Deus Ex: Human Revolution opens in the year 2027, in the glistening metropolis of Detroit. Adam Jensen, security chief for Serif Industries, the industry leader in human augmentation, is nearly killed in an attack and augmented against his will. As the game progresses, a vast conspiracy is uncovered, and Jensen probably does something about it. Right, I forgot to mention that I haven’t finished the game, but the story is fantastic so far, with interesting hints and threads of many intersecting forces. I am thoroughly intrigued.

I have played a few hours of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and I can highly recommend it. The game is a story-driven, stealth, RPG, shooter-type thing. So, you might have noticed that I am having some difficulty describing the game. This is a game that blurs the line between genres. There is a strong role-playing component to Deus Ex: Human Revolution, in the sense that most of your actions have serious consequences and affect the story. As you gain experience, you gain the ability to unlock augmentations in yourself. These affect anything from your physical strength, to your skills hacking the various terminals and computers. The world is almost completely open to you, with a few areas locked off until you gain the required augmentations, but you can augment yourself at the pace you want. You can use this to approach the various challenges in many different ways. It is possible to march into an area, guns blazing, or try to sneak in and possibly hack the security system to your advantage.  I have, on a few occasions, just talked my way into a secure area.

The stealth and combat in the game are very well realized, with a great deal of augmentation available to support either route. There is an achievement for completing the entire game without killing anyone, which requires a very stealthy approach. This is just an option, though, in a game filled with nothing but choices. The largest complaint that I can think of is that there are occasionally areas where it seems like there are wrong choices to be made. In general, though, areas are built with multiple paths and hidden areas. This allows players who have emphasized the less confrontational augments to cleverly evade the nastiest fights.

I can’t speak too much about the other settings, but Detroit feels like a real city, and not a level in a video game. The story is interesting enough that I would be happy to watch someone else play, just so I can see what happens next. OK, I lied; I have been having too good a time to just watch, but I can’t wait to see whatever is next.