity of the main story quests and the side quests, saying, "Each of them has several layers, several angles to be explored or not, several perspectives to be considered and several possible outcomes." IGN also praised the freeform nature of the game, stating that they, "never felt punished for [their] playstyle", and that there was room for both stealth and 'all guns blazing', and that every path always had advantages and disadvantages, but ultimately, all led to success.
Many reviews complained about the game's boss fights. Specifically, for a game that promotes stealth and non-lethality, many reviewers found the boss fights (where Jensen is essentially forced into lethal firefights) incongruous. The British Daily Mirror newspaper wrote "the boss battles feel out of place", PSM3
considered the game "Rich, atmospheric and open-ended, but let down by twitchy AI and out-of place boss fights" Gamespot
said "Poor boss fights remove the element of choice", and finally Game Informer
mentioned "horribly repetitious arena fights against super-powered foes that can usually drop Jensen before he even knows what hit him." Square Enix outsourced the development of the boss fights to GRIP Entertainment.
The game has sold 2.18 million copies across all platforms as of September 30, 2011, 800,000 of which were sold in North America and 1.38 million in Europe.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
action role-playing
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
video game developed by Eidos Montreal and published by Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
. Released in August 2011, it is the third game in the Deus Ex series, and a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the original game released in 2000
Deus Ex
Deus Ex is an action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive in 2000, which combines gameplay elements of first-person shooters with those of role-playing video games...
.
The game is set in 2027, 25 years before the first title of the series, at a time when cutthroat multinationals have developed their operations beyond the control of national governments. The game follows Adam Jensen, the newly hired director of in-house security for an up-and-coming biotechnology firm specialising in human cybernetic enhancement, Sarif Industries. After a brutal act of industrial terrorist sabotage at Sarif's Detroit-based headquarters and primary R&D
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
facilities, the mortally wounded Jensen is forced to undergo radical life-saving surgeries that replace large areas of his body with advanced prostheses, and upon returning to work, he becomes embroiled in the global politics of the human enhancement
Human enhancement
Human enhancement refers to any attempt to temporarily or permanently overcome the current limitations of the human body through natural or artificial means...
movement in the search for those responsible for the attack.
Human Revolution received critical acclaim upon its release, with many reviewers praising the open-ended nature of the game and the weight of social interaction on the outcome of events.
Gameplay
The different "pillars of gameplay", as called by the developers, are "Combat", "Stealth", "Hacking", and "Social". Players can switch between these gameplay types whenever they please, and certain pillars may flow into others. For example, a failed hack may sound an alarm and start a fight, and social skills might lead to the player gaining access to certain areas more easily than otherwise possible (thus avoiding the need for stealth).In the series, Augmentations are technological modifications to the body that allow the user to use superhuman abilities. While augmentations in the first two games were nanotech
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
, Human Revolution is set prior to both and instead features mechanical augmentations. These Augmentations cater to each of the four gameplay types. While the player character is highly capable of bringing death on his enemies, the player is never forced into acts of lethal violence, except during boss fights. Augmentations, while enhancing the player's performance in each of the gameplay types, also allow players to craft their own methods of play as they see fit.
Every enemy squad has an identifiable squad leader who directs the team's actions. If the leader is killed, the squad falls into disarray. Enemies also react to subtle player decisions, such as a change in behaviour or weapons, etc. Unlike in Invisible War
Deus Ex: Invisible War
Deus Ex: Invisible War is an action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive. Released simultaneously for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox video game console on December 2, 2003, the game is a sequel to the critically acclaimed Deus Ex...
, weapons will fire distinct ammunition types instead of depleting a unified pool. They can also be upgraded to better suit the player's preference.
Deviating from previous titles in the series, Human Revolution uses a regenerating health model. This change was made because the developers did not want players to get into a situation where they were unable to progress due to low health, and would be forced to "scrounge for med packs" and food. This scrounging behavior breaks the flow of the game when the player retreats to search the entire level for medical supplies. Combat is highly lethal, so regenerative health is only a major factor between fights, not during them. However, the player can still use medical supplies (such as painkillers) to regenerate or even boost the character's health. Despite regenerative health, the game still includes health restoring consumables such as medical supplies.
