Adam wasn't napping for the three days he disappeared during Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The big lug starts Missing Link strapped into an interrogation chair in the bowels of a Belltower freighter, but a mysterious new ally soon frees him to cause fresh mischief.
You'll access this new DLC mission straight from the main menu, complete with its own separate collection of save slots, so jumping back into action is a breeze. However, with your augmentations reset to zero, stealth proves critical. Poke around in ventilation ducts, snoop through enemy email, and listen in on conversations. Your options expand considerably once you find your first few Praxis kits, though, and the consequences of your upgrade strategy and gameplay style will help or haunt you for the next five hours or so. (Considerably longer, actually, if you pursue a 70G Achievement that rewards you for not using any weapons, explosives, or Praxis kits.)
From the storm-swept deck of the Hei Zhen Zu to the troubling secrets that hide beneath the waterline, every aspect of play is amplified. Stealth is trickier, combat gets crazier, and survival requires a level of flexibility that sometimes seems just outside your grasp. A countdown clock or a return trip through familiar territory might kill the fun in too many other games, but here they effectively train you to improvise and make the most of every movement. Even the new boss battle demands skill and forethought even as it allows drastically different approaches to succeed.
The story doesn't quite feel like a complete self-contained side story, nor does it seem shamelessly stripped out of the campaign to fleece you for cash. Its plot twists are rather predictable, but allies and enemies alike now feel more like actual characters than cutouts. Best of all, tantalizing hints of what's to come will leave you anxious for the next chapter in your gruff super-soldier's saga.
Publisher: Square Enix • Developer: Eidos Montreal • ESRB: Mature • Multiplayer: None • Achievements: 10 new ones (250G total) • Cost: 1,200 Microsoft Points ($15)
+ Nerve-fraying stealth; heart-pounding combat; intricate new environments.
+ Every choice matters, from upgrades and tactics to a single troubling moral dilemma.
– Backtracking will irk some players; story twists lack surprises; fewer weapon types.
? Are Adam's six-pack abs the result of exercise or augmentation?
