> I Saw Elvis Playing PC Games in the Local Diner
or How the Rumors of Both Deaths Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

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Deus Ex
Ion Storm/ Eidos/ PC/ Mac


Ion Storm's Warren Spector brings us Deus Ex-cellence

PC games, like Elvis, are dead. Stop and think about this statement for a second (mostly the PC part). Sega has released the Dreamcast and will be providing the system to gamers for free if they use SegaNet as their internet provider. Sony will be releasing the PlayStation 2 in October providing not only a gaming platform but a DVD player and, eventually, broad band internet browser. The ever present giant Microsoft has announced the X-Box, their entry into the console market that seems to blur the very line that separates consoles and PCs. Nintendo is keeping quiet but they're also advanced in the development of their own next-generation console, the Dolphin. Even smaller companies such as Indrema are taking a crack at the market with a Linux based console.

Let the tabloid coverage begin, PC games are dead. The evidence continues to grow when one takes a look at videogaming media. Various web sites have switched from covering PC games exclusively to a broadened console inclusive perspective. A current and popular video game magazine has announced the impending doom of the PC as a gaming platform in one of its recent issues. Idle chitchat on the showroom floor at E3 seemed to imply that there were fewer PC games at the show this year and this is the start of the decline. A popular and respected game developer announced that he would never develop a game for the PC again.

PC games are dead. All evidence and most popular opinion seems to agree that this statement is fact and not opinion. Too bad everyone forgot to tell the PC game market, and Elvis, about their respective demises. If there were fewer PC games at this year's E3 it was hard to tell and even if their quantity seemed low, the quality of the new games is definitely impressive. The list of games that caught our attention is extensive; check through each of the features present and you'll realize that the heart of PC games is not only beating, but has a healthy rhythm and will likely outlast all of these young upstarts and their lofty projections.

Any doubt about the health of today's PC game market will easily be put to rest with a quick look at one of Ion Storm's newest titles, Deus Ex. Valve Software began the first-person shooter revolution with Half-Life. System Shock 2 continued the cause and Deus Ex looks prepared to take this genre to the next level. The game provides all of the necessarily incredible graphics expected by first- person shooter fans. Then Deus Ex adds an in-depth plot line revealed through interactive NPCs and in-game cut scenes while an enhancement system allows players to customize their character as the game progresses.

Fans of the science fiction movement known as "Cyberpunk" will be overjoyed when they take a look at Deus Ex's game system. As the story line continues, the player will have an opportunity to enhance their character by purchasing a wide variety of cyberwear. Cyberwear will allow the characters to improve everything from strength and vision to equipping their bodies with the newest in high tech artificial hearts. Every cyber-enhancement will have a direct effect on the way your character performs in the game and will allow you to customize your avatar to a style of play that suits you best. Added to the wide variety of purchasable enhancements for the body, your character will also be able to train in a wide variety of skills. This will allow you to choose between approaching the game from a more physical, aggressive angle or a quieter more subtle series of solutions. Your approach to each mission in the game will also affect the attitudes of the various NPCs present in the game. As you begin to play the game with your own personal style, you will find your reputation with each NPC rising or falling depending on how well your projected in-game beliefs match their own.

One of the most impressive features seen in a demonstration we received at the hands one of the game's designers was the inclusion of multiple solutions present for each of the missions within the game. Three different attempts at reaching the mission's objective were made: guns blazing shoot whatever moves, sneaky thief lockpicking tactics and, finally, a dexterous platform jumping method. Each attempt, although very different from the others, resulted in success. This presence of multiple solutions is a great addition to the first-person shooter and will add a new level of depth and replay value to this genre.

PC games are dead? Notice now it is no longer a statement, but a question. A question that only the future can truly answer, but a question that the various developers present at this year's E3 don't even seem to be considering. Long live the King!

-Sean Miller

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