Similarly to regenerative health, the game also features a new regenerative energy system, deviating from the previous title's use of items to restore energy. While players will still need to use items to boost their energy cell charge past one, the final cell will gradually recharge.
Another major change seen in Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the highlighting of objects a player can interact with, explained via the in-game plot as tactical vision Augmentation. This feature can be seen in the game play preview released in March 2011. This highlighting of objects can be turned off in the game options. Human Revolution is primarily a first-person game, but switches to a contextual third-person viewpoint when using the cover system, certain Augmentations, or for melee combat.
Setting
This cyberpunkCyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
-inspired game takes place during the year 2027, 25 years before Deus Ex. Nanotechnological augmentations have yet to be developed and biomechanical augmentations are the current state of the art. The player's character, Adam Jensen (voiced by Elias Toufexis), is a private security officer with Sarif Industries, a leading biotech company that specializes in human augmentations. After an attack on his company leaves him horrifically injured and forced to undergo augmentation to survive, "the conspiracy begins." The player travels to several locations over the course of the game: Detroit, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Panchea, a facility in the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
.
Characters
- Adam Jensen – The player's character, (voiced by Elias Toufexis). Adam was a SWAT commander in the Detroit Police, but his career came to an end when he refused to follow a questionable order. Subsequently, Adam became a private security specialist for Sarif Industries, assigned to protect scientists on the verge of cutting edge breakthroughs. During what should have been a routine security detail, an ambush by a rogue black ops team, the Tyrants, leaves Adam critically injured and his charges dead. Adam awakens with cybernetic augmentations, and begins a relentless search for the truth behind the attack.
- David Sarif – The founder and CEO of Sarif Industries, David is a futuristFuturismFuturism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century.Futurism or futurist may refer to:* Afrofuturism, an African-American and African diaspora subculture* Cubo-Futurism* Ego-Futurism...
who developed an interest in machines at an early age. He is known for his forward, honest demeanor, though he has no aversion to keeping secrets when appropriate. - Bill Taggart - A psychologist, Bill is the founder of the Humanity Front and becomes a leading opposition to human augmentation, a cause he took up after his wife's murder by an augmented addict.
- Hugh Darrow - The godfather of Augmentation, after having retired, builds Panchaea to help control global warming. Seen as a hero for David and Megan, however, it is revealed that he regrets creating augmentation and plans to end bio-modification in a sinister and frightening way.
- Zhao Yun Ru - One of the primary antagonists, she is the president of Tai Yong Medical, a rival company against Sarif Industries whose company is attempting to take control of the bio-modification market.
- Dr. Megan Reed - One of the lead researchers at Sarif Industries and Adam's ex-girlfriend. Dr. Reed is considered a pioneer in the field of human enhancement technologies. However, dedication to her research and an aloof demeanor has made it difficult for her to cultivate lasting interpersonal relationships.
- Faridah Malik - A helicopter pilot for Sarif Industries, she transports Jensen into various missions and locations. In one of the side missions, Malik asks Jensen to help her find the murderer of her best friend in Hengsha and bring him to justice.
- Frank Pritchard - The head of Sarif's cyber-security team, Frank has a sour relationship with Jensen, however, he is Jensen's main logistical support during his missions.
- Eliza Cassan - A reporter for the international news network, Picus TV. She shows interest in Jensen and his activities and supports him in uncovering the conspiracy.
- Isaias Sandoval - Taggart's chief aide, who joins the Humanity Front after his augmented brother goes on a rampage and is talked down by Taggart.
- Lawrence Barrett - A former marine turned mercenary, Barrett is a member of the Tyrants. Like Namir, he has augmented his already impressive physique with numerous cybernetic upgrades. He lives for the moment when he's beaten his enemy into submission, and Adam Jensen is his next target.
