Tablets Goeth Before, But: Deus Ex: The Fall Coming To PC

Before Eidos Montreal tore the internet asunder with their Thief reboot, they made Deus Ex: Human Revolution. It was well liked upon release, but I still feel like it doesn't get enough attention. It did, however, get a recent, somewhat crappy tablet spin-off called The Fall.

That spin-off is now coming to PC on March 25th. If it was somewhat crappy, why does that matter? When The Fall is all there is of Deus Ex, it matters.

It'll be released on Steam for £8, and comes with proper mouse/keyboard support (obviously) and a few other PC-essential features like graphics options and the like. Here's an old trailer from before its original release:

The Fall's story set before and alongside the events of Human Revolution. You control Ben Saxon, an SAS soldier, and over the course of the game you meet a number of characters that were a part of Adam Jensen's story. Also, writers should take note: naming a British character Ben Saxon is a little like calling your character Jeff England. Although if his middle name is Anglo, I'm twice as excited by it coming to PC.

The similar setting and overlap obviously allows the game to make use of many of the models and textures from Human Revolution, but it also provided some of the same pleasures, as far as conversation systems and stealth and fist-chisels. It was mainly let down by its controls, which stopped me progressing very far with it, so the chance to play it as a proper, modestly priced PC game is appealing.

Eidos Montreal are now working on a new Deus Ex game - or rather, a set of new Deus Ex cross-media experiences, of which a next-gen and PC game is a part. I'm thrilled. John liked Thief while acknowledging its flaws and the anger its deviations from the previous games in the series would cause. Human Revolution, by comparison, stuck much closer to its source material, crafting a prequel to the earlier Deus Ex games that embraced and modernised their ideas without sacrificing complexity. It had shit boss fights, but it's still a top five game for me, and it's the Deus Ex game you should absolutely play today if you're new to the series. It even has a recent Director's Cut edition which marginally improves those boss fights and adds insightful developer commentary throughout.

The Fall might be a middling tie-in, but it's more Deus Ex. Until the next proper game hits, that'll have to do.