Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (previously Deus Ex 3) will be the third game in the Deus Ex series and a prequel to the original Deus Ex. It is being developed by Eidos Montreal in co-production with Square Enix, who are responsible for pre-rendered movie sequences and publishing. There is no multiplayer mode.

Plot
Human Revolution is set in 2027, just as human augmentation begins to enter mainstream life. Augmentations are not of the nanotech variety used in JC or Alex Denton's time; rather they are mechanical implants, and in some cases, full-blown limb replacements.

Players take the role of Adam Jensen, a security consultant employed by Sarif Industries to protect a research lab in Detroit. The game opens with an attack on the laboratory by augmented black ops soldiers, who use a security plan Jensen created himself. He is mortally wounded, and is saved by having extremely powerful military-grade augmentations installed. It is unknown whether he agrees to this, disagrees, or is unconscious until after the operation. As the plot progresses, Jensen uncovers a conspiracy to force human evolution down a very particular path, and is forced to augment himself further to survive and conquer it. The events in Human Revolution eventually lead to the strike on the Statue of Liberty and the formation of UNATCO.

Themes
Human Revolution deals with the ethics of transhumanism, and carries an overarching message of humanity's reach exceeding its grasp. "Mankind is using mechanical augmentations," director Jean-François 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 Icarus and Daedalus appears in Adam Jensen's dreams as an allegory to this thought, and also - given that Daedalus was the name of an artificial intelligence in Deus Ex - an intellectual bridge to the original game.

The pace of technological development is reflected visually by a Renaissance theme. Characters who support the advances of human augmentation dress themselves and decorate their homes in reinterpreted late-mediaeval Italian style, and the game as a whole has a sepia-tinted colour palette reminiscent of historic manuscripts. In contrast, characters who oppose augmentation wear clothing that is more or less current-day.

Conspiracy theories and immensely powerful corporations also feature strongly, as in Deus Ex, though nothing is currently known about them.

Parts of the game will take place during the day, unlike in Deus Ex, but most locations will nevertheless be brooding and dark.

Characters
Characters known so far:

Adam Jensen - Security Consultant for Sarif Industries.

David Sarif - Owner of Sarif Industries.May prove to be Adam's mission-giver in the early part of the game, something like Manderley. He wants to use the augmentation industry to revitalise the economy of his home city of Detroit, and has fitted out old car plants to manufacture, among other things, the arms fitted on Adam Jensen .

Faridah Malik - Jensen's pilot. Sarif Industries employee.

Fedorova - Official role not yet known. Also known as the 'Augmented One', seen strutting her stuff in the official trailer.

Barrett - Possibly one of the game's antagonist. He is heavily augmented.

Eliza - The celebrity-like newsreader for the Picus TV network - she appears to be an artificial intelligence.

Megan Reed - Niece of David Sarif, and Adam's ex-girlfriend, presumably a scientist. It is unknown whether she is kidnapped or killed during the attack that opens the game. She can be seen in the cinematic trailer, yelling Adam's name as he is brutally thrown out of a window.

Corporations

 * Sarif Industries
 * Sarpatech
 * Picus TV

Factions/Groups

 * Humanity Front


 * Purity First

World Locations

 * Detroit
 * Shanghai
 * Montreal
 * New York (presumed for the formation of UNATCO)


 * Philadelphia (was identified in one piece of concept art)

District

 * Heng Sha, a two-tiered island offshore from Shanghai

Augmentations
Augmentations are Mechanical in Deus Ex: Human Revolution and are state of the art, some citizens are augumented but only slightly whilst the most advanced technologies are given to the military or Government, this is because the nanotechnology of JC and Alex Denton's time has not yet been developed. The new Deus Ex: Human Revolution Gameplay Trailer confirmed 21 of the cybernetic enhancements you can get in the game. Augmentations in Human Revolution are either passive or active; passive ones are always in effect and drain no energy, and active ones consume some energy when used.

Augmentations are divided into different categories:

Neural

Visual
 * Security Confusion Aug
 * Security Health Aug
 * Security Invisibility Aug
 * Smart Vision Aug
 * Retinal Prosthesis Aug

Subdermal


 * Defense Aug
 * Cloaking Aug

Torso

Arms Legs Feet
 * Health Boost Aug
 * Energy Boost Aug
 * Lung Capacity Aug
 * Typhoon Explosive System
 * Strength Aug
 * Accuracy Aug
 * Silent Running Aug
 * Icarus Landing System
 * Speed Aug

Not all augmentations will be limb replacements, as Eidos Montreal has spoken of some augmentations as small as microchip implants. Nevertheless, there will still be plenty of scope for altering Adam Jensen's appearance by selecting different ones.

New augmentations can be bought from limb clinics with money, but their use will be limited at first. The more powerful abilities are unlocked with experience points, a system designed to simulate Adam becoming more familiar with his new features. There will be enough money in the game to buy every aug available - but not enough experience to unlock all their abilities.

Combat
Aiming and weapon accuracy is no longer affected by player character statistics Human Revolution, though recoil can be reduced by arm augmentations and a weapon's stats affect its damage output. Weapons use distinct ammo types, unlike the unified ammo of Invisible War, and are broadly similar to modern-day armaments. They can be upgraded as the game progresses, and some can be recombined: for instance, instead of LAM or EMP grenades simply sticking to walls, the player must first combine a normal grenade with a 'wall-mount' device.

