Deus Ex: The Fall Review

By , on July 16, 2013
Last modified 10 years, 8 months ago


Deus Ex: The Fall
Download on the AppStore
4 out of 5

PROS

  • Gorgeously detailed world.
  • Violent and non-violent ways to approach missions.
  • Customisation via augmentation is satisfying.

 

CONS

  • Control interface is clunky.
  • Campaign is a tad short.

VERDICT

Though somewhat hamstrung by its control scheme, Deus Ex: The Fall is a handsome diversion for franchise fans.


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Shoot or sneak? Hack or attack? Immobilise or kill? These are the choices you are confronted with throughout Deux Ex: The Fall. Taking its lead from the console-based Deus Ex: Human Revolution, this iOS spin-off sticks very close to its heavily augmented gold-tinged roots. On the plus side, this means you get a some stellar visuals, and narrative-driven campaign featuring missions which can be completed using either aggressive or non-aggressive tactics. On the downside, it means you have to tolerate another touchscreen FPS with slightly awkward controls, and an interface which is often cluttering your display with context-sensitive buttons.

You are Ben Saxon, an augmented ex-military agent who is trying to track down a steady supply of Neuropozyne, the drug which the cybernetically-enhanced require to function. To do this, you're going to have to barter with dodgy dealers, infiltrate gang territory, and face off against a procession of trigger-happy henchmen and robotic drones.

Developer N-Fusion has done a pretty terrific job of bringing the world of Human Revolution to iOS. Though the lighting and character models aren't as impressive as Human Revolution's, The Fall's dirty yellow colour palette and detailed environments look fantastic, and evoke plenty of fond memories.

The series trademark tactical flexibility returns, too. You can charge all guns blazing into the middle of a group of hostile gangbangers. And, if you've upgraded the right augmentations and have a massive bag of massive guns, you might survive. However, take the time to survey your surroundings and you'll find ventilation shafts, security codes, and other subterfuge-friendly methods to avoid detection altogether. As always with Deus Ex, the stealthy route is always the most satisfying, though gun nuts are catered to via the tooled-up virtual shop.

Upgrading augmentations lets you tailor your character beyond your weapon loadout. You can spend upgrade points to increase your strength and combat shielding. Alternatively, you can pour your resources into improving your hacking skills, and powering-up your invisibility cloak. As always with this series, the choice is yours. Putting your chosen augmentations to use is very satisfying, allowing you to leave your own personal stamp on the battlefield.

Unfortunately, it's not all good news. While this is certainly one of the better FPSs on the App Store, the game's controls leave something to be desired. You can use a touch-to-travel system, but you'll probably fall back on the functional (if underwhelming) dual stick system. However, when the context sensitive buttons begin popping up all over the screen, you really start to feel the absence of a physical controller. Silent takedowns, switching cover positions, interacting with objects: all are triggered by buttons which appear and disappear when required. While the buttons do their job, it's not a very comfortable system to use, forcing you frequently change your grip at sensitive moments.

However, if you can see past the control issues, you'll find Deux Ex: The Fall offers a healthy injection of open-ended cyberpunk action. It not without its problems, but this first episode in a promised series will be a shot in the arm for franchise fans.

Screenshots

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