Deus Ex

The Good
This is simply my favourite game of all time. It's hard to find anything wrong with it, I have never finished any other game more than once - I've played Deus Ex through three times, last time about six months ago. Sure the graphics are getting a little outdated, but they still work and there are still very few games with such a good script.

What I particularly like is the way you can play this game in a multitude of ways and usually there are several ways of completing something. You can almost completely avoid combat, for instance, if you want. The skills and augmentations you select can also make a very different gaming experience. But the most important thing is still the atmosphere and feel of immersion (of being there). In these ares, Deus Ex is unparalleled to other games.

The level design is probably the best one I have come across in any 3D game. This game has several of my all time favourite levels such as Hell's Kitchen, Hong Kong and Paris.

The Bad
There are maybe two or three levels that could be a tad better - during the third time through I was a bit bored by them! Enemy AI is of standard FPS level, i.e. it's quite easy to confuse it.

The Bottom Line
Superb level design combined with a good story and gameplay and an unrivalled atmosphere makes this more of an experience than just a game.

The Good
Deus Ex introduces a large world filled with people and their different interests. The game doesn't judge anyone and you'll never get a Game Over message because of a decision you made. Naturally you won't be able to help everybody as some interests collide, yet without doing everything you'll still get over 10 hours of gameplay on your first run (you'll surely return for a second run).

The story of the game is long and interesting, and even just for that you'll keep playing till the very end, where you have to take a side and choose from three possible endings.

The game tries to give you as much freedom as possible within the boundaries of storytelling, and does a good job at that most of the time. You have 2-3 ways to approach each objective which you can choose from depending on your preference and skills you've acquired.

Deus Ex awards the player with skills point and augmentations - electronic upgrades to the player's body. This lets the player have full control over the development of the character and direct resources only to what he or she wants. Not all augmentations can be applied to one player, and together with the multiple plot and approach choices you get a game worth playing more than once.

The Bad
The biggest issue with Deus Ex is the AI. Even though it's not a game focused on stealth like Thief or Metal Gear Solid, you can't help but laugh sometimes at the stupidity of the enemy. An enemy soldier can stare at you for a few seconds before deciding to take action, and once he decides to engage you he just strafes a lot while shooting. Also if an enemy soldier happens to hear you for a brief moment, he'll just mumble to himself something and won't bother inspecting the situation. The lack of proper AI - in addition to no award for taking the stealth approach - makes the game a case of using the stupidity of the enemy for butchering an entire army one soldier after the other.

Deus Ex has a fair share of bugs, although they aren't critical and won't mess with your experience. Still after playing with the latest patch I can't help but feel the game rushed to release before going through final tweaks.

Although the game tells a good story and keeps you hooked in, most characters are shallow and the death of someone won't change the tone of the game. The often bad voice acting doesn't help make it better.

The Bottom Line
Deus Ex is a recommended experience to anyone - action, adventure, stealth and RPG players - but has a decent amount of problems. Luckily those problems can be easily overlooked as they are mostly minor, and you still get the most important thing - solid and appealing gameplay.

The Good
There are two great things about Deus Ex. One, the gameplay system is very interactive, so you can talk to whoever, use an ATM machine, buy candy bars and cola at vending machines, use computers, and pick up or destroy almost everything, from bags of garbage to a basketball You can even Hack into computers and use lock picks. The other great part about Deus Ex is that there are always at least two solutions to any problem in the game, and the characters react differently to whatever you do. You can also upgrade any weapon, either to steady your aim, make it stronger, etc. Also, the game uses something called 'Augmentations'. Implants that help improve what you do or let you do have something like a built-in flashlight. You have different skills in the game, and as long as you have enough skill points, you an upgrade whatever skill you want. Finally, the game is very long. Although 13 levels seems short, every level takes like up to three hours to beat. Fortunately, you get to keep whatever stuff you have in your thirt-slot inventory with you. This Ion Storms first good game, and will make you forget about the horrible Daikatana.

The Bad
As good as the game is, there are a few things that could have been fixed for the final release that could not be fixed in a patch. The worst one is, sometimes gameplay can feel VERY sluggish, for example, 25% of the time you will use just the keyboard to walk around, strafe/etc. The rest of the time you will be using the mouse and keyboard at the same time unlike other first-person games, because, well shooting the enemies (almost always other humans) is not done well, and how they react, unlike other action FPS/RPGs like System Shock 2. Also, AI can be pretty stupid sometimes, like when you shoot an NSF terrorist a few times, and then he just runs around a corner standing tere waiting for you to shoot him. Fortunately this does not happen very often. Also, the voice lack any emotion, despite the great script and plot. Also, there is zero character development, like in any RPG, and no side quests to accomplish. Also, for a game that tries to be realistic, its disapponting that the graphics are straight average. Ion Storm should have chosen the Thief 2 engine, since because it was so good at making dark levels, and Deus Ex takes place a night, it would be perfect, instead of the Unreal engine. Another disappointment is that there is no multiplay, although, like System Shock 2, a patch is coming out for Cooperative play, which should be very fun.

The Bottom Line
Deus Ex is like a combination of sneaky gameplay like Thief, levels like the Playstation game Syphon Filter, and role playing elements put together in a plot simmiliar to Perfect Dark, and some things inspired by The Matrix. If this doesn't make you want to buy the game, nothing will!