Start with a mysterious, cold and aloof figure donning a trench coat and shades, and you already have what it takes to start the foundation of a Deus Ex game.  Human Revolution has this in spades, and to the uninitiated that may seem like a ridiculous concept; little do they know is that these seemingly insignificant details are so intrinsically woven into the very essence of what makes Deus Ex everything that it is, that it’s nearly impossible to imagine a Deus Ex game without them.

It’s readily apparent from the opening sequence of Human Revolution that Eidos Montreal have done everything in their power to craft an experience that truly resonates with the Deus Ex faithful.  From the lovingly crafted interface of the PC version, to the remarkable ease of use provided by the console version’s control scheme, Human Revolution has been tailored to suit the needs of every audience that it presents itself to.  Fear not Deus Ex fan with an outdated computer that must get the console release: Human Revolution plays so wonderfully on consoles that you’ll soon forget that you’re even playing Deus Ex on a console.  PC fans need not worry either because their version of the game has been designed to specifically suit their platform of choice.

While it’s true that Human Revolution makes every attempt to capture the essence of what Deus Ex is, there’s a lot of new things introduced in this installment that are unfamiliar to the franchise.  It’s natural to fear that they will ruin the experience, but fear not, for the new additions brought to the table with Human Revolution make it feel like a wholly cohesive experience that has combined the best elements from multiple genres into one ridiculously powerful game.

It may be difficult to fathom that after 11 years a true sequel to Deus Ex is finally here, but it’s the truth.

Deus Ex has always been played from a first-person perspective, so it’s hard to fathom why a third person cover mechanic would ever need to be added.  Truthfully, the stealth mechanics in Deus Ex have never been very good.  Is it possible to be stealthy? Sure, but is it fun? Debatable.  The addition of third person stealth and cover mechanics to Human Revolution is an entirely optional feature that is not required to beat the game, but it’s so useful that you’d be grasping at straws to come up with reasons to actually not use them aside from trying to stubbornly preserve outdated gameplay mechanics.  Deus Ex has always been about being an immersive experience, and it’s true that shifting to a third person perspective can take you out of the experience but that problem simply just does not exist in Human Revolution.  The addition of a third person cover system first and foremost makes stealth actually fun to play since you’re not completely left in the dark as to what’s going on around you, and the third person cover mechanics assist greatly in taking out enemies while remaining safe from a quick death.  That’s not to say that any of these additions make Deus Ex “easy” quite the contrary, they’re simply additional tools that give you alternate methods to get the job done.  The best part is that the first and third person perspectives of Human Revolution combine to create a wonderfully cohesive experience that is both entirely immersive but highly playable as there is so much diversity in how everything can be accomplished.

Another detail of significant note is that melee combat has been removed from the game entirely, instead being replaced by takedowns.  Takedowns come in two different flavours: the non-lethal type will take down opponents quietly while also netting you slightly more XP, but comes with the disadvantage of your unconscious foes being able to be woken up by their comrades should they be discovered. Lethal takedowns on the other hand are significantly louder but will put a guy down for a good.  They both have their uses, but the most important thing is that regardless of your preference they’re both indisputably badass to see in motion.

One of the most widely criticized changes announced for Human Revolution was the addition of recharging health.  Cast all fears aside, as while it is indeed true that there is rechargeable health, it functions in no way to the other numerous games that pioneered rechargeable health in modern game design.  Deus Ex has always had an emphasis on high damage, and that rings true here.  Regardless of your difficulty Adam Jensen’s ability to absorb damage is not very high, and his capability of recharging health is even worse.  What this means is that while health does recharge, it does not offer the standard “soak bullets, hide for 5 seconds, soak more bullets again” gameplay that has permeated games that offer this feature.  Rechargeable health merely cuts out the middleman by removing health packs from the equation, which in essence serve as a more tedious way of doing the exact same thing.  Deus Ex is not the type of game where taking damage is even a remotely effective way of getting things done, so if you do find yourself taking damage you’re going to have to wait a lengthy amount of time for your health to recover before attempting to go Rambo again.  Fortunately for those worried that this will impact the gameplay there are several types of one-time consumables such as painkillers that can be used to speed up the recovery process.  There are also rare items such as hypostims that can temporarily boost your health up to a maximum of 200 hit points, which are particularly useful against bosses.

One of the best things about Deus Ex: Human Revolution is how no two playthroughs will be exactly alike, you could have a completely different experience to your friends.