- Yelena Fedorova - A statuesque, athletic woman of Afro-RussianAfro-RussianAfro-Russians are Russians of Black African descent, including Black people who have settled in Russia and their mixed-race children. The Metis Foundation estimates that there are about 40,000 mixed-race Russians.-First African arrivals:...
descent, Yelena is one of Belltower's most elite assassins. Unlike Barrett, she favors stealth over brute force. Being one of few women in a male-dominated profession has strongly influenced her worldview, making her cautious of everything around her. - Jaron Namir – An Israeli-born mercenary, Namir is the field commander for the Tyrants. Officially a senior member of the PMC Belltower Associates, he actually takes his orders from the Illuminati. A merciless combatant, yet also a devoted family man, he has had numerous cybernetic enhancements to compensate for the decline associated with advanced age.
- Tong Si Hung - The biggest crime boss in Hengsha, Tong owns a nightclub called The Hive. Later, he is revealed to be the leader of the Harvesters, a gang who deals in black market human enhancement augmentations as well as being the father of Tracer Tong, a character in the original Deus Ex.
- Zeke Sanders - A former augmented soldier, Zeke is the leader of the anti-augmentation extremist group, Purity First, who leads an attack on a Sarif manufacturing plant.
Plot
The game begins with Adam Jensen in Sarif Industries' Detroit headquarters taking care of security preparations for the company's forthcoming presence at a National Science BoardNational Science Board
The National Science Board of the United States is composed of 25 members appointed by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate, representing the broad U.S. science and engineering community. The Board establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation within the framework...
hearing to discuss the need for augmentation technology regulation. At this congress, Megan Reed, Adam's ex-girlfriend, is to detail a revolutionary discovery made by her and her team that allows people to augment themselves freely (i.e. without having to resort to anti-rejection drugs). However, she is nervous as she fears people will ask about the source of her discovery, a subject referred to as "Patient X." During a meeting between Adam and Sarif Industries' CEO David Sarif, the company is suddenly attacked by a group of heavily armed soldiers led by three heavily-augmented mercenaries. Adam tries to rescue Megan, but is caught by their leader Jaron Namir, who severely injures Adam. The attackers also burn most of the victims in order to make them unrecognizable.
After escaping from this assault, Adam, heavily injured, undergoes extensive augmentation surgery provided by Sarif. He is called back to action six months after the attack to intervene in a hostage crisis
Hostage crisis
A hostage crisis develops when one or more terrorists or criminals hold people against their will and try to hold off the authorities by force, threatening to kill the hostages if provoked or attacked....
in a Sarif manufacturing plant, which was taken over by the radical anti-augmentation terrorist group Purity First. Inside, Adam encounters an augmented terrorist attempting to steal the Typhoon, an experimental military-purposed augmentation. Upon being found, the hacker shoots himself while pleading for help, apparently forced against his will. Adam confronts the Purity First leader Zeke Sanders, who denies any knowledge about the augmented hacker, leading Adam to believe that Purity First is being manipulated by a third party. Zeke can be killed, captured, or allowed to escape.
After the hostage crisis is resolved, Sarif tells Adam that the police reports do not mention any augmentation on the hacker, indicating a cover-up
Cover-up
A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrong-doing, error, incompetence or other embarrassing information...
. Sarif sends Adam to the Detroit Police Department morgue to investigate the corpse himself and retrieve the hacker's neural hub. Evidence scattered in the police department reveals that both the plant incident and the original attack had crucial pieces of evidence covered up by government official Joseph Manderley. Sarif Industries' cyber-security head Francis Pritchard analyses the hub and discovers that the hacker was a literal "human proxy," controlled by someone else. Pritchard traces the source of the control signal to an abandoned factory complex, which Adam investigates. There, he finds the augmented mercenaries involved in the Sarif attack. Adam descends into the facility and finds a massive underground secret internment camp run by FEMA. Deep inside the facility, Adam fights Lawrence Barrett, one of the augmented mercenaries. After defeating Barrett, Adam demands to know how FEMA is involved, to which Barrett brushes FEMA off as just being used by a higher authority. Barrett gives Adam an address in Heng Sha Island in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
before attempting to suicide bomb Adam.
