Eidos Montreal calms Deus Ex fan fears

Eidos Montreal, the developer behind the upcoming Deus Ex: Human Revolution, has reassured fans that the studio is not taking the critically-acclaimed series in an action FPS direction.

Following the release of a stunning CGI trailer earlier this year, and the emergence of gameplay features such as automatic regeneration of health, some fans have expressed concern that prequel Human Revolution is discarding the series' role-playing roots.

Not so, lead designer Jean-François Dugas told Eurogamer.

"It's the same blend of first-person shooter slash RPG that the first game was.

"Honestly, I know when we said it's going to have auto-regen and a cover system and shooting is not going to be stat-based anymore, a lot of people went, 'oh my God! Now they're doing just an action game and it's all about running around and shooting.'

"It's a fair concern when you just hear that this way. I totally understand it. But it has never been our goal to transform Deus Ex into a shooter game.

Dugas insisted that hardcore fans will find a stiff challenge in Human Revolution.

"You have a challenge that's not necessarily easy. It's not the case that because the shooting is more straightforward and you have regen that you're going to be invincible.

"You'll have to think. You'll have to look around you and maybe find other ways than just shoot and see what happens.

"We're balancing the game right now, and I can tell you when there are a few characters on screen that are after you, if you don't take care, a few bullets and you're dead.

"It's not going to be more of an action game than the other ones. It's just when you're in an action segment it's going to be more straightforward."

Make your own mind up with Human Revolution's first gameplay video.

The game's out for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 early next year. Will Porter saw the game for Eurogamer in June.