Back in 2000, ‘Deus Ex’ was one of the most revolutionary
games, managing to add its own influence into the gaming world and to
successfully fuse the RPG and FPS genres together in a single game. A few years
later a sequel came out, ‘Invisible War’, which received very mixed reactions
from critics and fans alike, and then for a long time the franchise was pretty
much over… or so it seemed. There had been rumours of the 3rd
instalment for a long while, and then finally in 2011 ‘Deus Ex: Human
Revolution’ came out. Many consider it to be a much more successful addition to
the series than ‘Invisible War’.
In this list I’ve decided to make a detailed comparison of
the original ‘Deus Ex’ to the ‘Human Revolution’, tackling numerous aspects of
the gaming experience. Has ‘Human Revolution’ managed to surpass the original,
live up to it, or is it not even worthy of a rival? Well, let us find out.
***WARNING! SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!***
1)
The Story
The first aspect I’ll tackle here is the story. A great
story is pretty much one of the defining characteristics of the Deus Ex
franchise. In my opinion both games managed to show a very accurate and at the
same time intriguing view on a possible future, about greed and conspiracy,
power and corruption.
There were lots of
nice twists and turns in both games, and although Human Revolution did great, I
think the original Deus Ex’s story is almost unbeatable. Things such as
completely changing sides undoubtedly had a strong emotional impact on many
gamers out there. JC was pretty much thrust right into the thick of it. The
choices he had to make, being torn between following his brother and quietly
following orders without questions was a powerful emotional dilemma. And even
after the choice was made, things were never the same. Revisiting UNATCO for
example after the escape from MJ12 base, it was so different. You knew you
wouldn’t be coming back there again. Some of those people you were working with
you’d see for the last time ever. You would be forced to move on, make new
allies.
Human Revolution had
its own emotional moments as well, especially when finding out the truth
towards latter parts of the game, but I didn’t quite think those emotions were
as powerful and acute as what I felt when I played the original for the first
time.
Deus Ex +1
Total so far:
Deus Ex (1) : Human Revolution (0)
2)
The
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is affected by several aspects, such as the
visuals, the soundtrack, good dialogue, intelligent enemies, and so on. However,
I thought I’d make it as a separate category just to see how both games did in
general in regard to how intense and immersive they’ve been. Needless to say,
both Deus Ex and Human Revolution can certainly boast with their intense
atmosphere. When I play either of those games, I feel like I am in there, in
the game’s world, getting into the role, experiencing the events unfold, and
making the decisions on behalf of the leading characters. Since both games have
vastly succeeded in this, I’d have to say that in terms of atmosphere it’s a
tie.
Deus Ex +1
Human Revolution +1
Total so far:
Deus Ex (2) : Human Revolution (1)
3)
Visuals
First thing to note is that the games are more than 10 years
apart. Human Revolution obviously has way better and more realistic graphics.
The characters look more lifelike, the environments have more detail, the
cinematics are stunning, and so on. However, there is one trump card that the
original can pull out. It has way better looking visual aesthetics. The
environments and locations are all full of colours and nice colour contrasts,
whereas Human Revolution is mostly limited to golden, brown, and black. Of
course HR’s style makes it atmospheric, but then the original managed to be
atmospheric too but without this sacrifice of the aesthetics. For that reason,
in terms of visuals, I pick the original as the winner.
Deus Ex +1
Total so far:
Deus Ex (3) : Human Revolution (1)
4)
The
Soundtrack
Another feature that made the original so well-received was
its amazing soundtrack, ranging from the main theme, to the various tracks
playing during missions. Deus Ex music is simply unforgettable. Now, I think
many fans were pleased that Human Revolution too had a fantastic soundtrack.
Its main theme, Icarus, especially stands out, delivering masses of emotion
just within those 3 and a half minutes. But Icarus is not the only good song on
the Human Revolution soundtrack. There are plenty of other good tracks, most
being quite atmospheric and perfectly suiting the dystopian feel of the game’s
world. Weighing up both ends, I have to make this one a draw as well, since
both soundtracks are mindblowing.
Deus Ex +1
Human Revolution +1
Total so far:
Deus Ex (4) : Human Revolution (2)
5)
The
Protagonist
Now we’ll take a look at our leading protagonists – JC
Denton and Adam Jensen. I think from their choice of attire, as well as witty
dialogue lines, and general style, we can conclude they’re both really cool
protagonists. They share a lot of similarities and both undergo big, emotional
events that shape their outlook on the outside world and the people around
them. So which of them has more depth and is more efficient at what they do?
Well, even in this regard I think they are pretty evenly matched. Both have
travelled the world and battled numerous foes to uncover a conspiracy and to
change the course of events.
