My housemate’s friend wandered over to watch as I was playing DXHR tonight. She was amazed by the character animation when Adam talks to David Sarif and how you could choose what tone to take with your boss. She’s not a gamer, and the quality of current generation graphics floored her.

“It’s like a movie where you can decide the ending.”

You can, and even all the little bits in between. Dig through the garbage. Clock a bystander in the jaw for no reason. Seeing the game through another person’s eyes is wonderful.

I had forgotten how much I love Sarif Industries through my own jaded eyes. Not for the trans-human augmentation, not for their luscious red and white color scheme. My favorite part is how (to this twisted mind) your home base is laid out to allow Adam Jensen to infiltrate it.

There are security cameras in strategic locations. Locks on doors. Vents that connect offices. Multiple entrances to the helipad. To a hardcore gamer this place screamed “your boss is evil and you’ll eventually have to break in.” I was pumped. Let’s go, Security System My Character Probably Installed Himself!

But that never happens. David Sarif never betrays you. I was kind of disappointed, especially considering how amazingly evil UNATCO turned out to be in the original Deus Ex. Yet David is awesomely charismatic and has your back if you screw up. So I stayed a company man, fiercely loyal in the face of any felony. Break into the police station and extract the neural chip from a terrorist?

“You got it, boss.”