Deus Ex: Human Revolution “The Missing Link” DLC

The new DLC offering from Eidos Interactive and Square Enix, “The Missing Link”, is the first true DLC for the acclaimed stealth action game Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I played The Missing Link all weekend, and although the game itself showed potential for true Deus Ex greatness, there were a few places where it let me down.

The Missing Link takes place at a certain point towards the end of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, when Adam Jensen tries to get a little shuteye in a stasis pod. The Missing Link fills us in on what happened on the ship that Jensen’s pod was loaded on to. The 3-day period was never explained in the game, and it’s probably a good thing. The story that unfolds would have felt a little too different in the original game’s story arc, but that’s part of the reason why it’s worth checking out; it’s a fresh start for us, as well as for Adam Jensen.

Adam’s presence on the militaristic cargo ship doesn’t go unnoticed. Apparently the guy snores, or shifts and turns a lot in his sleep. Waking him up turns out to be a bad way to go about business as well, as he takes out around 8 of the soldiers before he’s subdued onboard the ship. Jensen is captured and thrown into an EMP chair, which disables his augmentations.

After being interrogated, Jensen finds himself free of his shackles, but still completely without assistance from his well planned out augments. You, the player, are left to fend for yourself on board a rainy cargo ship teaming with soldiers. Torture? Raining on a large boat? I’m sure you’re getting the Metal Gear Solid vibe now, right?

There are subtle upgrades to the graphics of the game, like the lighting, and there’s not as much gold this time around; it’s still there, just not in spades. The game is just as beautiful as Human Revolution, and it is also proof that Eidos is listening to feedback from the fans. True Deus Ex fans can now breathe a sigh of relief; there are multiple ways and choices to make throughout the game, and that goes for the final boss fight as well. You can now get through the entire game without killing a single person.

It looks like Eidos Interactive really used The Missing Link as a testing ground for figuring out what the Deus Ex fans want, and that goes for the story arc as well(but that’s for you to find out on your own). The game itself will give you around 6-7 hours of playtime, but there are quite a few side quests that give you more reasons to explore the cargo ship and Rifleman Bank Station. The game also comes with achievements to unlock, one of which requiring you to beat the game without using weapons or any augmentation upgrades! Although the game may seem closed off and claustrophobic at times, there are different routes to your destination everywhere. All you need to do is keep a keen eye out for them. The choices and actions you take affect how the game progresses later on as well. If you pass an area without checking it out, you might be passing on an opportunity.

While I was quite happy with everything The Missing Link provided, there were a few things that disappointed me. For one, I didn’t like the character animations during conversations in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, specifically the female characters, and that unfortunately carries over to The Missing Link. There seems to be too few movements created for them, resulting in recycled hand gestures and movements used multiple times within a small conversation. I prefer the smaller gestures created for the male characters. Either give the female characters more animations, or make them more subtle.

Another thing that could be seen as a problem is the backtracking. You’ll be going back to earlier parts of the game pretty often to progress through the storyline. I didn’t mind that much, but it did seem to happen quite often. The good thing is, even though the areas might seem cramped, the corridors are plentiful, and the routes to get through any area are even more so; you get a hell of a lot of choices.  I’ll go over my biggest and final problem in the conclusion.

Conclusion:

I am a hard core Deus Ex fan, and therefore this DLC would have been an instant purchase for me. Be that as it may, the $15 cost of this DLC still makes me flinch. Really? Fifteen dollars? Although I truly feel that this DLC goes leaps and bounds over other DLC packs that other game companies have released for big name MP games, it still just seems too steep. For hardcore fans, this might be less of a problem, but for the more casual gamers out there, that price is enough to turn them off without even checking to see what it has to offer.

This game is just as much fun to play as Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and in some ways, it surpasses it. The boss fight for me is the high point of the entire game. Well done Eidos; the only boss fight that’s worth bragging about was made in-house. I really like what I’m seeing coming out of Eidos, and this DLC seems to show that they’re more than willing to give the Deus Ex fans what they want.

At $15, the DLC will probably only make it’s way into the hands of the fanatical. If you’re holding off on this title because of the price, I highly recommend you check it out when it reaches your ideal price point, because it really is a treat.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution “The Missing Link” DLC is available now for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.