Macintosh

Deus Ex

*SPOILER HEAVY*

So, what fate have you chosen for the world? Have you kicked it back to the dark ages, hoping that humanity will find a way to restore itself? Or, have you, confident in your abilities, merged with a complex AI Helios to govern the world with the absolute power in your hands? Or, have you restored the status quo, bringing Illuminaties back to their rightful positions as the shadowy rulers of this Earth?

What was your choice?

As for me, I sided with Tong and decided that mankind must be given right to choose its path for itself. However, I think that merging with Helios would make more sense character and storywise. And I can't imagine any reason for siding with Everett. Can you?

Helios managed to convince me that merging with him is the most viable choice. I considered the dark ages scenario, but came to a conclusion that in the end it will eventually start all over again (all roads lead to Rome). Siding with Everett was obviously the worst possible choice and when you think about it, it doesn't make sense with Denton's character at all.

Question for you: Do you think Helios' vision of the world is too totalitarian?

Actually, the choice for not merging with Helios was quite obvious. It's an AI, perfect and efficient, but still artificial. Humans must be allowed to make their own mistakes, because it's the natural process of out development. Take that away and you'll see nothing but stagnant, silicon, engineered society, with no tensions, ambitions or problems. Too perfect.

So, is it totalitarian? I don't know.

In the worst case of new entity going completely mad due to some bug, I think it will be. In the best case, it still isn't the best solution for the reasons I mentioned.

As for me, I sided with Tong

Same here. But I actually hated his idea. I just found him nicer than the other guys ;)

Done them all, but I always liked merging with Helios best. To become a benevolent dictator type of being.

I liked Tong's ending best. Merging with Helios felt too self-important for me, and a "benevolent" (for whom?) dictator is still a dictator. Moreover, I couldn't imagine myself merging with a computer. They can't be trusted. Think of Shodan, Mother or HAL. Or think of your own PC, for that matter.

Besides, I loved the irony of Tong's ending. How cool is it to be able to shut down global communications in a game which consists of nothing but world hopping and getting all sorts of info right to your brain? For me, it felt like finally freeing Denton from all those irritating voices and be his own master.

The new-found fascination I continue to experience with Deus Ex has just been multiplied. Take a look at this amazing article if you haven't yet.

It's a continuity bible, describing the world of Deus Ex, its key figures and events. It also compares the concept for the world of Deus Ex, its characters, all the ideas Smith, Spector and co. had for the game with how exactly they turned out in the final build.

All I want to say at the moment is that when I read that the latest post in the Game forums was in a thread called "Choice", I instantly thought of Deus Ex, and when I clicked on it, low and behold, that was the game in question.

If that's not testament to it's brilliance I don't know what is.

--On another note (sorry to deviate so much); from what I've read of Deus Ex 3, the guys seem to be making some very clever and exciting decisions.

Ok, anyway...

Went with Tong

I had a savegame from which I could take all three paths, and that's what I did.

The Helios ending was surprisingly good in my opinion, meaning the AI's reasoning was pretty convincing, more than I expected when I went to its encounter.

The one with the Illuminati was the most shocking one, after all was said and done and the Grey Death became just some anecdote in yesterday's newspapers, I thought back on everything I had just seen through JC's eyes, I stepped away from the PC, looked out the window and thought: "Jezzz, that sort of thing could be happening right now! Even worse, it could've happened yesterday!!!" =O

Still, I liked Tong ending the best. First, the idea of communities neeeding to shrink to smaller, more "manageable" sizes in order for the individual to recover his feeling of belonging is one I empathise with a lot; and also this ending had some sort of emotional quality I really connected with. I loved that when everything starts blowing up and Denton runs away, Tong's final words are something along the lines of "If you manage to get out of there alive, look for me" =D I remember that sentence almost made me shed a tear in a game that, however outstanding in every other aspect, emotion-wise was pretty shallow.

Have to agree here. DX appeals to the brain, rather than to the heart.

However, it seems to me that its a common trait of many cyberpunk stories and narratives driven by all sorts of conspiracy theories.

Would you care to specify?

Apart from being a mechanically augmented agent and a promise of rectifying the IW faults, like universal ammo and lack of skills I don't really see any "clever" decisions.

Regenerating health.

No shadow-based stealth.

Multiplatform development.