Adam travels to Heng Sha only to find the building mentioned by Barrett under lockdown by the private military company
Private military company
A private military company or provides military and security services. These combatants are commonly known as mercenaries, though modern-day PMCs refer to their staff as security contractors, private military contractors or private security contractors, and refer to themselves as private military...
Belltower Associates, the de facto police in Heng Sha. Adam infiltrates the building's penthouse and discovers that it was the residence of the hacker controlling the proxy, Arie van Bruggen. Investigating the apartment, Adam learns that van Bruggen had gone into hiding with the help of another client of his, Triad crime boss Tong Si Hung. At Tong's nightclub, The Hive, Adam learns that van Bruggen is hiding out at a nearby capsule hotel
Capsule hotel
A is a type of hotel with a large number of extremely small "rooms" intended to provide cheap and basic overnight accommodation for guests not requiring the services offered by more conventional hotels...
. When confronted, van Bruggen claims he was hired by Zhao Yun Ru, CEO of Tai Yong Medical, Sarif Industries's main competitor, though she's now sent in Belltower to dispose of him, his purpose having been fulfilled. However, van Bruggen had left a compromising recording of Zhao inside the Tai Yong Medical headquarters as an "insurance policy" and enlists Adam to retrieve it, claiming it has the information he requires. After van Bruggen forges a Tai Yong access pass for Adam, Belltower soldiers storm the hotel, prompting the former to hide and the latter to escape.
Adam recovers the recording inside Tai Yong Medical's headquarters, in which Zhao reveals that the Sarif scientists were kidnapped and had their tracking implants disabled, meaning they, along with Megan, could still be alive. She also reveals that Eliza Cassan, the celebrity news anchor of media conglomerate Picus, is also involved. Adam finds and confronts Zhao at her private penthouse but she flees into a panic room
Panic room
A safe room or panic room is a fortified room which is installed in a private residence or business to provide a safe shelter, or hiding place, for the inhabitants in the event of a break-in, home invasion, tornado, or other threat. Safe rooms usually contain communications equipment, so that law...
and sets off an alarm, forcing Adam to escape. Adam makes his way to Picus headquarters in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
to confront Eliza, only to find a hologram instead. Belltower spec ops soldiers storm the building, prompting Adam to make his way to the source of the hologram's signal in a secret sub-basement. There, he discovers that Eliza is actually a self-aware Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
designed to manipulate public perception through the media. Their meeting is interrupted by another of the augmented mercenaries, Yelena Fedorova. After Adam defeats Fedorova, Eliza informs Adam that the scientists' tracking implants were removed by Doctor Isaias Sandoval, the aide of William Taggart, leader of the peaceful anti-augmentation organization Humanity Front. She adds that David Sarif knows more than he appears to.
Adam returns to a riot-torn Detroit, where Taggart is scheduled to give a speech. After mentioning Eliza's claims to Sarif, the latter informs Adam that everything that has happened so far is consistent with the actions of the Illuminati
Illuminati
The Illuminati is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically the name refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on May 1, 1776...
