Deus Ex: Human Revolution
This game had been sitting in my Steam Library for years, I believe I won it as a Steamgift.
Going into this game with no prior knowledge or experience of this game, gotta say, it hit me like the first time I played Mass Effect 2.
Starting with the story:
The narrative really got me thinking about human/machine bonding (aka augmenting) and whether or not something of this nature should be acceptable or condemned. I would personally be for it, provided it works on the same principal as magic: "To work with mankind, never to rule over him/her". I do like the idea of mixing in real-world news, events, people, conspiracies and places whilst adding a fiction element (being the main plot); made it feel like more than just a game in that regard.
Gameplay:
This reminded me of a few of my favourite games: Mass Effect, Crysis and Splinter Cell. RPG elements (allowing for upgrades/modifications) can help to give you a real edge in and out of combat. A good variety of weapons gives you many ways of approaching a situation (loud, dumb and cool or silent, ninja warrior assassin). My initial choice of weapon was what made my approach to the game. I took a tranquilizer rifle and that pretty much set in stone how I was going to play the game from that point. Weapons can be hot-key customised. Would have liked to swap weapons within the hot-keys themselves; sadly could not - must be dragged from inventory.
Sneaking/stealth - works better than a lot of other games I've played. The ability to incapacitate or kill an enemy while in cover is a nice touch.
Gun-play - I did not use rifles and shotguns too often, if at all unless I
had to kill someone. They are as effective as I would have hoped a gun would be.
Aug abilities - while many I found really useful, others I avoided almost altogether. The cloak felt like a waste of time, only time I really needed it was to get passed lasers (so as to not trigger an alarm, that was once. Let's just say I though it'd last longer (Crysis spoiled me in that regard, by comparison).
Side-quests - Definitely a nice addition next to the main plot, some to be found, others outright given.
GUI - No complaints other than no hot-key swopping.
Boss fights - they exist in this game, and have a trial-and-error means of completion - at least for me.
One thing I should mention is that many of the characters in dialogue look as though they have bobble-heads, which was funny-looking to me.
Soundtrack:
While I very much did like the soundtrack, some themes started becoming repetitive after a while.
Conclusion:
Felt very much worth the wait. Really enjoyed all the 30+ hours I invested. I definitely look forward to its successor.
The ending I chose felt conclusive though with a hint at a continuation.
If you've not played it, you owe it do yourself to do so.