Deus Ex +1
Human Revolution +1
Total so far:
Deus Ex (5) : Human Revolution (3)
6)
Supporting
Characters
So now we know the leading protagonists are pretty strong in
both games, we should take a look at other characters. Have they been developed
well too? After all, good supporting characters which have recognizable and
relatable personality traits are important for the immersion into the game’s
world. In the original we had JC’s brother, Paul, as well as other people
working in UNATCO, and then we also had all sorts of powerful people, ranging
from MJ12 to Illuminati. They all played a role and made an impression on the
overall story. What about Human Revolution? Well, here it’s the same thing. We
have well-developed co-workers – Sarif as a cool boss who really cares about
the augmentation projects, Malik as a female helicopter pilot who is always
there to support Jensen, Pritchard as the tech guy and his constant yet funny
arguments with Jensen. And then we have other great characters too – the
special ops assassins, the politicians, the billionaires. So to conclude, I
think both games have fantastic supporting characters, all of which showed
depth.
Deus Ex +1
Human Revolution +1
Total so far:
Deus Ex (6) : Human Revolution (4)
7)
General
Combat Mechanics
All right, and now for action. On our journeys we’ve come
across all sorts of enemies, obstacles, and the like. Well, this is where I
definitely think Human Revolution made an improvement over the first game. Now
you take cover during gunfights, which is very helpful. And the cover system
itself is very well done, because you can easily move from cover to cover
without problems, and you can also aim from cover at the enemies in front. This
allows gunfights to be smooth and realistic. For this, Human Revolution gets
the point.
Human Revolution +1
Total so far:
Deus Ex (6) : Human Revolution (5)
8)
Stealth and
Up close
Now then, undoubtedly many players choose to play stealthily
through both games, and in fact these games do encourage this sort of gameplay
more than all out run and gun. There are always multiple ways to solve problems
and alternate strategies that can be taken to avoid an upfront encounter. This
also brings us to the up close fighting. In Human Revolution, melee weapons
were completely replaced and in their stead we have the takedowns. Now
takedowns are really great, because they offer an instant kill or K.O to an
enemy, providing they are right next to the protagonist. Most of these takedowns
look really cool and stylish and greatly spice up the stealthy aspect of the
game. In this regard I think HR had yet again made an improvement. The stealthy
gameplay is great in both games, but the inclusion of takedowns earns Human
Revolution a point.
Human Revolution +1
Total so far:
Deus Ex (6) : Human Revolution (6)
9)
The Enemies
One of the most important aspects of any game are the
enemies. They are the main challenge and therefore they have to be designed
properly as well. They have to be interesting, diverse, and to keep the player
on the toes. Let us take a look then at the great enemy selection of both
games.
In the original Deus
Ex, we’ve had a massive variety of opposition. First of all the people – we had
thugs, NSF troopers, UNATCO/MJ12 soldiers, as well as Men and Women in Black,
and also Commandoes. Secondly, there were 5 types of bots (small security bot,
medium security bot, large security bot, small spider bot, large spider bot),
and lastly, we’ve also had the alien beings (greys, greasels, and karkians).
Unfortunately, in Human Revolution the variety was much
smaller. In HR we’ve only really faced thugs, military men, and security bots.
Sure, not all military men were the same, but they sure felt like they were.
There weren’t distinct differences between them. In the original for example,
you’d never mistake an MJ12 trooper for an MIB or a Commando, because they
looked way differently and they also provided a different level of
challenge/danger. In HR, most of these soldiers are just generic military men,
the robots only come in 2 types, and there are no alien or other animal beings
at all. The final level did provide us with a slightly different enemy type
though, and that is why I like that level, but that is still not quite enough,
because even then, those enemies were just people. To summarize, I think the
enemy selection was better in the original due to the sheer diversity of who
you encountered.
Deus Ex +1
Total so far:
Deus Ex (7) : Human Revolution (6)
10)
The Boss Fights
This is perhaps the only area where Deus Ex series in
general doesn’t put much emphasis on, and in a way I prefer it that way. Boss
fights are more suitable for your typical adventure games and not so much for
story-rich FPS RPGs as Deus Ex. In the original you faced a handful of bosses,
but those fights could be tackled in another manner, and some of them could
even be ignored completely. It wasn’t such a good idea to just go all out in
those fights, unless you were loaded with heavy weapons and defensive
augmentations.
In Human Revolution
you had to face a few bosses too, but these ones were compulsory. You couldn’t
skip them or simply run away. Additionally, there were no alternate ways of
dealing with these bosses either, apart from simply fighting them head on. In
fact, this aspect of the game received a lot of criticism as it did not allow
for stealthy solutions to defeating these bosses.