Boss fights are another point of contention which I feel needs to be addressed.  Boss fights are nothing new to Deus Ex.  Yes, it’s true that there are other methods of resolving these encounters without fighting, but forced story fights regardless of the way you complete them are still technically boss fights.  It’s true that it seems slightly uncharacteristic of a Deus Ex game to force you into a battle regardless of your will, but the lack of options such as a kill phrase to instantly destroy a boss character actually becomes a part of the storyline later on, so their absence is not entirely unforgiveable.

A significant difference between Human Revolution and the original Deus Ex is that Adam Jensen’s story is a lot more personal than that of JC Denton.  Taking this into consideration, mandatory boss encounters actually make sense in Human Revolution and it would seem rather odd if there were no such boss fights to speak of included in the game.  The boss fights themselves can prove to be rather difficult – mainly at first, as once you’ve studied them they actually prove to be rather deceptively simple to defeat.  Even if you stumble into a boss fight completely unprepared for what you’re about to encounter there are many tools at your disposal in these areas to aid you should you enter without even a single lethal weapon.  Objects in the environment can be used to effectively neutralize specific bosses without the need for a single weapon on the player’s behalf, and with a little bit of effort you should be able to find at least one weapon cache in each of the boss areas.

The most important part of a Deus Ex game aside from player choice is easily the augmentations available to your character.  In a slightly different change of pace from the previous games, Adam Jensen is outfitted with all of his available augmentations from the start of the game after the brief introductory level.  He doesn’t however, have access to all of them right away and will have to spend praxis points to activate his dormant abilities.  Praxis points can be obtained in a variety of ways, but the most apparent of them all is simply acquiring them by leveling up.  Deus Ex does not have any traditional “levels” but after a specific amount of XP has been achieved by doing various tasks in the game you will be awarded a praxis point to spend however you see fit.  Praxis can also be obtained through purchase at the game’s various LIMB clinics, and they can also simply be obtained by finding them hidden in the game’s environment.  While you most likely won’t have enough praxis to max out every augmentation by the end of the game there’s more than enough praxis available to activate and fully upgrade the majority of your favourites, and personal favourites there will be.  I ended up being particularly fond of the “Icarus Landing System” which lets you fall from any height, complete with a snazzy electromagnetic graphical effect as Adam Jensen descends to the ground.  It can even be used to slam the ground and create a shockwave that stuns enemies; this is particularly effective at getting the jump on a group of unsuspecting enemies below.

Another augmentation of particular interest is the “Social Enhancer”.  This augmentation allows you to read the Alpha, Beta, and Omega waves being emitted from an individual while you’re talking to them, and it also gives you much more detailed information based on their personality.  This is a contextual augmentation so it’s not always active, but there are quite a few “argument” scenes where you enter heated debate with important characters.  It proves highly in your favour to win in these instances so the social enhancer makes your life a lot easier.  It’s especially interesting because you can also release pheromones at certain points in the conversation and based on what personality type a character is, if you’ve studied them correctly and chosen accordingly you can instantly persuade them to see your side in a positive light.  This augmentation is not always active but it is sometimes used during less intense discussions with other characters, it often proves to be extremely beneficial to your cause, allowing you to alter events in significantly unpredictable ways.

Human Revolution has done away with Deus Ex’s “skill system” but rather than completely get rid of it like Invisible War, it has now been essentially combined with your augmentations.  Instead of hacking being a skill that is entirely separate from your augmentations, hacking is now split up into several different upgradeable augmentations based on things such as skill, stealth, and fortification.  Increase your base hacking skill allows you to hack into more complexly guarded electronic devices, while stealth improves your ability to hack devices while remaining undetected.  The hacking mini-game in and of itself is quite intriguing and somehow manages to be complex enough to remain consistently interesting but simple enough that it doesn’t become overbearing.  You simply select a node you want to take over, and each node has different properties, while you’re doing this, there is a chance that the network security will detect you and activate a countdown sequence in an attempt to secure the network and kick you out.  This is when things get intense and you have to work quickly to win.  Some nodes are simple access points you need to traverse to get across the network, while others will provide you with bonuses such as XP, credits, or even items such as stop worms or nukes, which can be used to assist you in infiltrating devices.  This mini-game is much more interesting than previous hacking mini-game attempts such as the one in Mass Effect 2 which became tedious rather quickly, and it would be greatly appreciated if other developers would take note of this.

Stealth or Assault - Lethal or Non-Lethal - It's amazing how many choices Deus Ex: Human Revolution provides the player.

