This is in response to that other article that doesn't really cover the stated topic. Here are ten things that Human Revolution has, ten ways, ten reasons why it is faithful to the original.
In the original Deus Ex, there was an overall sense of gloom outside those few halls of prosperity. This is repeated here; "Not only is it night, it feels like it hasn't been day in years". Music that sets the mood, NPCs that fit the part and grimy corners mere steps from curvy, polished buildings home to those with wealth create a world rich in cyberpunk substance.
2) Sneaking reprises it's old role
DX offered sneaking with two goals available: Get past the enemy, Get to the enemy. Bide your time, gather information, take as many variables as possible into account, formulate a plan, execute the plan without being noticed. In first person or third this structure hasn't changed.
3) Actions and consequences
Make a choice, experience the consequence later on. Transform Adam into a Batman-esque raider, and be outclassed by opposing sheer firepower down the line. Convince a man to make good on an old debt, he loses his job later, altering related fates. Go non-lethal on a mission, get crap for it later and risk making an enemy.
4) Hidden motivations, twisting stories and personal agendas
Trust No-One. Question Everything. Self Explanatory, Yes?
5) Considered pacing
I find this one is slightly odd, but for all the smoothness and potential intensity added to the gameplay mix, the considered, take-time-to-make-your-decisions pacing is reprised. The actual execution (for lack of a better word) is what is really altered as a result of the...more controversial changes made to the formula. In Deus Ex it paid to use your brain, sometimes literally. That's still the case.
The old option helps to define how you take on the world, how your own character is developed and how others react to you. Are you an enforcer, a conspirator, or executioner? Are you worthy of respect or contempt?
Well, yeah. 'tis back with a couple attitude adjustments.
8) It's BLACK AND GOLD! Kidding. But...
There's meaning, deeper than the surface. This is evident everywhere. The world created is deep, perhaps beyond sane reason. Ebooks, papers, pocket secretaries, discussions you might hear on a street corner. Conversations where things are said, without being said at all. The original of the species had this deeper-than-the-surface nature to a then-unprecedented extent, HR matches that and goes further.
This may be old after being hammered in by EM marketing, but...Multi-path. Multiple solutions to problems are built into the level, A.I. and social design. Dynamic blending of gameplay pillars enables multiple routes through the world, matching consequences of any scale with decision making at nearly every turn.
10) XP allocation decisions
In DX, Augmentations helped expand your abilities, while Skills helped improve your strengths. This meant that experience points were always distributed carefully, with emphasis put on those aspects of JC that you applied most often. In Human Revolution, Augmentations take on both roles, expanding your abilities by improving strengths. The decisions of applying XP are pretty much the same, though with more precision available than before for building character strengths.