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Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a love-letter to PC gamers of a generation in which their darling franchises have turned into more console-friendly affairs. 2011 has been a great year for PC gaming in general; we’ve already seen the PC-centric Portal 2 and Witcher 2 do very well on the platform, while DICE’s Battlefield 3 is sure to set the scene ablaze later this Fall. But with all the PC love, most of you reading this own either a PlayStation 3 or an Xbox 360. Will you be missing anything crucial in these amazing titles? The short answer is no, but for Battlfeild 3, maybe.

In the same way that the Mass Effect series successfully uses retro-futurism meshed with high-tech, Deus Ex melds Blade Runner visuals with Renaissance flair. The result is an aesthetic that whispers steampunk through auto-tuned flamboyance. And while games like Mirrors Edge went for an all-out clean, minimal look, Deus Ex balances the two appropriately; ultra-modern waiting rooms are a friendly welcome to visitors where, just beyond the public view, cluttered back-offices and hallways strewn with folders, papers and copiers give way to the world behind the front desk. This attention and depth of detail is seen in almost every corner of the game.

Though everyone’s Adam Jensen will look exactly the same, they will all most likely play very differently. The world of Deus Ex is one where human augmentations are on the verge of becoming commonplace, and not just reserved for the super-rich. As a security bad-ass for one of the biggest augmentation companies in the world, you get to upgrade your character with the newest-of-the-new augmentations. Even better, no skill in the game is shut-off from you from the beginning. You can unlock any upgrade, as long as you have the points. On the surface, it may not seem like a huge advantage, but in practice it allows gamers to progress through the game’s labyrinthine missions however they want. You could spend all your points early-on to max-out your hacking skills, but that would be to the detriment of much-needed combat skills.

In addition to the main quest, the densely realized hub-worlds of Deus Ex provide the player with lots of exploration and side missions. Everything from places to sell loot, storage lockers to hack, and underground sewer systems can be found teeming with content in Deus Ex’s major cities.

Gameplay-wise, at its worst, Deus Ex can feel a little sticky or clunky, but the minor nitpicks don’t affect the game overall. The gunplay, for instance, isn’t a solid as dedicated shooters like Call of Duty, but you will find the guns have a nice feel to them. After all, Deus Ex is much more a first-person Metal Gear than it is a Call of Duty game with stealth. And that’s a good thing. Otherwise, what would encourage the player to use stealth, hacking, conversation, and all the other things that made the series?

Deus Ex manages to find a nice balance of player freedom within a guided-path. Many previous games have drawn inspiration from the original Deus Ex, and now this update can borrow from them, in turn. You’ll find parts of Hitman games, a little Metal Gear, some Splinter Cell and even hints of the Rainbow Six in this game’s DNA. If I had to sum up my 40+ hours with Deus Ex in one word, it would be simply: rich.