Deus Ex: The Fall - Review Roundup

Frustrating combat aside, it’s almost astounding how successful The Fall is at distilling the core Deus Ex experience onto a mobile device. The mysterious and well-told story, steady stream of powerful new augments, and impressive game world all combined to create a mobile experience I didn’t want to put down after I started.

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As it stands, we do want to see more, play more. But it'll take a few more runs to see if the combat system clicks. Those used to action titles in this ilk on the format may have an easier time of it. This is an impressive title for a format that continues to surprise us. Deus Ex fans shouldn't feel that they're being short-changed. One thing it does trump Human Revolution though, hands-down? None of those damn boss fights.

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On paper, this is just the kind of iOS tie-in fans often ask for: it's faithful to the source material, filled with familiar systems and details, and it's even made a decent attempt at matching the graphical style of the main game. It's Deus Ex in cross-section, but although so many of the right pieces are in place, the energy and skill that usually brings the whole thing to life is missing. Regardless of whether you believe Deus Ex's basic genome should have adapted a little more for its new platform in the first place, there's no debating the fact that any sequel will require some serious augmentation.

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I’m shocked. The Fall works. Bringing an experience as complicated as Deus Ex’s to a touchscreen should have been a mess, but I was easily sneaking, hacking, and headshotting my way through the short campaign. I don’t know if I’m ready to call myself a mobile gaming convert, but this is definitely one of the deeper experiences I’ve had on an iOS platform.

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There's about five hours of game here, or three if you don't pursue the numerous optional missions on offer. For us, the best thing about this spin-off is returning to Human Revolution's universe. It's one of our favourite game worlds, and the high production values and beautiful environment design in The Fall are as good as anything in the main game. So good, in fact, that we wonder if - and hope that - Square Enix will release it as PC/console DLC.

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