Other things such as lungs, legs, and arm augmentations are all available as well and you can continually expand your arsenal of augmentations to eventually be able to do things such as punch through walls to find hidden items, jump 3 meters high, or sprint twice as fast for twice as long.  There’s a lot of variety in here and you can even do things such as cloak or get enhanced vision that lets you see enemies through walls.  The amount of variation with how you play is quite large which ensures that every time you play you can have a completely different experience.

Last but definitely not least is Human Revolution’s exquisitely detailed and absolutely phenomenal art design.  The scope and vision of what Eidos Montreal has achieved with Deus Ex: Human Revolution on an artistic scale is utterly mind-blowing.  Try to picture what would happen if you fused the artistic style of Blade Runner, Final Fantasy VII, Mirror’s Edge, and Deus Ex into one game.  The result is literally a visual masterpiece.  The most obvious inspiration to Human Revolution is Blade Runner itself, but the game’s style stays true to the vibe given off by the original Deus Ex.  The gold and black aesthetic of Deus Ex may make it seem to have a relatively shallow colour palette but the effect is remarkably simple: will you ever get Deus Ex: Human Revolution mixed up with another game just by looking at it? The answer is no.  Human Revolution It is instantly identifiable and that in and of itself is an outstanding success.  Not to mention the ambiance of the world is a joy to soak in, and while the areas of the game world may not be as huge as true free-roaming games they give off an air that they is much more grandeur than is readily apparent.

The audio design of Human Revolution is near immaculate with outstanding performances by the main cast and respectable performances by nearly every character in the game.  This feat alone does wonders for a franchise that has been known in the past to feature laughably bad voice acting.  Some may not take an initial liking to Adam Jensen’s gruff tone of voice but it suits him perfectly and his performance does not falter once during the entire experience.  Fans will be glad to hear a familiar voice from the original Deus Ex make a return in the opening sequence to the game, a move which shows just how faithful Human Revolution is to its forebear in nearly every facet of its design.  From a musical perspective Human Revolution is utterly divine, the main them itself is both epic in its grandeur and chillingly intense; it’s the type of song that once you hear it for the first time you’ll want nothing more than to listen to it over and over again.   Throughout the game the music is always there to keep the mood right: quiet and non-intrusive when things are calm and aggressive and imposing when everything becomes chaotic; Human Revolution’s soundtrack simply must be heard.

It may be difficult to fathom that after 11 years a true sequel to Deus Ex is finally here, but it’s the truth.  Deus Ex has finally returned to us, and we couldn’t have asked for anything better.  It may be different from the Deus Ex that you remember, but at the same time it’s strikingly familiar.  Playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution feels like coming home after being gone for a lifetime, and yet at the same time it’s entirely open to those otherwise unfamiliar with the franchise. Deus Ex: Human Revolution gives you the power to shape your experience exactly as you see fit, it’s a game that simply must be played.  For anyone who has ever complained about a lack of diversity or ingenuity in videogames, well here you go.  Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the game that you’ve been waiting for.

The human revolution has begun; it’s not the end of the world, but you can see it from here.

Thanks to Square Enix for supplying us with a promotional copy in order to provide this review.

So far we’re having an absolute blast with Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and you can too – all you have to do is enter for a chance to win!

Rules

• We one have one copy to give away – which is on Xbox360 under the PAL region.
• The competition will run until 10pm (GMT) 30th August 2011.
• We will then contact the winner who will have 48 hours to respond before the prize will once again be up for grabs.

To enter simply follow us on Twitter, then retweet this tweet. Alternatively you could follow us on Facebook and link this competition on your Facebook status then comment on our page to let us know.

We will then pick a number out of our random number generator and match it up with the corresponding username for the prize.

Good luck!

While this new attack seems a bit odd it should be remembered in Final Fantasy 8 one of the limit breaks was firing a dog from your arm.

Moogle Throw

As you gain the moogle’s trust, you will be able to perform an action called the Moogle Throw.

You will discover treasure chests that are out of reach. In order to obtain the item inside, throw the moogle within its range.

Work with the moogle to search every inch of the field to find and obtain hidden items.

* The moogle does not like to be thrown and will show signs of disapproval.

Moogle Throw

Use the L1/LB button to grab the moogle, and aim with the stick. Ignore the moogle as it flails around, trying to escape your grasp.

Use the R1/LB button to throw the moogle. When aimed correctly, the moogle will be in range of the hidden items and will help you obtain them.

The only real new screenshot is the following:

This means we can no longer be let down with delays, the title is completely finished, but most importantly it means it will be released in European retail stores on August 26, 2011.

