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Deus Ex 3 Preview: Cyberpunk is Back

As the world spirals in a toilet bowl of economic uncertainty, we are witnessing a resurgence of the cyberpunk genre. These perpetually dark and gritty fictional worlds show us the inevitable outcome of technology and capitalism run amok, and for the most part, it isn't pretty. Only the curvaceous silhouette of a rubber-clad heroine or the chiseled jaw line of a hard-boiled antihero distract the eye from the wrecked metropolises that hulk over the future landscape.

The last time that cyberpunk was in fashion it was the early 1980s: capitalism was on a bit of a tear thanks to Reagan-era deregulation, and the personal computer craze started by a bunch of geeks in Silicon Valley was about to revolutionize the whole world. There was, as now, a prevailing uncertainty about exactly where the planet was headed.

2009 will see the release of two important entries in the cyberpunk canon. First, Director Joseph Kahn is filming a cinematic adaptation of the book that really launched the mainstream popularity of the genre, William Gibson's Neuromancer. Second, developers at Eidos Montreal are hard at work on the third installment of the Deus Ex series. Not much has been confirmed officially by the company since its 2007 announcement, but it is expected to arrive later this fall for the Xbox 360 and PC platforms. We anticipate that a PS3 version will also be announced soon.

Here's what we know so far about the latest entry in the Deus Ex series. The first game was set in the year 2052 and followed the exploits of an agent in the spookily prescient "United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition". Over the course of the game, the main character becomes embroiled in a conspiracy involving shadowy organizations like the Illuminati and Majestic 12. Combining first-person, adventure and role-playing elements, Deus Ex was unlike any other game we've played. Not all of the elements worked perfectly on their own, but together they made for a truly immersive and entertaining game.

Deus Ex 3 will pick up around 24 years before the first game, serving as a kind of prequel. At this point in time, nanotechnology has not been invented yet, but cruder biomechanical implants are all the rage. The year is 2027, and the game focuses on a security guard named Adam Jensen. But Jensen isn't just any security guard - the company he works for is a major manufacturer of biomechanical implants. When his company comes under highly-organized attack, Jensen must set off in pursuit of the attackers to find out what they were looking for.

Adam can store things and access files he's recovered while in his apartment, pictured here.

There are five cities that will feature prominently in Deus Ex 3, but so far Eidos has only revealed Montreal, Detroit and Shanghai among the locations that players will visit. Because the game is not set that far in the future, buildings are a mix of new and old. Gothic and renaissance lines prevail in some of the architecture, but locations are littered with artifacts of the future too - giant display screens, laboratory equipment and tons of metal adorn the environments. In the background, giant wind turbines spin as a reminder that the near future is in the midst of a massive oil shortage.

Central to the premise of Deus Ex 3 - and much cyberpunk fiction - is the idea of cybernetic implants that enhance human performance. In this game, implants will be called augmentations or "augs" for short. There are four main areas that Jensen can augment himself to give him the edge over his enemies: Combat, Technology, Stealth, and Speech. The type of implants we have seen so far include a grappling hook that allows Jensen to walk vertically down the side of buildings, and weapons that emerge from a compartment in his arm.

An NPC named Barett is featured in the game. Let's hope he's on our side.

Detroit in the year 2027 looks a lot different than it does today.

Speech will be a very important aspect of the game. The team at Eidos is reportedly aiming for maximum replayability and a "deeply layered storyline". Interactions between characters will take place using selections from a speech tree, and outcomes will change based on how players approach these interactions. Eidos has also tapped Sheldon Pacotti, the writer of the original game, to help with plot development here.

The game will run on an updated version of the engine used in Tomb Raider: Underworld. This is good news for console gamers at least, because Underworld looked phenomenal.

Now for the changes, and here's where things start to get controversial. The first Deus Ex was released in 2000, and with almost a decade separating it from this title, we can expect a lot of things to have changed, gameplay-wise. One of the most important recent innovations is the use of cover in first-person shooters, and Eidos has said they will implement such a system here. The difference is that the cover system in Deus Ex 3 will be used for stealth, allowing the player to hide behind objects when trying to evade enemies. Eidos has also said that the health of the main character will also automatically regenerate, owing to the biomechanical implants he's got installed. Hardcore fans of the first game might argue that these additions are harmful to the narrative consistency and spirit of the first two games. We think they are minor and necessary upgrades needed to bring the franchise up to speed.

Look for more details on Deus Ex 3 at this year's E3 convention in June.

The inside of a detention center featured in concept art for Deus Ex 3.