Deus Ex: Human Revolution is "like reading a great graphic novel, a page-turner,” says director

Deus EX: Human Revolution director Jean-Francois Dugas and producer David Anfossi have explained to the US PS Blog how the development team visioned a sequel to 2002's much-loved cyberpunk RPG-shooter hybrid.

According to Dugas, he and the team were "unabashed fans" of the game, and with the sequel - or prequel in this case - the team wanted to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the franchise before starting work.

"The shooting was flawed because it was heavily stat-based,” said Dugas. "Your aim could be super precise, but the game artificially told you that you weren’t precise enough, which made for a clumsy combat experience."

So to fix this, Dugas and Anfossi made the shooting more streamlined and added tactical elements which require you to use cover to your best ability and "prioritize enemies based on their location." Players must also thing a bit harder about what weapons they will use in the game as well, and how you choose to deal with your enemies will be represented just as differently once your plan goes into action.

Demonstrated perfectly in the latest trailer for the game are the different choices a player can use in each situation. Whatever you decide, the game will automatically dole out the "consequences accordingly," and apparently there will be consequences aplenty.

"You can play the entire game without killing anyone, save for the boss fights,” said Dugas. "It makes for a more challenging experience, but it’s very rewarding.”

"We want players to create a personalized version of Jensen and decide his approach," added Anfossi. "Some players will think, ‘This guy wouldn’t kill these people.’”

“I’m most excited for players to simply absorb this world. It’s like reading a great graphic novel, a page-turner,” said Dugas. "It was important for us to see Deus Ex: Human Revolution as a new IP. We wanted to re-imagine this world. When you look at the endings of the other Deus Ex games, the future is looking pretty grim.

“It’s a fictional world, it’s a fictional conspiracy, but it’s infused with real issues to discover. I don’t want to go into details, but you’ll recognize things from the real world as well as fantasy elements. You might go to places that don’t exist, necessarily, but that some people believe exist.

"The hardcore fans are going to make the connections once they analyze the game. The new fans won’t feel left behind, though. This game stands on its own."

Deus Ex: Human Revolution releases in the US on August 23 and in Europe on August 26 for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.