. After publicly confronting Taggart during his televised speech, Adam learns that he was unaware of Sandoval's actions and that Sandoval is also Zeke Sanders's brother. Adam goes to Sandoval's apartment where he finds a secret bunker filled with Purity First members, proving his allegiance to the terrorist group. Adam confronts Sandoval, who reveals that he was unable to remove the tracking implants, so he changed the frequency to avert tracking attempts. Publicly disowned by Taggart, Sandoval attempts to commit suicide, though Adam talks him out of it. Pritchard manages to track one of the implants belonging to Sarif scientist Vasili Sevchenko, to Heng Sha. Nearing his arrival to the island, however, Adam's aircraft is shot down by Belltower, leading to a massive ambush which, depending on the player's efficiency in fighting off the attackers, may result in the death of the craft's pilot, Faridah Malik. Adam discovers that Belltower is on a manhunt for him and that augmentation users all over the world are being advised to have their biochips replaced due to a defect. Adam tracks the signal which leads him to Tong Si Hung wearing Sevchenko's arm, who states that Sevchenko's corpse was sold to his gang by Belltower. Not having any love for Belltower himself, Tong directs Adam to one of Belltower's ships and gives him a bomb to plant as a distraction. When Adam detonates the bomb, he notices that the distraction also allowed Tong's son to escape Heng Sha. Adam then stows away in a high-tech hibernation pod.
Adam wakes up some time later and finds that he is currently in Omega Ranch, a biotech research complex in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. Adam finds the three Sarif scientists, who perform a distraction allowing him to access the secure part of the complex where Megan is held. In the secure sector, Adam once again encounters Zhao and confronts her with knowledge gained from the scientists that the Illuminati are creating a "killswitch" for all augmented people worldwide so they will not challenge their rule. After succeeding or failing (depending on if Adam has the new biochip) to use the killswitch on Adam, she orders Namir to kill him.
After defeating Namir, Adam finds Megan who reveals that the facility is owned by Hugh Darrow, a world famous millionaire and the "father" of augmentation technology. Darrow is currently involved with Panchaea
Panchaea
Panchaea is a fictional island, first mentioned by ancient Greek philosopher Euhemerus in the late 4th century BC. Euhemerus describes the island and his trip there in his major work Sacred History, only fragments of which survive....
, a massive geoengineering
Geoengineering
The concept of Geoengineering refers to the deliberate large-scale engineering and manipulation of the planetary environment to combat or counteract anthropogenic changes in atmospheric chemistry The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded in 2007 that geoengineering options, such...
facility in the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
designed to stop global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
via iron seeding. She also reveals that the basis of her revolutionary discovery is Adam's DNA, who is unknowingly Patient X. At that moment, while giving a press conference from Panchaea, Darrow activates a signal that causes everyone who got the biochip upgrade to turn violently insane (if Adam got the upgrade, Megan uses a device to isolate him from the signal). Adam travels to Panchaea to confront Darrow. There, Darrow explains that he invented the technology to help the less fortunate, but it has since become just another means for the powerful to exert control over the rest of the world, as well as potentially causing humanity to lose its moral center. Darrow used the insanity-inducing signal as an attempt to get the technology permanently banned, but with the correct augmentation, he can reveal that this is not entirely pro bono—he is ironically one of the few people whose DNA is completely incompatible with augmentations which is why he wears a leg brace. He is thoroughly bitter about being unable to enjoy his creation. Adam races to shut the signal down, encountering Sarif and Taggart along the way who each suggest a different course of action for Adam.
Adam later arrives at the core of Panchaea, where Zhao merges with the Hyron Project. Adam successfully destroys Hyron and Zhao, making his way to the broadcast center where he is contacted by Eliza. Eliza explains to him the various options he can take: he can broadcast Darrow's confession about augmentation and the Illuminati, thus ensuring that augmentation is permanently banned; he can blame the Humanity Front for the biochip sabotage, thus ensuring that augmentation is developed further (Sarif's suggestion); he can blame the event on tainted augmentation anti-rejection drugs, thus ensuring tight regulation on augmentations (Taggart's suggestion); or he can set the entire facility to self-destruct, destroying the truth along with those who would spin it—including himself—letting humanity decide for itself. When Adam makes his choice, the game ends, and Adam reflects on how his augmentations have interfered with his own human nature. Knowing that the whole world could progress the same way, Adam is left either confident in mankind's ability to retain its fundamental humanity underneath its augmented physiology, or worried, with the thought of a future in which the human revolution becomes significantly less human.
