Nintendo's Wii U has received a much-needed boost in the past few months with the release of some great first-party games. But now it's getting one of the best titles of the entire current (previous?) generation in Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut (also out for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3)
Key Features
- All DLC included in purchase
- Second-screen "neural hub" for Wii U, SmartGlass and PS Vita
- Overhauled boss fights
- Better graphics
- Improved combat mechanics
- MiiVerse integration
The Pitch:
"The Wii U GamePad, Microsoft’s SmartGlass, and the PlayStation Vita provide the ultimate experience with 11 new Neural Hub features, including touchscreen hacking, interactive map editing, augmented sniping, smart vision plus, throwback explosives, inventory and augmentation management, and the possibility to play the entire game on the GamePad screen"
Verdict
'Deus Ex: Human Revolution' was already a classic, and this reissued version with enhanced graphics, tightened up combat and a new (and genuinely useful) second screen experience delivers on its promise to make it even better.
The core of the game is still present and correct. You play as Jensen, a security chief for a cybernetics company who is brutally injured early in the game - and brought 'back from the dead' as a technologically enhanced super human. Your task is ultimately to adapt to these 'augmentations', and discover the truth behind the (cultural and corporate) war raging around their invention.
It's a cool, if vaguely generic setup, and in truth the game itself brushes the edge of cliche with its FPS first-person viewpoint, gruff to the point of silly dialogue and William Gibson-esque setting. But the game is better than the sum of its parts. It gives you space to invent tactics and strategies, explore the world at your own pace, interact in intelligent ways with the other characters and push the boundaries of the stealth/combat mechanics.
Not everything works perfectly - your enemies are all fiercely intelligent but have little-to-know short term memory. The game isn't easy either, and you'll need skill to make the most of it.
Fortunately the new Director's Cut resolves many of the issues from the original. The awful boss battles have been totally reworked, the second screen is brilliantly employed as a map/inventory/class tree device - especially on the Wii U. And while graphically it still seems a little dated, it's rich enough to stand alongside this generation's best games.
If you're prepared to commit, this is an entrancing and addictive story-led game, which blends great gameplay with a solid story, and still gives you space to use your own imagination. It's never going to match the next-gen consoles for novelty, but as a landmark of its time - and a welcome arrival on the needy Wii U - it's a genetically modified diamond.