3. Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PC, also on PS3 & 360)
The prequel to the highly acclaimed Deus Ex, this really could have gone either way (especially after the disappointing sequel Invisible War which is still just outside my Top 50). Fortunately, the devs took everything good from Deus Ex, but rather than make a pure carbon copy they also added their own inventive spin on the stealth, story and art style. Very few games manage to blend the genres of shooter, stealth and RPG so brilliantly.
For the most part, the gameplay was pure Deus Ex. Every quest and level had multiple paths and methods for completion. You need to get into the police station. Do you hack through a terminal? Sneak through the vents? Use one of your augmentations? Smooth talk your way through the front? Go in guns blazing? Or perhaps kill all the civilians and pile their bodies up to get access to the fire escape?! The possibilities were virtually endless. You played the game at your own pace and tailored the experience to your own play style.
The futuristic setting was incredibly detailed and brilliantly realised. The science was actually handled incredibly well and you could see a huge amount of research was done to ensure the setting was as realistic as possible whilst still being fun. It also helped the storyline which was far more mature than the vast majority of video games (and most Hollywood films for that matter). Rather than go for the typical action Sci-Fi story of most video games or going heavy on conspiracy theories like the original, they went for a more personal and philosophical approach by questioning what it is to be human. Very few games manage to pull off a story of this nature so successfully and still make the game fun.
The new additions were generally good. The stealth cover system was actually brilliant and the new third person perspective added to the game rather than ruining immersion as I'd originally feared. The art style obviously had a lot of thought and looked stunning in all its renaissance, cyber punk glory.
However, the game did have a few faults that stopped it from getting the top spot. The first has since been rectified in the Director's Cut edition but was the use of compulsory and linear boss fights. This was in complete contrast to the rest of the game, but the boss fights are now more in keeping with the rest of the game. The Director's Cut also included the masterful Missing Link DLC which is a great addition to the game and presents an extra perspective on the story. The one thing the Director's cut didn't improve on was the ending which felt rushed and the final choices felt a little cheap. Even with these faults, it still manages to blend so many great elements of FPS, TPstealth and RPG genres so incredibly well that it's my third fave game of all time.
