Deus Ex

Pros • Customizeable character and gameplay • Choose your own Adventure • Genre Defining Gameplay • Mature storyline • Realistic environments • Thousands of NPCs to talk to • Intuitive and sleek Interface • Three different endings	Cons • Mediocre Voice Acting at times • Long load times within levels • Slightly Dated Graphics • Clunky item collection interface
Bottom Line Deus Ex is a brilliant offering of intelligent design, compelling fiction, and genre defining gameplay that doesn’t just raise the bar on the best in interactive entertainment; it removes the bar with two gargantuan fists and skewers the competition. With a slew of mediocre computer games cluttering the shelves these days, it’s no wonder industry pundits predict the extinction of PC games within 2 years. But it may be that Warren Spector is single-handedly saving the PC from certain death with consecutive well-crafted titles like Thief and System Shock. Deus Ex is no exception. In fact, it combines the best elements of past successes and tosses a season of X-files for good measure, to create an immersive experience that will leave you wondering just how much truth lies in those age old conspiracy “theories”. After playing through Deus Ex, I now believe our Executive Editor Jules Grant to be a member of the Illuminati.

deus ex - [New Latin deus ex : deus, god + ex, from }
Now that technology has paved the way for the Age of the Interactive where true immersive experiences can be attained, many game developers are bound to stumble headfirst into a quagmire of design obstacles. No longer are we asking “Can we do this?” but “How can we do this?”

Warren Spector and his team at Ion Storm Austin have answered the “how” with Deus Ex, implementing a design that mixes equal parts RPG with equal parts FPS and coating the game with an intuitive interface that never takes you away from the missions and stories unfolding around you.

The story tells a tale of government conspiracy, set in a post-apocalyptic future, infused with nano-technology, biological warfare, alien awareness and terrorism, with enough sci-fi plot twisting to make even James Cameron giddy. You play the character of JC Denton, a no-nonsense nano-augmented anti-terrorist soldier created to serve the UNATCO (United National Anti Terrorism Coalition), who must uncover the truth behind a variety of organizations and save the world from the grips of corporate corruption. All in a days work, naturally.

Unlike most story-driven titles, Deus Ex thrives off the ability to offer choices in your character’s morality and identity as you proceed through the plot line. Like an old-school Choose-Your-Own-Adventure storybook, JC will continually meet up with forks in the road where each decision will influence some part of the story later in the timeline (Only you can’t flip ahead to see if it’s the right decision); And these decisions will affect you, for better and for worse. I was at odds with myself for days for leaving my brother behind to die at the hands of the mysterious men in black while I ran for my life, only to find later on that an important character would not trust me because of my choice. When I played the game differently and saved my brother, he joined me again in a later level to aid me in my mission. This is merely a glimpse at the beauty that is Deus Ex.

There are some standard RPG elements, but they are implemented quietly as to leave the atmosphere undisturbed. JC Denton can be customized with a variety of special skills available in the form of “nano-augmentations.” These high tech molecular strap-ons can provide JC with a variety of superhuman capabilities. Boost your lung capacity or make yourself immune to toxic waste. Install a light bulb in your retina, expand your quadriceps for top running speed, and pump up your ability to take damage. You will also gain skill points for discovering secret areas and fulfilling mission goals that can be used to further customize JC, favoring the type of gameplay style you prefer. You can choose to upgrade your weapons skills and outgun your enemies (The Invincible Man), or you can study stealth, lockpicking and hacking to outsmart your opponents (The Invisible Man).

My JC Denton was a whiz with computer systems, hacking into anyone and everyone’s email to learn about their personal and business lives (something I like to do in my spare time here at the office). Of course, by reading about the NPCs, I became emotionally attached to some of them. Before the end of the second level, I was feeling pride, remorse, sadness and excitement for my character and those I came into contact with. Of course, you can choose to ignore the NPCs or rudely drill them for valuable information, which they often possess. Regardless, the way you treat people will continue to effect how the game plays out right up until the final act. It’s about time a game offered repercussions for acts of violence and cruelty.

At one point, you must infiltrate an enemy fortress on Liberty Island as the Statue of Liberty lies crushed against the landscape. I came across a starving little boy and offered him a candy bar (something I would never do in real life because candy bars are sacred). He then showed me a secret entrance to the lair, which allowed me to avoid a firefight. However, if I was so inclined, I could have sniped or hacked my way in, or run in guns-a-blazing. And this is the true strength of Deus Ex. You’ll find yourself wanting to go back and play scenarios again just to see how many different ways things can be accomplished, redefining the term “replayability”.

The levels themselves are truly immersive worlds that range from downtown New York City to a Hong Kong Marketplace and the underbelly of Paris. Almost every element is interactive and it is obvious how much hard work went into creating the atmosphere in each level to ensure the game keeps you believing in your character and the mission at hand. There is a sense of maturity and darkness about the game that reflects the designer’s ambition and interests, including references to literature and philosophy, and I found myself wandering around the various worlds just to read all the newspapers, tv screens and datalogs.

Of course, there is some degree of structure to the gameplay and you are gently guided through missions with the help of various characters, after a fantastic tutorial session when you first start the game. At times the lengthy dialogue and cutscenes (yes, every line is voice and text!) can be tiring, but I award points for taking on the immense task of recording thousands of lines of voiceover that creates such realistic interaction within the game, something that traditional RPGs sadly lack. Each mission has primary and secondary objectives which garner skill points, as well as hidden areas that will give you bonus points should you take the time to discover them. These points will go a long way to upgrading your skill levels. I love the sniper rifle and you can use points to go from a shaky shot to a master sniper who just can’t miss. The array of weapons is impressive and there should be no gamer who can’t find an arsenal they are happy with.

Deus Ex is driven by story and would fail miserably as a title if the player wasn’t emotionally sucked in from the get-go. If you have no patience for story, cinematics or missions, you’d be better off playing UT or Quake3. However, those who enjoy a good adventure are bound to spend sleepless nights in front of your PC. Prepare for a long haul as Deus Ex’s story unravels over 13 immersive chapters and is occasionally plagued by long load times and a hefty system requirement, not to mention huge saved game files. But it is worth the wait. I won’t spoil it for you, but you will be confronted with the choice of three different endings, a feat that shows how much time and passion were invested in this game.

Naturally, any genre defining title will not be flawless. The voice acting was somewhat generic at times and the graphics suffer from a rapidly aging Unreal engine. Load times and massive save games could become a problem for those with less than brand new PCs, and item retrieval could get frustrating at times; But these are small prices to pay for the opportunity to participate in an interactive movie.

Just as Half-life and Unreal revolutionized the action genre, Deus Ex takes us to the next step and ushers in the Age of the Interactive and you can guarantee the next year will see a slew of games that offer a similar experience on console and PC. I can only imagine Deus Ex will be dethroned from it’s top spot in my book by one other title… Deus Ex 2.

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