In a post-credits scene foreshadowing the events of Deus Ex, Bob Page is heard talking to Morgan Everett about the "Morpheus project." Megan Reed is revealed to be working for him on a nanite-virus chimera. It's also implied by the achievement unlocked by viewing the scene ("The D Project") that Adam's DNA will be used as the basis for the creation of the Denton
JC Denton
JC Denton is the player character and protagonist of the first-person role-playing computer game Deus Ex. He is voiced by Jay Anthony Franke in both Deus Ex and its sequel, Deus Ex: Invisible War....
brothers.
Missing Link
The Missing Link downloadable content occurs during the period of time that Adam is aboard the cargo ship from Heng Sha to Singapore.Adam is discovered and captured aboard the ship. Two Belltower commanders, Pieter Burke and Netanya Keitner, torture him for information on his identity. After the EMP chair holding him captive mysteriously deactivates, Adam is able to retrieve his armor with the help of an unknown hacker, who contacts him via radio. The ship docks at Rifleman Bank Station, a seaborne regional Belltower supply hub. After escaping into the station, Adam discovers that it was Keitner who set him free. Disillusioned with the unethical nature of local Belltower operations, she wants Adam to find concrete proof of illegal research that she can use to deliver to Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
. She also instructs Adam to obtain weaponry from Garvin Quinn, resident technician and black market weapons trader.
After infiltrating the station's secure wing, Adam discovers that the station is in reality a massive detention camp - hundreds of innocents are kidnapped across the globe to further Illuminati research on human-quantum supercomputer hybrids. As the biological parameters are stringent, most captives die after being subjected to experimentation. After overhearing a conversation between Burke and two of the scientist, Gary Savage and Tiffany Kavanagh, Adam is able to gain access to a concealed elevator that takes him to a massive undersea research facility. Kavanagh, who already had misgivings about the inhumane nature of the research, agrees to turn informant. Burke discovers Keitner's mutiny, however, and have his soldiers kill her. Burke then initiates "Code Yellow": pumping toxic gas into both the detention camp and the research facility to eliminate any witnesses. As he can only redirect the gas flow, Adam is forced to choose between Kavanagh and the prisoners. A secret path nearby allows him to save both.
Adam then backtracks through the base and confronts Burke, who can be either killed or incapacitated. Adam is then contacted by the hacker, who informs him that another ship is about to depart to Reed's location. He then reveals himself as both "Quinn" and Keitner's Interpol contact. He explained that he was withholding the truth from both Jensen and Keitner to use them as pawns against Belltower, and in extension, the Illuminati. Quinn then proceeds to either commend or question Jensen's actions (based on whether he saved or sacrificed Kavanagh), before placing him back in a cyrosleep pod. The pod is then delivered via helicopter onto the departing ship.
Development
Deus Ex 3 was announced on May 17, 2007, in an interview with Patrick Melchior, the director of Eidos FranceEidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
, on the French-Canadian television show M. Net. An initial teaser trailer
Teaser trailer
A teaser campaign is an advertising campaign which typically consists of a series of small, cryptic, challenging advertisements that anticipate a larger, full-blown campaign for a product launch or otherwise important event. These advertisements are called "teasers" or "teaser ads"...
was released on November 26, 2007, and around one year later PC Zone
PC Zone
PC Zone was the first magazine dedicated to games for IBM-compatible personal computers to be published in the United Kingdom. Earlier PC magazines such as PC Leisure, PC Format and PC Plus had covered games but only as part of a wider remit. PC Zone was founded in 1993.The magazine was published...
ran a first preview which detailed some of the game's mechanics and setting and provided the first true artwork and screenshots. Several of the design decisions mentioned, most notably the introduction of regenerating health, precipitated an initial backlash amongst many fans of the original Deus Ex. In November 2009 it was announced that Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
was to publish the game, and that the CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
sequences were to be created at its Japanese Visual Works studio with direction from Goldtooth Creative in Canada. The results of this international partnership were first seen in the teaser trailer shown at the 2010 Game Developers Conference
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking...