Overall, I think boss
fights are a weak point of both games and in a way I am glad they were not
emphasized so much, so this one is simply a draw, because neither game really
prevails over the other in this aspect.
No points
Total so far:
Deus Ex (7) : Human Revolution (6)
11)
The
Locations
Now let’s take a look at the stages, or probably more
accurate to simply call them locations. Both games have a mixture of locations.
Some are cities where you converse with NPCs and do side quests, whilst others
simply involve you to be constantly in action. I’ll have a look at both of
them.
Now both games
certainly did a terrific job in the action locations. In the original, some of
the most memorable action missions were The Airfield, VersaLife labs, The
Cathedral, Vandenberg base, and of course the grand finale, Area 51. In Human
Revolution there were a few memorable action missions too, although those were
mostly in the second half of the game, missions such as Hengsha docks,
Singapore facility, and Panchea. However, after looking at everything, I think
the original had a lot more diversity in these locations and also the kind of
tasks that needed to be done. Some of the places were simply unique, like the
Ocean Lab for example, which completely deviated from the rest in its style due
to the fact that you were all alone in an underwater facility overrun with
alien creatures and rogue turrets. In HR, apart from the above mentioned, all
the other action mission locations sort of seemed to be the same to one
another.
But let us look at
the city locations as well, the times when we take a break from the intense
action missions and do more investigating and such. In the original Deus Ex
there were three such locations – Hell’s Kitchen (which you visited 3 times in
total), Hong Kong, and Paris. All three of these were fantastic locations,
especially Hong Kong, which was especially charming in its style. Human
Revolution had only 2 cities, each of which you visited twice. Detroit I
thought was done well, but Hengsha was a tad disappointing due to most streets
looking the same and the city simply being too big, causing long, unnecessary
walks whilst solving side quests. I wished there were more city locations in
the game. Instead of visiting Detroit and Hengsha the second time, perhaps we
could’ve had an extra city or two. So with both, city locations and action
locations, I think the original Deus Ex beats Human Revolution.
Deus Ex +1
Total so far:
Deus Ex (8) : Human Revolution (6)
12)
Hacking
One of the big aspects of gameplay of both games was hacking
into security terminals and computers of various sorts, as well as locating
codes and passwords. In the original, when infiltrating a base or facility of
some kind, it was always fun to hack its security system and at times to even
turn it onto your side. In the Human Revolution this aspect has been taken to a
whole new level. Now in order to hack, one must play a mini-game and attempt to
take over the security node before the system recognizes your presence and
boots you out. This mini-game is such a major part of the gameplay that there
are even items and augmentations to help you with it. And as for attaining
codes and passwords, HR has done wonders here too. You no longer have to
memorize the codes that you read in the pocket secretaries or from someone’s
email. Now your protagonist remembers it in-game, which makes life a whole lot
easier for us. So when it comes to hacking, Human Revolution definitely wins.
Human Revolution +1
Total so far:
Deus Ex (8) : Human Revolution (7)
13)
Weapons and
Items
Now this one is pretty tough, because there is a large
variety of weapons and items in both games. In terms of variety I think they
both did a great job. However, how good are these items? How effective are the
weapons? How original and ingenious are these things?
Let’s first look at
the regular firing weapons. Both games have pistols, shotguns, assault rifles,
which seem to be about the same in HR as in the first Deus Ex. But they also
have a lot of other weapons. Both games have a crossbow. However, the
original’s miniature version that fires tranquiliser darts is a lot cooler and
more useful. Both games have a rocket launcher. Once again, the original’s GEP
gun is much cooler and more intriguing. The original Deus Ex also has a far
better sniper rifle. In HR, we have two sniper-like weapons – a regular sniper
rifle and a transquiliser rifle. Sniper rifle is loud but deadly. Tranq rifle
is non-lethal but silent. However, the original’s sniper rifle is both, or
technically speaking it’s just loud and deadly at first, but one can equip a
silencer to it. Now in HR, if one wants a silenced sniper rifle, they have to
get one with the DLC. Tsk tsk. Sneaky. OK, well both games also feature weapons
that another doesn’t. HR has a really cool magnum revolver and a heavy rifle
(sort of like a minigun), both of which are nice additions. It also has a laser
cannon and a PEPS gun, but let’s not get started on these, as they are kind of
subpar. And the original… well that has a Flamethrower, which is a pretty sweet
weapon. I am still kind of puzzled as to why this was not included in HR.
