Deus Ex: Human Revolution – The Missing Link Review

What once was lost has now been found.

DLC should do several things in order to be successful. It should expand upon the original game. It should create a new experience, despite maintaining the feel of the original gameplay. It should fix some of the issues gamers had with the core campaign. Finally, it should be just as entertaining in a brand new playthrough as it is as a standalone experience.

The Missing Link suffers from the same problems the majority of Mass Effect 2 DLC had. Players who've completed their initial playthrough and aren't ready to start a brand new one won't get the full effect and as a standalone product this DLC falters in its emulation of the main campaign.

The Missing Link occurs just after Jensen partners with Tong Si Hung to sneak aboard a Belltower cargo ship in order to gain passage to the Omega Ranch where Megan and her research team are located. Instead of staying hidden aboard the ship for three days, The Missing Link puts Jensen on a quick detour through a Belltower Security encampment.

The DLC does allow you to respec Jensen midway through a playthrough, but if you launch the new pack from the main menu, this won't mean a thing since you start with no augmentations whatsoever. Clearly the worst way to enjoy your $15 DLC is playing it right away. Be patient: Play through the game again with the DLC installed. The experience will be better for it.

If you're impatient and just play the DLC by itself, The Missing Link will suffer for it. It does manage to fix the main game's abhorred boss fights by giving you a number of options to defeat the Belltower boss, including stealth and incapacitating him rather than killing him outright. The pack also introduces another thread to the Illuminati conspiracy plot and provides players with more combat, stealth, social, and hacking opportunities.

Still, Adam Jensen's detour doesn't feel necessary in lieu of the entire Human Revolution campaign. There was more than enough to convince players of the Illuminati threat in DXHR proper. The same can be said of the combat, stealth, and hacking, all of which was done better in the main game.

If you've just got to have more Deus Ex: Human Revolution, The Missing Link is more than worth its $15 asking price. If you really enjoyed this year's stealth-action RPG hybrid, you might want to wait for the desire to playthrough the game again or for the DLC to go on sale. Otherwise, The Missing Link could have stayed missing.

Review based on PS3 version. Code provided by the publisher.