(by which point the game's subtitle had changed to Human Revolution and its release pushed back to "early 2011"), which was expanded to a three-minute trailer at E3 2010. E3 2010 also saw a second major preview of the game, this time in PC Gamer UK, which provided engine-rendered screenshots and gameplay details.
At Gamescom
Gamescom
gamescom is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is organised by the Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware...
2010, producer David Anfossi told VG247
VG247
Videogaming247 is a video game blog published in the United Kingdom, founded in February 2008 by industry veteran Patrick Garratt...
he was creating downloadable content for the game which, he says, is "an extension of Deus Ex: Human Revolution." On December 16, 2010, Square Enix announced that the game had been pushed back to their next fiscal year, which began April 6, 2011. At the Penny Arcade Expo East in March 2011, it was announced that the game was being released on August 23, 2011 in North America and August 26, 2011 in Europe. On May 31, 2011, a preview build of the game was leaked online. The Japanese release of the game has been given a CERO
Computer Entertainment Rating Organization
The is a Japanese entertainment rating organization based in Tokyo. rating video game content in console games with levels of rating that informs the customer of the nature of the product and for what age group it is suitable...
Z rating, but it will have one cutscene edited because it shows a man's internal organs exposed and a sexual object. Originally Eidos had intended to make the PC retail version of the game region locked
Regional lockout
Regional lockout is the programming practice, code, chip, or physical barrier used to prevent the playing of media designed for a device from the country where it is marketed on the version of the same device marketed in another country.-Video games:...
. The reason behind this was due to DVD limitations which meant the languages on the game had to be split. However due to negative reaction from the public, this lock was not implemented.
Themes
Human Revolution deals with the ethics of transhumanismTranshumanism
Transhumanism, often abbreviated as H+ or h+, is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human...
, and carries an overarching message of humanity's reach exceeding its grasp. "Mankind is using mechanical augmentations," director Jean-Francois Dugas said before the game's release, "but there is still much to be determined in terms of their effect on society and the ultimate direction it will lead us in." The Greek myth of Daedalus
Daedalus
In Greek mythology, Daedalus was a skillful craftsman and artisan.-Family:...
and Icarus
Icarus
-Space and astronomy:* Icarus , on the Moon* Icarus , a planetary science journal* 1566 Icarus, an asteroid* IKAROS, a interplanetary unmanned spacecraft...
appears in Adam Jensen's dreams as an allegory to this thought, and also—given that both Daedalus and Icarus were the names of artificial intelligences in Deus Ex—an intellectual bridge to the original game. With correct provocation in the final location of Human Revolution, Hugh Darrow likens himself to Daedalus having seen his creation seemingly spiral out of control. The pace of technological development is reflected visually by a Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
theme. Characters supportive of the human augmentation movement dress themselves and decorate their homes in reinterpreted late-medieval Italian style, and the game as a whole has a sepia-tinted colour palette reminiscent of historic manuscripts. In contrast, characters who are opposed to or are of neutral persuasion toward the human enhancement movement wear clothing that is more reminiscent of contemporary fashions. As was the case in Deus Ex, conspiracy theories and immensely powerful corporations feature strongly.
Special editions
An "Augmented Edition" was released in select European countries, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. It includes a making-of documentary, motion-comic, E3 trailer, game soundtrack by Michael McCannMichael McCann (composer)
Michael McCann is a composer, sound-designer and record producer based in Montreal, Canada. He is most well known for composing the award winning soundtrack to the multi-million selling Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent for the Xbox 360, PC and other leading game consoles, as well as...
, animated storyboard, and a 40-page Artbook. In-game, the player will receive an additional mission, weapons, and cash via the included Explosive Mission Pack and the Tactical Enhancement Pack. The Augmented Edition is also available in North America, but does not include the Explosive Mission Pack or the Tactical Enhancement Pack. These packs are available solely as pre-order bonuses from select retailers. In addition, there is a "Collector's Edition" which includes all the contents of the Augmented Edition as well as a Play Arts Kai figure of the game's protagonist, Adam Jensen. This edition was released exclusively in Europe. A "Nordic Edition" was released as the default game version in Scandinavian countries, which included both the Explosive Mission Pack and the Tactical Enhancement Pack.
