Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut Wii U Review

A champion of choice. 

There’s no shortage of video games that let you kill things. There’s also no shortage of video games that promise to make the activity exciting, varied, or even optional. Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director’s Cut takes that same pledge and not only follows it, but shapes its combat and environmental design to ensure the philosophy can’t be forgotten.

Human Revolution first released in 2011. Two years later we’ve received the Director’s Cut, which includes the excellent DLC, useful new Wii U GamePad features, and reworked boss fights that promote experimentation. Everything else, including the pronounced black-and-gold aesthetics, is just as good as you remember it.

In the not-too-distant future, the wealthy and privileged can augment their bodies with cybernetics. Enhanced eyeballs, legs, and arms are only an operation away. Human Revolution explores what happens when

such scientific improvements drive a wedge between the rich and poor, further dividing the two social classes. This isn’t just backstory, though. When walking through futuristic Detroit, for example, the disparity between the two groups is noticeable at every turn. A dire but effective anxiety permeates everything. Protagonist Adam Jensen’s employer is one of the largest biotechnology manufacturers in the world. After an attack on Sarif leaves Jensen mangled and his love interest missing, a large percentage of his body is replaced with mechanical augmentations. He even receives face-mounted sunglasses that retract quickly and look kind of cool. The story that follows raises questions about loyalty and the evolution of humanity, but mostly it’s about Jensen finding his girlfriend — which is a tad disappointing when much more tantalizing mysteries loom in the background.

The Deus Ex series has a reputation for letting you play in whichever style you choose, and Human Revolution wisely follows this blueprint. I played a combat-happy version of Jensen, so I improved his defense, weapon stability, inventory capacity, and melee takedowns. Later I added a Typhoon upgrade that launches out explosives from Jensen’s body (from parts unknown) in a 360-degree radius. Those who favor caution and stealth could improve their hacking prowess, reduce the noise of their footsteps, or even opt to turn completely invisible. Mixing and matching works too, because Human Revolution never forces you down one path.

Environments are built with a wealth of gameplay options in mind. Whether in wide open city streets or cramped corporate corridors, there are plenty of side routes and secrets to discover. Ventilation ducts let you evade enemy patrols and get to your destination faster. Computers and terminals can be hacked to open weapon caches or turn robots against their owners. The world makes sure no play style is given a clear advantage, which makes upgrading your character exciting instead of stressful. You really can’t mess up.

In the first release of Human Revolution, boss battles heavily favored those who beefed up their characters for combat. The Director’s Cut evens the playing field for everyone. You can still blast enemies to death, but now most of the time you can now hide, hack, or do whatever else it is that your character excels at. They’re markedly less frustrating this time around, and they feel like a proper part of the Human Revolution experience rather than odd outliers.

The Missing Link DLC is included in the Director’s Cut, but if you weren’t aware it was sold separately, you’d never know that those three or four hours of content weren’t originally meant to be there. In The Missing Link, Jensen is abducted, captured, and stripped of his gear and abilities. If you’re getting tired of stabbing bad guys over and over, this is the chance to see what other kinds of gameplay Deus Ex has to offer – all without sacrificing what you’ve already worked for up to that point.

Part of what makes Director’s Cut for the Wii U the best version of Human Revolution is the GamePad’s functionality. Instead of taking up a good chunk of your main screen, the map is now found on the controller. It’s easier to see enemy’s

icons on the closer screen, and you can mark up the map with your own notes. A quick menu lets you access weapons and gadgets easily, and hacking feels faster and more intuitive when you can simply tap nodes with your fingers. The most interesting addition is the ability to take a screenshot of your surroundings at any time, and write advice over the image and share with your friends on the Miiverse. There’s also a built-in strategy guide and plenty of interesting developer commentary available for those who want a behind-the-scenes look into Human Revolution’s development.

The well-tuned gameplay of Human Revolution can sometimes falter when it attempts (or doesn’t attempt) to explain its game-isms. Given how quickly enemies will punish your stealth slip-ups, it’s odd that some of them will ignore Jensen’s more blatantly ridiculous activities. Police are reasonably suspicious when you gain temporary access to their department, but they do nothing when they clearly see you entering their air ducts or carrying vending machines. When I approach some characters with a weapon drawn they plead for me to holster it, nearly in tears. Literally two seconds later, they’re striking up a perfectly normal conversation like nothing happened. We often forgive these odd behaviors “because it’s a game,” but when some oddities are justified in-game and others are not, the reality of the world feels fractured and incomplete.