Damage is 'high': a few bullets are enough to kill either an NPC or the player.

Human Revolution uses the regenerating health model that is popular in contemporary games design. Eidos didn't want players to reach a situation where they were unable to progress due to low health, and would be forced to "scrounge for med packs", which they see as tension-and flow-breaking. They believe regenerating health will still encourage tactics and strategy without disrupting play for medkit back-tracking.

Enemy squads have identifiable leaders who organise the group's actions. If the leader is killed the squad will be less effective and less able to respond to changes in the player's tactics.



Adam has a series of 'takedown' moves which can be triggered at appropriate points. These are short third-person sequences that show him knocking out or killing the target with a contextual animation; examples range from stabbing guards with the arm blades to tapping someone on the shoulder and punching them out when they turn round.

Stealth and cover
A cover hugging system is in place in Human Revolution, though it can be ignored if the player desires. When the cover button is hit Adam will attach to the nearest sensible surface and the camera will switch to third-person.

Cover is more important than in the previous two games because it is the only way to avoid detection when sneaking. Low lighting levels can no longer reliably hide the player from NPCs. Noise can also bring unwanted attention.

There will be a cloaking augmentation in the game, and there is also an x-ray vision ability.

Technology (hacking)


Hacking in Human Revolution takes the form of a minigame with similarities to Uplink, and is done in the game world instead of on a 2D screen overlay. The player must traverse a network of computer nodes in order to reach a 'registry' where the information they want is stored; if they are detected then a trace begins that tries to search back to the location at which he entered the system. It is only if the trace succeeds that alarms are triggered.

There are no multitools in the game. Everything electronic is hacked.

Social
Conversations can be 'lost' in Human Revolution, meaning that the NPC refuses to give you the information you want - even to talk with you again. They progress not by the player picking from a set of lines seen on-screen, but by picking from one of three emotional stances to take.

Development
It was announced on May 17, 2007, by IGN in an interview with Patrick Melchior, the director of Eidos France, on the French-Canadian television station, MusiquePlus. Neither Warren Spector nor Harvey Smith, the main creative directors behind the first two games, were attached to the project.

Further confirming the game's development, Eidos Montreal's general manager Stéphane D’Astous reported that they have received a "huge mandate" to focus on the creation of Deus Ex 3. In the same report, D’Astous expounded upon the development philosophy being implemented at the new studio. The philosophy focuses on smaller teams with multi-discipline employees. While embraced by the designers, this philosophy means that Deus Ex 3 is scheduled to develop for at least 18 months, if not 24 or more, which puts the earliest release date in the middle of 2009. The last bit of information D'Astous divulged was that Deus Ex 3 had just passed proof of concept, as of late November 2007.

A teaser trailer was released on November 26, 2007. The 200th issue of PC Zone Magazine revealed the conspiracy of Deus Ex 3 along with information and artwork/screenshots. Several design decisions were unveiled, such as regenerating health and a cover system, precipitating an initial backlash amongst many fans of Deus Ex.

Some concept art and early screenshots had been provided for PC Zone's first preview, but it was not until a Square Enix-produced CGI teaser trailer was shown at the 2010 Game Developers Conference that another glimpse of the game's visual style was shown. The teaser was expanded to a three-minute trailer at E3 2010 (still all pre-rendered) which coincided with a second preview in PC Gamer UK containing new screenshots and gameplay details, and announced that the game will not be coming out until "Early 2011". 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.

In July, 13 2010 Del Rey Books announces a book, based in the universe of Deus Ex, named DEUS EX: THE ICARUS EFFECT written by James Swallow released in 2011.

During the Tokyo Game Show 2010 a new trailer was released. The trailer was the same at the E3 but with new scene and revealing a new charactres, with japanese voice actors; at the same time Square Enix, Inc., has revealed today a new premium-quality action figure based on the central character from Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Adam Jensen. Deus Ex: Human Revolution Play Arts -Kai- will be the latest addition to the Play Arts -Kai- series, and will feature newly-augmented Adam Jensen and even more.

Frank Lapikas, game designer on DX:HR, confirmed 3 difficulty levels: Casual, Normal and 'Deus Ex'. The PC version of DX:HR will feature DirectX 11 support for improved visuals. It will have more advanced AI to compensate for the precision offered by the mouse, in addition to optimized controls, and a unique UI tailored to the platform. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is targeted for an Q1 2011 release with Amazon.com currently suggesting a March 8, 2011 date.

In 30, November Square Enix announced the Deus Ex: Human Revolution Augmented Edition bundles, available early next year for $69.99 ($59.99 PC), the game inside some rather attractive premium packaging, along with a 40-page art book, a motion graphic novel, a making-of DVD, and the game's soundtrack. More bonuses come to those that preorder the game at participating retailers. Putting money down at a retailer that isn't GameStop will score players the Tactical Enhancement Pack, which comes with a Huntsman Silverback Double-Barrel Shotgun, the Longsword Whisperhead Extreme Range Sniper Rifle, and extra credits to spend in game. GameStop preorders will secure the Explosive Mission Pack, packed with a Linebacker G-87 multiple shot grenade launcher, the M-28 Utility Remote-Detonated Explosive Device, an automatic unlocking device, and an entirely new mission to play through, featuring a cameo by a character from the original Deus Ex.

Gallery
Deus Ex 3