Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director’s Cut Review

Deus Ex: Human Revelation.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a game that makes its transhumanist argument up front. In the game's introductory section, player character Adam Jensen is limited by his human abilities, and his eventual augmentations are not only treated as rewards for playing through the game's tasks, but are ultimately necessary to take him from the beginning to the game's completion.

Getting back in the saddle on the Wii U took a hot moment, as I jumped in on the game's difficult "Give Me Deus Ex" mode. As promised, the bosses have been refitted to work with a variety of different play styles, and it includes the game's DLC. Gameplay-wise, the controls have been refined to be more responsive that the jerky build I played at E3, and it now looks and plays almost identically to its original Xbox 360 and PS3 counterparts.

So what does the Wii U version have to offer that the other consoles don't to justify the difference in price? The main thing is the excellent Gamepad integration (on par with that from Arkham City's Armored Edition). Menus, hacking, tutorials, maps, memos, books, and other material that might be intrusive to the experience are all handled on the Gamepad.

The device stands in for the bulk of how Jensen interacts with the world outside the direct visual interface. For instance, when sniping, the targeting overlays appear through the scope on the Gamepad instead of the main screen (which shows the scope view without targeting data).

In a way this adds something new to the experience, a sense of separateness, an alien quality, to the use of Jensen's abilities. Using the mini-map to view enemy movements is now handled on the Gamepad, meaning you have to look away from the top screen. It helps to make the abilities seem less natural, even as it makes your integration with the world more seamless with less visual clutter. It strengthens not only the gameplay, but also the game's general aesthetic.

Designed specifically for the Wii U, this is the definitive version of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and is worth picking up at full retail if you skipped the game the first time around. If you played through the game to completion, though, the advances may not justify the cost. Graphically, the only difference I perceived was a slightly brighter default image, and it is starting to look a little dated with two years of advances in visual fidelity for the consoles. Still, it's a fantastic game that, first and foremost, highlights player choice in gameplay.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut is $50 for Wii U and $30 for PS3 and Xbox 360, though these lack the exclusive Gamepad features.