Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Preview @ PC Gamer

PC Gamer has a preview of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which offers a few personal observations:

Almost everywhere you fight is a multi-layered space: there’s always some vertical variation, whether it’s stairs or a sheer drop. The open areas are littered with things to hide behind: tables, cabinets, and our eternal friend the crate. And your enemies roam that space with admirable moxy.

There don’t seem to be set patrol routes to learn, the AI guards explore of their own accord and often vary their behaviour – particularly once they’re alerted. Every time I died and restarted a section, the guards moved through the space in a different pattern.

Right now, though, guards sometimes behave stupidly under pressure. One failed to kill me as I blundered past him and through the door he was facing, closing it behind me to delay him. As soon as it shut, he blurted “Where did he go?” The cupboard, dude, you just watched me shut myself in the cupboard.

It’s too soon to call, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these behavioural anomalies were still around in the finished game. I wouldn’t mind. I’d rather have experimental AI that can surprise me in good ways and bad than AI that doesn’t surprise at all.