“We couldn’t be more excited that Deus Ex: Human Revolution has gone gold and will soon be in the hands of expectant gamers,” said Stephane D’Astous, general manager of Eidos-Montreal. “As the first release for Eidos-Montreal, it’s impossible to express how extremely proud we are of the final product and all of the hard work that went into its creation.”

Yesterday Emily Shoji, assistant PR manager for Square-Enix, tweeted the good news “FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 is slated for a January 2012 release for North America. Be excited!” earlier today.

With the game coming out in only a few months, we can expect a lot more news to start flowing through soon.

Previous entries in the franchise have never been regarded as massively story driven games and have instead focused on action and accessibility, Dungeon Siege 3 however is a product of Obsidian games and their influence is clear to see. There’s more focus on the story this time around (the story isn’t any special but the expected good vs evil with very little original or interesting to speak off) with heavy use of conversation tree’s with NPC’s and mini cut scenes, this is the first problem Dungeon siege 3 runs into. Given the dungeon crawling nature of the gameplay the constant drawn out conversations with NPC’s bring the game to a halt and disrupt the gameplay and almost makes the dungeon crawling feel alienated. It also doesn’t help when the story tends to drag and become increasingly uninteresting as players progress through it.  The characters within Dungeon Siege 3 do little to compliment the game, they tend to be paper thin and very unappealing as they ramble on about nothing very interesting and in some cases almost come off as mindless zombies. The story also fails to compel due to the poor voice acting and lack of facial animation which detracts any sense of emotion or worth. The conversation trees are quite in depth however conversations have little to no impact on the game ‘s world or story and for most part only seem to be present to fool the player into thinking there’s a sense of depth to each quest/story line.

While it’s not the worst game this year it’s certainly nothing memorable.

Unfortunately the lack of originality continues through to the class selection with the likes of warrior, mage, rogue and shape shifter all of which don’t offer a whole lot in terms of gameplay. There is very flimsy back stories attached to each character class but these stories have zero impact on the game. The core combat is very simple and quite restricted with skills coming to players quite slowly which results in the constant use of the same skills for a level or two, this opens up the game to some extreme cases of repetition and player frustration. The world is deprived of anything original too with standard fantasy enemies and settings and making an appearance, this isn’t a problem in some titles but Dungeon Siege 3 doesn’t offer any kind of charm or charisma which leads to everything seeming dull. Questing within the world of Dungeon Siege 3 is mostly made up of go to point A and kill a mini boss an return to the quest giver, while these kind of quests are present in most role playing games Dungeon Siege 3 bog’s its version down with long journeys and more pointless conversations. The story line sections of the game follow a rather basic structure of travel to a location and slay a number of low level enemies (for example spiders) then progress to killing bigger spiders until you reach the boss spider, once this task is done return to quest giver and prepare for yet more lifeless and drawn out conversations.  It’s fair to say that the majority of dungeon crawlers follow this structure however when you take into account Dungeon Siege 3’s lack of charisma and character and lack of originality or range of skills it becomes quite clear than the structure is quite hollow and lifeless. The environments tend to lack any real detail or range; paths tend to be extremely linear and repeating. The dungeons of Dungeon Siege 3 come off as under developed and almost copy and paste jobs which don’t do the game any favours in the slightest.

From a visual perspective Dungeon Siege 3 is simply adequate, nothing stands out nor is anything well detailed, most of the textures appear to be smeared and blended. Other visual issues Dungeon Siege 3 suffers from is a poor lighting system as shadows are cast in a unrealistic manner and the light looks unnatural, all character models lack detail and the animation is ropey and limited at best resulting in characters looking almost like cheap action figures. Things are not helped by the camera angle which floats above the player looking down onto the environments; the camera tends to get stuck and requires the player to move the camera to see the environment around them (thus exposing the weak visuals and level design).

The real bulk of any Dungeon Crawler is the combat and Dungeon Siege 3 does a decent enough job in this regard. Each playable class has two stances (each stance allowing the player to take on single or multiple enemies) which gives a little bit of choice and a tiny bit of depth to the combat. Each class has a set of skills used to cut through the waves of enemies most of which range from area of effect skills to straight up single target attacks, there is a distinct lack of variety however which does leave the combat feeling somewhat limited. The only real learning curve of Dungeon Siege 3’s combat is to know when to charge in and when to retreat and heal up, other than that there is nothing to learn.  Slashing through enemies does give off a feeling of satisfaction but the lack of skills does take away from the overall combat experience.

