So I noticed on the steam sale that Deus Ex: Human Revolution is at a great price right now and was wondering if I should get/play the first game before playing the new one?
You can play Human Revolution without playing Dx1.
However: You will miss certain nods to the first game and some of the back (or front?) story of HR. Additionally, the first overall is the better game, but it's harder to get into because of the dated engine. Personally it's still a great game but I can understand if some people are put off at first by the combat / graphics, the reward for getting used to those is immense though.
I say get both throughout the sale, fire up Dx1 and see what you think. If you can't stick with it, HR awaits.
Awesome, thanks for the quick reply and great post :)