GameStop reaction
GameStopGameStop
GameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...
, a video game retailer, came under fire from critics when customers discovered that content had been removed from the original packaging of the game. They had instructed employees to remove coupons for a free copy of Human Revolution on OnLive
OnLive
OnLive is a cloud gaming platform: the games are synchronized, rendered, and stored on remote servers and delivered via the Internet.The service is available using the OnLive Game System, PCs running Microsoft Windows and Intel-based Macs with OS X 10.5.8 or later...
, an online digital distribution service. They stated that the coupon promoted a competitor of one of its subsidiaries, Spawn Labs and Impulse, which it had recently acquired in April 2011.
As an apology, GameStop began giving customers a $50 Gift Card in-store to those who purchased copies of Deus Ex: Human Revolution for PC prior to August 26 and who brought the issue up to their staff.
Downloadable content
A purchasable downloadable contentDownloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
pack, The Missing Link, was released on October 18, 2011 for the PC and Xbox 360, with the PlayStation 3 content being available the day after. According to VideoGamer.com, the content adds approximately 5 hours of gameplay.
Reception
Deus Ex: Human Revolution has received widespread critical acclaim. Reviewers who had access to the game in February 2011 praised the open-ended experience of the game, similar to the first Deus ExDeus Ex
Deus Ex is an action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive in 2000, which combines gameplay elements of first-person shooters with those of role-playing video games...
, the importance of conversations in the missions, and also the depth of the storyline. PC Gamer UK gave the game a score of 94 and the Editor's Choice, describing it as a game that "puts almost everything else in the genre to shame." Official Xbox Magazine UK
Official Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine is a monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released for E3 2001, with another preview issue for November 2001. The magazine is bundled with a disc that includes game demos, preview videos and...
gave the game a 10/10. Official PlayStation Magazine UK gave it an 8/10, citing frustrations in ammo quantities, load times, and boss fights.
PCPowerPlay praised the game highly saying "Yes, Eidos Montreal made a few missteps. But the fact that it got so much right is what matters. Human Revolution plays like a love letter to Deus Ex." Awarding the game a 9/10 citing "One of the finest PC games ever crafted. Eidos Montreal has touched the sun." Common criticisms included the game's inclusion of boss fights, which removed the element of player-choice and flexibility in combat. IGN gave the game 9.0, praising the nonlinearity of the main story quests and the side quests, saying, "Each of them has several layers, several angles to be explored or not, several perspectives to be considered and several possible outcomes." IGN also praised the freeform nature of the game, stating that they, "never felt punished for [their] playstyle", and that there was room for both stealth and 'all guns blazing', and that every path always had advantages and disadvantages, but ultimately, all led to success.
Many reviews complained about the game's boss fights. Specifically, for a game that promotes stealth and non-lethality, many reviewers found the boss fights (where Jensen is essentially forced into lethal firefights) incongruous. The British Daily Mirror newspaper wrote "the boss battles feel out of place", PSM3
PSM3
PSM3 is a video game magazine specialising in all Sony video game consoles and handheld gaming platforms. PSM3 is published by Future Publishing, a UK-based publishing company....
considered the game "Rich, atmospheric and open-ended, but let down by twitchy AI and out-of place boss fights" Gamespot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
said "Poor boss fights remove the element of choice", and finally Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
mentioned "horribly repetitious arena fights against super-powered foes that can usually drop Jensen before he even knows what hit him." Square Enix outsourced the development of the boss fights to GRIP Entertainment.
The game has sold 2.18 million copies across all platforms as of September 30, 2011, 800,000 of which were sold in North America and 1.38 million in Europe.