Deus Ex: Devolution
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Modern games have plenty of options. Red Faction: Guerrilla gave me the freedom to tackle enemy bases with everything from mechs to a sledgehammer. I made my own combos with plasmids in BioShock 2. In Mass Effect 2, I charted a course of morality across the galaxy and sent more than one friend to a heroic death. It was the ambiguity of said options that instilled Deus Ex with emotional resonance. I didn't always know if my plan would work, or even if I was barking up the right tree. I was working on hunches, just as J.C. Denton would have. And, when they were correct, it was a miraculous feeling.
One such instance occurred while trying to break into the high-rise apartment of Maggie Chow. There were more obvious possibilities for gaining access; working social contacts, combat, and hacking security systems. I was standing in the street, looking up at the skyline when an idea struck. After a series of treacherous jumps and near misses, I had scaled the side of an adjacent building. I ran as fast as I could, leaped across street and down two stories, and shot out her window just in time to casually land in her living room. I don't know if that was meant to be possible, and I have yet to meet anyone who entered the apartment by the same method.
I took a risk and it paid off, but that element is being stripped (at least partially) from Human Revolution with the introduction of regenerating health. It seems that everyone who played the original has a story about a plan backfiring horribly, forcing them to improvise and fight for survival. Regenerating health removes the need to switch gears and act quickly in the face of tension. Instead, you simply have to find a place to curl up and whimper for a few moments before stubbornly plowing ahead a second, third, or tenth time.
