Deus Ex: Human Revolution – The Missing Link
Score: 87% Publisher: Square Enix Developer: Eidos Montreal Media: Download/1 Players: 1 Genre: Action/RPG/First Person Shooter
Intro: I've been more than a little curious as to how Deus Ex: Human Revolution was going to handle DLC expansions. Adding new weapons, outfits and other (mostly) cosmetic additions are pretty easy, but considering the nature of gameplay, I wasn't sure how new story content would snap into place. The easy answer is to require a replay, but Human Revolution isn't exactly a game you can just pick up and blaze through in a matter of hours. Some of the blueprint for extra content can be found in the handling of Mass Effect's added content. Though the two games are fundamentally different in how content can be added, both rely on a tight narrative and "Play as your want" play structure. The answer is, surprisingly, to add new stand-alone chapters in the space usually skipped over during load screens. It's a novel idea, and actually works if you're down for a bite-sized version of Human Revolution, though it may also cause some problems for purists who aren't willing to give up their carefully crafted character for a blank slate.
Our Story Thus Far....: Deus Ex: Human Revolution - The Missing Link plugs into the game's main narrative, offering a look at something that happened between loading screens in a later part of the story. In the original, Adam leaves Singapore aboard a freighter, only to arrive safely at his destination. In Missing Link, we find out Adam's journey wasn't exactly a smooth one. Rather than resting comfortably in his cryostasis chamber, he becomes embroiled in a plot involving the shady Belltower agency, even shadier ethical questions and the always fun wayward experiments. Although the DLC fits within the main narrative rather nicely, you need to access it via the Downloadable Content tab rather than through the game itself. It's a clean way to handle additional content though it does create a bit of a disconnection between whatever path you decided to take in the main game and what happens during the DLC chapter. The story is slightly disorienting at first, but like the main game, it manages to quickly pull you into what's happening. The visual and audio direction is spot-on and does just as good a job as Human Revolution in developing a persistent world. In some ways, it does a better job since you're limited to a smaller area, cutting down the number of blank mannequins you see while walking the streets in Human Revolution. You are guided through your mission by two new characters: a Russian who you communicate with via headset and an officer who isn't sure everything on the ship is legit. Both characters add a massive personality boost to the game. Without going into details, there are a couple of incredibly heart-wrenching, emotionally impactful moments that will cause you to stop and think about what's happening. It's a great thing and makes The Missing Link worth playing.
A Missing Link: The inevitable downside to how Deus Ex: Human Revolution - The Missing Link is handled is the already mentioned disconnection and what it means for the gameplay. For starters, you are stripped of all of your Augmentations at the very beginning, forcing you to restart your character from scratch. Although you still remember how you decided to tackle the game, there's no actual in-game record as to how you decided to take things on. All of your decisions prior to this point are meaningless and any decisions you make during the chapter have no bearing on what happens in the main game. Personally, I wasn't completely thrilled with the idea since I tend to build a link with characters I've spent hours with, planning and developing to fit my own personal play style. Granted, nothing stopped me from continuing that style in The Missing Link, but it lost something considering everything I did had absolutely no impact on the bigger picture. At the same time, I can see the potential in restarting a character. It allows for a certain level of experimentation in just how drastically different one play-style is from another. I stuck to a mostly stealth build in the original game, so I ended up trying out a brute-force style this time around. It took adjustment, but I appreciate seeing the other side of the fence. Missing Link does a great job at keeping things flexible and offering lots of opportunities for explorative play. You can tackle most situations in a number of ways, and it actually manages to make a few improvements - most notably the lack of the wedged-in boss fights that plagued Human Revolution. Instead, you get a really interesting fight built with multiple skill sets in mind. Unfortunately, the small play space makes backtracking a necessity. It offers an opportunity to snag items you may have passed before, but return trips aren't very exciting.
Value: The Missing Link packs in at least 5 - 6 hours worth of gameplay and, thanks to the number of ways you can tackle the game, you can probably squeeze another 5 or so hours out of the game. If you want, there's even an Achievement for brave players who decide to go through the game without any Augmentations. At 1200 MSP (about $15), The Missing Link is a pricey bit of DLC. Although I didn't like the disconnect between the DLC and original game, it is still worth playing if you were a fan of the original and want more.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
Related Links: Game Vortex's Review of Deus Ex: Human Revolution Deus Ex: Human Revolution -- The Missing Link | Xbox Live Page
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