Review: Deus Ex: The Fall (iPad and iPhone)

If the game was an exam paper I would give A for effort because it’s clear the developers have tried hard to recreate a console-like experience on the mobile platform.

But unfortunately, at least in my opinion, the execution falls short of a top grade.

The Fall is a spin-off of sorts from the critically acclaimed Deus Ex: Human Revolution released for consoles and PC in 2011, and is based around events in the prequel novel Deus Ex: Icarus Effect.

The Fall is kind of a little brother to Human Revolution, being a condensed version of the sci-fi title but with many similarities.

Anyone who has played the previous iteration on their console or PC will immediately be familiar with many of The Fall’s features, such as the action-RPG gameplay with shooter and stealth elements, the character augmentations and the dystopian cyberpunk-like plot laden with conspiracy theories.

And the stylised golden colour palette will be recognisable too, with the game being awash with shades of dark yellow.

The graphics were never likely to be as impressive as Human Revolution, and for sure areas such as character models and animations are a little rough, but The Fall is still one of the most visually striking games on iOS. It’s a game with high production values, and is one of the most polished premium titles in the App Store.

Developers Eidos Montreal and N-Fusion have attempted, and to some extent succeeded, in recreating the Deus Ex console/PC experience in miniature form.

With its tense atmosphere, fast story-driven pace, arresting game world, conversation choices that can have future implications and powerful abilities which can be added to your SAS-operative-turned-mercenary character Ben Saxon, there is a lot of depth to The Fall and many qualities to admire.

Much of The Fall is in the form of a first-person cover shooter and it’s unfortunately in this prominent part of the game where things, well, fall down.

The problem with trying to replicate a console game for mobile devices is that physical stick-and-button controls just don't translate well to touch screens.

Of course it’s great that gamers are basically getting a pocket Human Revolution on their phone and tablet, but I do wonder whether it would have been a better idea to design a new Deux Ex game from the ground up which would be less affected by the platform's constraints.

The developers have clearly tried to overcome the controls issue which has afflicted similar games in the past.

Unfortunately rather than steer around the problem they've crashed into it, with the systems they've implemented in The Fall proving to be a muddle and very difficult to use at times.

Although I’ve had a few instance where my character has gone off in a direction I didn’t intend, basic movement works well enough. There is a virtual dual-stick set-up which uses the left of the screen for movement and the right side for looking around, or you can double-tap on a location you want to move to. You can switch between the two options instantly at any time.

Situation-sensitive buttons pop on and off the screen at different points, allowing you to execute commands such as firing your weapon, vaulting over an obstacle, taking cover or performing a takedown.

Like the movement controls, these buttons are responsive and do what they should in isolation.

It’s when you try to work with both the movement controls and contextual buttons at the same time that things get tricky. It requires a high level of finger dexterity which is hard to achieve during particularly intense moments in the game.

The iPhone display can quickly become crowded when the touch buttons start appearing.

Meanwhile, with the iPad it’s better to put the tablet flat on your lap to free up your hands, otherwise you constantly have to change your grip to reach into the centre of the screen to tap on the buttons.

The controls challenge becomes harder still when trying to engage in fire-fights with enemies thanks to the aiming system which, even in auto mode, feels haphazard and clunky. It seems to take several shots to down a foe, either because they’re programmed to be able to take a lot of damage or because the hit detection is off.

Stealth is often the way to go and is a viable option for getting from A to B in many cases. One slip of the finger though and it can go wrong, meaning you have to fall back on the imperfect combat.

Despite my complaints about the controls making The Fall harder to play than it ought to be, the game is still playable and can be both exciting and fun at times.

While it might be a case of ambition outstripping end result, creating a working (albeit not wonderful) version of Deux Ex for mobile devices is an achievement not to be sniffed at.

If the gameplay can be tweaked in updates to The Fall or if developers can find a solution to the controls conundrum in future Deux Ex instalments, the franchise could still have a big future on iOS.

Verdict: 6 out of 10

Published by Square Enix, Deux Ex: The Fall is out now in the App Store.