Deus Ex: The Fall Review

NOT

Controls
The controls are really a mixed-bag. Moving your character can be accomplished by double tapping a destination or cover-point, or by using the virtual thumbsticks typical of mobile devices. When it works, it’s a wonderful experience, unfortunately that isn’t always the case. On the iPhone specifically, the whole thing just feels really cramped. The virtual sticks are placed right in the middle of the crouch, cover, and shooting buttons, which often leads to accidental inputs. More than once, I fired when I meant to aim or took cover when I meant to crouch. I can see this working much better on the iPad, but as an iPhone title, it’s a legitimate gripe.
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the entire game lies within the shooting mechanics. To put it bluntly: it’s terrible. You can tap on enemies to target them giving you the option to quickly fire or give a sort of auto-aim when pulling up the sights, but it’s just too inaccurate to be all that effective. The problem is only exacerbated when not in cover. If you happen to find yourself in a firefight outside of cover, the inaccuracy of the shooting mechanics all but guarantee death if you approach it like a shooter. In these scenarios, it’s really best to find cover and attempt a stealthy approach. It cannot be emphasized enough: this is not a shooter. The shooting mechanics are just too frustrating to make run-and-gun approach a viable one.

A.I.
The enemy A.I is, much like the controls, terrible. Enemies will respond to your presence, but often fail to pursue making it all too easy to just run through encounters, skipping them entirely. All too often, you’ll see a group of enemies just standing around even after they have already been alerted to your presence, which really dampens the intensity of the stealth. All too often I experienced what must be a glitch, where I pumped round after round into enemies, only to have them stand there and take it without reacting to my presence, or the fact that they were being shot at. When the A.I. operates without any of these glitches popping up, it works pretty well and is most successful in the smaller interior environments when escape is more difficult and the pursue distance is shortened.

Verdict

Deus Ex: The Fall is successful in giving off that Deus Ex feel. The presentation is phenomenal and right up there with the best you’ll see in a mobile title. As a stealth game, The Fall works wonderfully, but that really is your only option. The controls and the shooting mechanics in particular make the experience too one-dimensional at times, which is really a shame. I enjoyed being able to use a run-and-gun approach in Human Revolution and really play the game like a shooter at times, but that just isn’t an option here. If you’re looking for more Deus Ex and a greater exposure to that universe, Deus Ex: The Fall is an excellent game. As long as you’re not looking for an excellent shooter.

[Editor’s Note: Deus Ex: The Fall was reviewed on the iOS devices. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]