Dungeon Siege 3’s jewel in its "average" crown is the four player co-op.

Killing enemies and completing quests results in experience points being rewarded to your character which earns level ups, with each level up comes to the chance to specialize in certain skills and buff characters abilities as well as unlocking new attacks. The RPG elements aren’t really that in depth but they do offer a sense of progression, be it a small sense, stats are further boosted by items and equipment found throughout the game though each item fails to really excite the player bar the odd pretty looking sword. The loot is a issue with most of the loot being nothing special and only a few stats different to your current weapon, the system is in need of a injection of creativity and flare.

Dungeon Siege 3’s jewel in its average crown is the four player co-op. What is a quite dull world filled with forgettable and repetitive quests are made considerably more bearable when playing with three friends via local or online co-op.  Hacking away at wave after wave of enemies with friends offers a decent gameplay experience however it doesn’t change the game into something memorable. If anything the co-op papers over the many cracks that Dungeon Siege 3 has.

Overall Dungeon Siege 3 isn’t a particularly great single player experience, the lack of flare and originality and the repetitive nature of the game leaves the player feeling somewhat underwhelmed. The game lacks an engrossing story and engrossing characters which leaves the already hollow world feeling rather lifeless. Combat may decent enough but it lacks the depth of other titles in the genre. Co-op is a fun option but still suffers from the underlining issues of the game. Fans of the genre may find elements to enjoy in Dungeon Siege 3 but everyone else will end up frustrated and bored with it. While it’s not the worst game this year it’s certainly nothing memorable.

Thanks to Square Enix for providing us with a promotional copy in order to produce this Dungeon Siege 3 Review.

The release of Final Fantasy V will feature new CG cinematic sequences which are totally exclusive to the PSN edition, all the familiar mini games, battle system and other game elements will all be intact.

As of yet there is no release date.

The announcement came in a press release along with a little something from Square Enix on the subject:

“We are extremely excited and proud of DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION and cannot wait to finally let gamers experience this unique and captivating game,” said Stephane D’Astous, general manager of Eidos-Montreal. “The team has worked incredibly hard these last few years to create an unforgettable universe which introduces franchise fans and new players alike to this powerful vision of the future, where the choices you make create your own personal gameplay experience.”

“As this is the first game from our hugely talented Eidos-Montreal studio, it is sure to be something special,” said Sarah Hoeksma, VP Brand, Square Enix Europe. “DEUS EX has an unparalleled heritage in videogames and creating DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION has demanded an incredible level of energy, creativity and passion as we look to continue that lineage.”

Dues Ex: Human Revolution is up for pre order from all major retails.

In addition to the game, the TWISTED EDITION retail pack will include a copy of CTI Confidential – an exclusive 44 page hardback book packed with top secret artwork and concept illustrations; two deluxe Aya Brea Lithograph art prints; an exclusive Lightning in Aya Brea costume for use in the forthcoming PSP release DISSIDIA® 012[duodecim]™ FINAL FANTASY®; and a voucher offering the user a 50% saving on the purchase of the forthcoming release of FINAL FANTASY II when downloaded from PlayStation® Network.

About The 3^rd Birthday

The 3^rd Birthday is an engrossing new chapter for Aya Brea, the main character in the hugely popular PARASITE EVE® series. Set in New York in 2012, Aya is mankind’s last hope for survival against the powerful Twisted.

Combining all-action third-person shooter gameplay with rich character development, weapon customisation, awesome missions and a gripping suspense-filled story, The 3^rd Birthday delivers incredible visuals unmatched among portable games.

For more information on The 3^rd Birthday, please visit www.the3rdbirthdaygame.com

A number of preorder bonuses will be available depending on the store/site the game is pre ordered from.

Steam preorders will get you both Dungeon Siege 1 and 2 for free.

Best Buy customers will earn a in game item named the Sacred Heart of the Legion which increases a players health and pushes enemies back when the wearer is struck.

Amazon users will gain access to an in-game ring known as Bite of Arakun which grants the player the ability to poison enemies with lingering injury or soften their defences, leaving them vulnerable for follow-up attacks.

Walmart are offering a mini-comic (Dc comics) and strategy guide (prima guides)

Gamestop offer two pieces of in game content in the shape of Burning Band of Scorch
This exclusive preorder in-game ring increases the raw damage of a player’s attacks and sets all foes ablaze with any weapon and Talisman of the Grand Mage.This exclusive preorder in-game necklace reduces incoming damage on the player and grants the ability to lash out with a mystical attack that injures enemies in close-range combat.