Incoming 2011 - Deus Ex: Human Revolution

What we know

The original Deus Ex was the sort of game that almost no one played at the time but still managed to become hugely influential, both for developer and gamers, for a long time after, spawning the popular gaming meme that every time it is mentioned in forum conversation someone would reinstall and play through it.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a prequel game set during 2027, more than one decade before the original game, in a world where mechanical augmentations are still the norm and where nano technology is just being developed.

Players will play a security guard that sees something he was not supposed to and is drawn into the spider web of conspiracy that covers the world, trying to make sense of what is happening around them and charting their own course through a period when humanity is trying to make sense of the future.

The game will blend traditional shooting with sneaking elements and with complex social interactions and the developers working at Eidos are saying that they aim to make each of the paths equally effective, with sneak oriented gamers able to complete the entire experience without killing anyone but the boss characters.

The game will feature a number of augmentations, each suited to a different play style, and there will be enough choice included in the game in order to encourage multiple playthroughs leading to different endings.

Why it matters

It has been a while since we had a video game from a high profile developer which aims to bland talking, stealth and shooting with complex open world cities and such a unique visual identity as Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

What the creators have shown off so far is very ambitious and the slight delay is a testament to the fact that Square Enix is taking care to only launch a game that has the quality to match the expectations of the fans who loved what Deus Ex can do.