Deus Ex is a game that grants gamers freedom but fails to fully immerse the player in its world due to its failed bosses
Game play: Deus ex provides an extremely diverse way to play the game. You can go throughout the entire game without killing any enemies (aside from bosses). You can sneak in a building and only use tranquilizers and stun guns when necessary or you can shoot everyone in sight. It's the gamers' choice. Game play is smooth either way you play. Combat includes- hand to hand takedowns, 10mm pistol, machine pistol, stun gun, tranquilizer rifle, shot gun, assault rifle, sniper rifle, crossbow, revolver, a pulse shotgun(can't remember name), rocket launcher, a large machine gun, and a typhoon ability. You can upgrade these weapons as well. I bought a silencer and a laser sight for my 10mm pistol and increased the fire rate of my machine pistol. There are also plenty of grenade types from explosive to gas grenades. You can also hack into computer terminals and take over enemy turrets and robots giving your enemies a terrifying surprise. My point is, there are plenty of tools at your disposal to eliminate your foes if you even want to interfere with them.
Gunplay plays like Rainbow Six Vegas and stealth is fairly close to splinter cell conviction (not as smooth though). This is good gameplay.
There are also augmentations you gain as you progress through the game. This works like a typical rpg with skill trees. These augmentations are really what make the game, well amazing. You can gain the ability to never have fall damage, turn invisible, hack secure computers, break through walls, do double takedowns, take more damage, make a fire ring of destruction, steady aim, stealth walk, and there is a lot more. Each ability provides new ways to explore the levels and different ways to approach each scenario. This means the game becomes more enjoyable as you play. This is good because the maps become more complex as you progress and you will see all of the different choices you can make.
Once again that word Choice comes back, not only do you have different weapons to choose from, different styles to play, and different abilities to use. You have the choice of which path to take. There are plenty of air vents to sneak through, walls to break, electric paths to work through, walls to break and high places to drop too. On top of these different routs you can always take the front door. It's your choice. The massive amounts of choices are what make this game so great and worth playing.
That being said, for a game that focuses so much on choice, it really screws you over with the boss fights. If you played the game leveling up hacking and stealth (like me) than you the boss fights are absolutely terrible. The bosses can be really difficult and hard to figure out with the lack of certain augmentations. This is bad because these boss fights occur when you are really engaged in the game. Once you realize the boss is almost impossible to beat because you didn't unlock invincibility to electricity you will want to put the game away for good. This is terrible because the peak of the experience is really great. Fortunately there are only 3 boss fights, and I would highly recommend you look them up before you fight them simply to alleviate future frustration with one of the best games this Gen.
Setting/ Story
The story to dues ex is full of deception and corruption during a time when science has developed robotics to enhance Humans. These augmentations allow people to progress their own evolution. You see two sides to this concept, those who benefit and those who don't. You will see disabled people function physically better than healthy individuals, and you will meet prostitutes who are forced to get augmentations to enhance thier business. You will also see people get addicted to drugs because of augmentation failures. Without spoiling anything, all I can really say is you play as Jenson, head of security at Sarif Industirs. The plot is great and there are multiple endings which adds replay value to the game.
This brings up the dialog. When you are in conversations you can choose what you want to say. This is great at the beginning of the game, but towards the middle you will stop having these choices and that's disappointing because it's just another way to choose. It also seems that no matter what you say you sound the same. The voice acting isn't always up to par. Though I simply think the main character just lacks a lot of personality which is fine. He reminds a lot of neo, so he is a very likable character. Other characters display their personality and you will be able to like or dislike them. Some characters treat you with respect and others treat you like crap. This is good because you will enjoy meeting new characters.
Deus Ex: HR is a great game and should be enjoyed by gamers. However, the game is degraded by its boss fights. This might seem like a petty complaint, but its not. It really does zap you out of the experience and can truly frustrate you. This is a great game that has a lot of options for gamers, a lot of replay value, and a challenging experience to enjoy.