By Liyo Kikon
Puzzle action games! I love them! Being a huge fan of Hitman Go and Lara Croft Go, I was excited to see what Deus Ex had to offer and surely, it did not disappoint. Square Enix has been creating these games for some time now and with each new release, they really know how to keep it interesting.
Deus Ex Go takes place in the not so distant future where humans and computers have become one using augmented reality. It revolves around our hero Adam Jensen who is a security agent out to get terrorists and save the world. If you have played any of the other “Go” series, you know how it goes. You play the main character by moving it around like a board game in fixed points along the area and your movements are limited by the grid where you can only move if there is a line connected to it. The animation and look of the game is very polished, although its not desktop grade quality like the other Deus Ex games, it is actually quite enjoyable. Most enemies stand still, unless they spot you and when that happens, some enemies turn on something called a “titan shield” and charge at you but they can be easily outmanoeuvred by moving away from their point of view. And if they can’t see you anymore, they just go back to their original position.
You can kill enemies simply by moving up to them from the side or behind. Unlike Hitman Go, where the enemies are static pieces and each kill simply removes the piece from the board, the kill animations in Deus Ex are pretty cool to look at as they are smooth and there are quite a lot of different animations which take place for each different kills.
The game has some awesome sound effects, but usually all you hear is footsteps since you will either be running away from an enemy or moving back and forth trying to avoid them. But if you pay close attention, there are tiny details to the sound which makes the whole game feel more immersive. The levels are straightforward and with each level, the puzzles gets harder and harder. In all the levels, your main objective is to get to the end point and to get this done, you will need to make use of special abilities called ‘hacks’ which you can pick up in the levels and activate them to get through obstacles. As you reach later levels, you will need to carefully plan out each step and make advanced decisions on how to outsmart the enemies and take them down. Obviously this sounds like a lot of work, so you can do what most players do, which is to try a method and if that does not work, try another one and again and again. This method works best and you get to try out different tactics until you find the one that works.
Some enemies come in the form of sentry guns which fire at you from long distance and this is when you really need to use the hacks to get pass them or destroy them. The cool part is that you can use a certain hack to control the sentry guns and use them to shoot the enemies instead. There are a lot of other enemies as well and as you play more, you will get to face tougher enemies.
If you ever get stuck at a particular level, you can use one of the “solution”. Initially, you will get three solutions which you can use anytime. But once you use up all three of them, you can purchase more via an in-app purchase. There are a total of 54 levels and if you have played one of the “Go” series, it can get either fulfilling or frustrated once you finish all the levels but fear not, the developers have a trick up their sleeves in the form of a weekly challenge system and they have also promised a Puzzle Maker in the near future where players can create their own puzzles and share with others. This will be a great addition since it will greatly increase the play time and make the game your money’s worth. Speaking of money, the game is available for Rs. 300 on the iOS and Android store.
In conclusion, this game is a very polished, addictive and challenging title and like all the “Go” series by Square Enix, it does not disappoint.
