Come on now, you must> have had some time to play DXHR by now? If so, head below and tell us what you thought of it. Let’s assume SPOILERS for this comment thread, shall we?

If you want to know our thoughts, check out The RPS Verdict, John’s thoughts on the game, my own story of lethality versus non-lethality, and Alec’s explanation of why he is not Adam Jensen.

Anyway, how are you getting on with it?>

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is out in the UK today! Jim, Kieron, Alec, and John have assembled to pass judgement on it. They like it. They like it a lot. But not without reservation. Read on to hear about why a wall is a man’s best augment, and why Kieron is feeling all dirty after kissing Geralt.>

SPOILER WARNING: There are minor plot spoilers within. Endings and plot twists are not discussed, but there are a number of narrative elements mentioned as well as a few mechanical spoilers. Just beware. You know. As usual.

(more…)

The first line of discussion I seem to have had with anyone who has played DXHR (which is a considerable fraction of the people I know) concerns how> we played it. And to talk about how> is to say whether you approached it lethally, or non-lethally. Whether you relied on knockout punches, tranquiliser darts and stunguns, or whether you stabbed people in the dick. Most people I know felt that to be true to the game, and to themselves, they had to defer to a non-lethal route. I… did not feel that way. At least not by the end of the game.

This is my story. (Mild mechanical and narrative spoilers.)

(more…)

Update: This astonishing story on Ars reveals that GameStop – the US’s largest games retailer – is having staff remove the vouchers because it competes with their own online service, Impulse.

Apparently people still sometimes buy games in shops! Imagine that. And if you do that with the US retail version of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, according to VG247 you’ll get a code to play the game via OnLive. That’s the service that lets you stream the game via your internets, so it’ll play on any machine with a decent connection. It’s an interesting inclusion. And makes me wonder – have you tried OnLive, or any similar service yet? What have your experiences been?

Please note: this includes some small spoilers, but none of them relate to the game’s core plot.>

I am not Adam Jensen, and Adam Jensen is not me. Our goals are not aligned.

This is not a complaint. This is exactly why Deus Ex: Human Revolution has been the mainstream game I’ve been most obsessed with this year. Jensen’s goals are these: to avenge his girlfriend and to serve his employer. These goals change over time, and most importantly become far bigger than such comparatively petty interests. They also don’t get in the way of my goals.

My goals are these: find everything, upgrade everything, read everything, buy everything, hack everything, don’t kill anyone. I am free to do them, and I did them compulsively for tens of hours. At the same time, I’m not terribly invested in why I’m doing these things, from the game narrative’s point of my view. I want to know how it all plays out, but being a dutiful employee and a dutiful boyfriend – those are Adam Jensen’s goals, not mine. (more…)

There are very few games that all of us at RPS find ourselves all anticipating so hotly, and this week Deus Ex: Human Revolution is finally with us. Copies should unlock in the US at midnight tonight, while other parts of the world (needlessly) have to wait another four days. Are our anticipations met? I’ve finished the game and will do my best to tell you Wot I Think.>

(more…)