Melee weapons. Well, HR kind of replaced these with the
option of making takedowns, which is a fair trade in my opinion. Although one
cannot deny that the original Deus Ex had some really awesome melee weaponry,
such as a retractable baton and the Dragon’s Tooth blade, not to mention the
pepper spray.
Grenades. Both games sort of have similar grenade types
here, so they are probably more or less even. Although one should take a look
at functionality too. In HR there was a cool option to turn grenades into
mines. I must say I thought that was a great idea. However, the original
already allowed this option but without the need of acquiring mine templates.
In the original, one could both - throw a grenade and to plant it on the wall
like a mine.
And then we have all the other items, such as food, alcohol,
buffs. I think with these both games did all right, though would’ve been nice
if HR had those tech armors like the original had, things such as HazMat suit,
Ballistic armor, etc.
To conclude, I think it’s a pretty close one, but the
original wins out by a fair bit, because its weapons were a little bit more
original and more interesting.
Deus Ex +1
Total so far:
Deus Ex (9) : Human Revolution (7)
14)
Skills and
Augmentations
Both Deus Ex games contain plenty of RPG elements. Skills
and augmentations are pretty much how these elements are represented. A player
gains experience points in-game by completing objectives and exploring so then
he/she can use them to ‘level up’ so to speak. The idea of augmentations is the
same in both games, but it’s executed slightly differently. In the original
Deus Ex, we had two separate categories – the skills (natural abilities more or
less) and the augmentations (the engineered/inhuman abilities). In Human
Revolution, the two categories kind of merged.
Now there are many great skills to learn in both games. The
original blew me away, and I was impressed that Human Revolution managed to
deliver this feature in all its glory as well. To compare and to decide which
one has better augmentations is a bit hard. The original Deus Ex had some
really great ones, like the Aggressive Defence, Spy Drones, Synthetic Heart, all
of which HR lacks, but on the other hand HR has some of its own new ones, like
the Typhoon, Icarus landing, as well as abilities to punch through weakened
walls, extend your inventory space, and a few others.
One more thing to note is that in the original the number of
experience points and upgrade canisters was very limited and also some of the
augmentations were mutually exclusive to each other. This meant that the player
could not go for all available options and really had to decide hard on which
he/she would need the most. In HR, one can pretty much gain most (if not all)
of the available augmentations by the end of the game. Although this is a big
difference, I can’t really say that one way is better than the other. The
original allows for more replayability, but limits the player, whereas HR
allows more freedom but also decreases the replayability.
So, after taking all these factors into account, both games
are evenly matched when it comes to skills and augs.
Deus Ex +1
Human Revolution +1
Total so far:
Deus Ex (10) : Human Revolution (8)
15)
The Endings
One of very distinct features that made Deus Ex stand out
back in its time was the aspect of multiple endings. Not only was this option
given, but it was executed spectacularly. In the final level of the game, the
story goes such a way that each of JC’s allies ends up suggesting a different
course of action, and so it finally comes down to JC having to make a moral decision,
a decision which future of the whole planet would depend on. Each of the three
endings carried a strong philosophical meaning behind it.
Human Revolution
certainly wasn’t going to miss out on this feature, and as a result we have
multiple endings here too, except this time it’s done slightly differently.
First of all, there are 4 endings rather than 3. Secondly, the endings do not
require a separate quest path. The decision is actually made right after the
final boss fight, literally with the press of a button. And thirdly, the ending
cinematics are done differently. The difference was that instead of showing an
animated, action-packed cinematic, we actually get to see lots of clips of real
life people and places, and on top of it there is Jensen’s voiceover about his
decision. The first time I actually was a bit disappointed with this approach,
but after having viewed each of the four endings, this style grew on me and I
was really touched. I think the combination of clips, Jensen’s strong words,
and beautiful music really made the end of the game very powerful. Now which
game did it better? This is a very tricky decision, because both games provided
endings with strong philosophical concepts and very subjective themes. Because
of that, one cannot call any ending a good ending or a bad. They’re all grey
area endings, and this is why I loved them so much in both games. They were
simply fantastic.
Deus Ex +1
Human Revolution +1
The Final Score:
Deus Ex (11) : Human Revolution (9)
Final Conclusion
So then, the scores tell us that the original Deus Ex
slightly prevails (at least by my analysis), but the games have been evenly
matched on many levels and Human Revolution certainly lived up to its predecessors
and made for a great Deus Ex game. The original set the bar extremely high,
reaching perfection of gaming pretty much, and to beat it would’ve been
incredibly hard. However, Human Revolution, although didn’t beat it, managed to
be a very worthy rival. It might’ve fallen down a bit when it came to variation
and diversity of in-game material, but it managed to add some cool new features
which greatly spiced up the gameplay.
