Deus Ex Go
Not quite the (human) revolution you might hope
$4.99 Developer Square Enix, square-enix.com
Platform Universal Requirements iOS 7.1 or later
If you’ve played any of the Deus Ex games on Mac (or console), it probably won’t surprise you that Deus Ex Go’s main character, Adam Jensen, is very good at punching things. He leaps into the air like he’s applying for his certification in badassery, bringing a fist down on the unfortunate person/ weapon/wooden crate in his path. It is honestly one of the most satisfying things we’ve experienced on iOS this year.
It might, however, come as some surprise how limited his movements heading towards the punches are. Rather than the action structure of the main Deus Ex games, this takes the form of a turn-based puzzler, with each level comprising a set of nodes to navigate. Adam can move one node at a time, as can his foes. If they spot you (which is only if you wander into their line of sight – they don’t seem especially concerned with casing the joint or even turning a head), they set out towards you, their path marked with a red line that you’ll need to veer away from before your courses collide. Simply put: hopscotch your way from A to B, dodging and/or sneakily knocking out enemies as you go. All wrapped up in a vaguely silly story about terrorist plots and that kind of thing.
This is, of course, a bit of an oversimplification. Crossing the path of a turret is a one-hit death wish, while invisibility cloaks give you a move or so of stealthy invincibility. The meat of the brainwork, however, comes in manipulating the hacking stations so that the environment does your bidding. Oddly, it’s a difficulty curve that flattens off once you’ve got your head around how the puzzles work.
How they work leaves little room for improvisation. Whereas the Deus Ex series is mainly known for its scope of many possible approaches to a scenario – do you eviscerate that guy with your wrist-chisels, or use your charm to bribe your way into his good books? – Go feels like a set of levels that can only really be solved with one best approach for each of them.
As such, it’s a bit of a funny proposition. As a puzzle game? Enjoyable, solid and stylish. As a Deus Ex game? More of a hat-tip than a wholehearted effort.
the bottom line. A turn-based puzzler that nails the aesthetic (and the punching) of the series proper, but otherwise avoids the trademark Deus Ex ingredients.