EXCLUSIVE: Deus Ex: Human Revolution Impressions

Probably the most anticipated role-play shooter of the year has arrived...yes, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is in stores now. I've spent a few hours wading through the first few missions, but in all honesty most of that time was spent on very compelling side missions, which shows how deep a world has been crafted and the probable sheer length of the game as a whole. I hope to bring you my full review of it next week. Until then, here in bullet point-form are my thoughts on the game so far...

• The visuals, while not perfect, are brilliantly cyberpunk and techno, with really impressive colour schemes and 99% spot-on facial quality. Sometimes characters' lips seem to struggle to keep up with their individual dialogue, but it's not too noticable. The soundtrack maintains the dark, techno vibe too- always nice to have a bit of consistency!
• It's quite something to be saying that Deus Ex provides a genuine challenge, perhaps for the first time this year. I loved Portal 2's story, gameplay and general innovation, and for those it still remains the best game I've played so far this year, but there was certainly little effort required to best most of its puzzles. Here, I've been gunned down on several occassions already for not taking the right approach. That doesn't necessarily mean I should have attempted to be stealthy, but rather I could have used hacking, social skills or other routes to reach my objectives rather than go all Call of Duty.
• Be warned that if you're looking for a shooter along the lines of COD, Battlefiend and Medal of Honor, however, that this is nothing of the short. It's a straight RPG, with gunfights thrown in for good measure, not unlike the Fallout series. What makes this better (yes, really) than Fallout is the sense of direction ever-present whether you're on a side mission or simply exploring the city- the objective marker to the main story progression is always on your HUD to guide you.
• Better still, there's a sense of real consequence too! In one mission, saving hostages is a secondary objective, but I realised that the room containing them was full of guards who I did not feel I was yet experienced enough at fighting with to save the hostages. So, I navigated around that room and continued to my main objective. I was later informed that they were killed by their captors, and people mentioned this to me in dialogue later on in-game, some saying I did the best I could and others scolding my inability. That's an intriguing proposition, and one I hope the game builds on over the course of the next 30 hours.
• There's an LA Noire style discussion system, one which is actually easier to use as the characters fall into stereotypes which can be marked by your augmented brain and used to convince people to do your bidding. I helped save a hostage at one point through this by empathising with her captor, and her captor later met up with me in a side mission to thank me for his redemption.
• In short, I'm thinking this will turn out similarly to Mass Effect. That's a very good thing, by the way! The question many fans will be wondering is of course- will this be Game of the Year? Even with a few good hours under my belt, it's far too early to tell. One thing is for sure, though: unless the quality of the gameplay and storyline decreases dramatically in later hours (seems unlikely), this will be a big contender for the award alongside Portal 2. I don't think it will turn out as 2011's Best Game, but boy, will it be a memorable one!

My full review of Deus Ex: Human Revolution is coming next week.