Dues Ex: The Fall

Mobile spin-off Deus Ex: The Fall launches on Steam on 25th March, Square Enix has announced.

Smart-looking mobile spin-off Deus Ex: The Fall is now available on Android, its publisher Square Enix has announced.

Eidos Montreal has confirmed that it will bring the Deus Ex series to next generation consoles, with the formal announcement of Deus Ex: Universe. This isn't a single game but rather "an ongoing, expanding and connected game world built across a generation of core games".

The news came in a blog post by David Anfossi, head of the Eidos Montreal studio. "It's a commitment on our part to deliver meaningful content that expands the franchise on a regular basis and to deliver a deep conspiracy that will span several connected Deus Ex games, creating a more immersive and richer experience than ever before," Anfossi said. "Deus Ex: Universe will include PC and console games, but also additional Deus Ex games and experiences available in other media such as tablets, smartphones, books, graphic novels, etc..."

The post reveals that production is already underway on the next gen Deus Ex game that will kick it all off. A single piece of concept art accompanied the post, showing how trans-human segregation has impacted the world. "It represents a 'ghetto-city' voluntarily built in order to separate the classes," says Anfossi. "The people in this segregated class have reshaped their environment, nostalgic for their ideal of Cyber Renaissance. This dark and dystopian vision sets the tone for things to come in Deus Ex."

Read more

UPDATE: Square Enix has apologised for not communicating the jailbroken restriction in advance and plans to rectify the matter with an update "in the near future" that will remove it.

Update: Someone's hit go early - Deus Ex: The Fall is available now on the App Store.

Calm any fears that Deus Ex: The Fall is a cheaply realised iOS side story that doesn't amount to very much. In truth, it's an expensively realised iOS side story that still doesn't amount to very much.

It feels almost ungrateful to be disappointed, really. Whether it was a smart approach or not, N-Fusion's done a laudably thorough job of cramming the entire Deux Ex shebang onto a touch-screen, from the relatively sprawling hub (this time it's Panama City) to the knotty storyline of PMCs, personal betrayal and Big Pharma corruption. There are main missions and side quests, there are people to talk to, there are decisions to make, emails to read, weapons to upgrade and Praxis points to spend. The 3D world is atmospheric and filled with detail, and the whole thing's stained by that rich Human Evolution amber. Even a suite of in-app purchases turn out to be entirely optional - XP boosts and in-game currency packs that you can happily ignore.

The more you play, however, the more problems start to mount up. They're simple problems, perhaps, but as any Deus Ex veteran knows, the most elaborate plan can always be compromised by the most basic of components.

Read more

Deus Ex: The Fall, the newly announced iOS extension to the popular sci-fi franchise, is the first installment in a projected series, and will take six hours for a single playthrough. Available for a one-off price, it will also feature in-app purchases.

Deus Ex: The Fall is an iPhone and iPad game due out soon. It costs £4.99 / €5.99 / $6.99.