Deus Ex

The Good
There's a key moment in Deus Ex which told me I was playing a great game, one that tries to achieve loftier goals than most. It's a minor one, easy to miss and bears no influence on the plot. It's a conversation with a bartender, I can't remember which bar – there are a lot in the game. Rather than the usual filler dialogue you instead engage the bartender in a deep philosophical conversation about what's happening in the game and whether the organisations in the plot are right or wrong. It's a wonderful chat that came out of the blue. Talking to my friend who I'd borrowed the game from he remembered the conversation too, so it must be quite profound. That it was possible to have that kind of conversation displayed that deep thought had gone into the story and the setting.

I had already realised this by the time I reached that bar, Deus Ex had me hooked despite seeming initially disparaging. The setting seemed so-so like a limited Blade Runner rip-off, it too is set perennially at night - seemingly to limit the amount of detail needed. The first level seemed impossible, as I was endlessly gunned down in an overly-punishing mission that nearly made me give up – but I'm glad I persevered.

After completing this token opening the game completely opened up. No longer was I playing an awkward action game, now it was an adventure-RPG hybrid that seemed to be trying to suck the most out of it's engine. Part millennium conspiracy theory, part stealth adventure, Deus Ex tries to present a plausible near future full of doubt. I'd not played a game before which made you question your actions within the game only to possibly regret them later, creating the strongest aspect to the game. It's a smooth RPG, no levelling up or quests and side-quests - this is about your character. You naturally customise the protagonist the nano-enhanced super soldier JC Denton in his weapons and skills (including non-lethal ones) as you gradually mould his personality and actions to suit your playing style.

The story has conspiracy at its heart and has you travelling the globe to New York, Paris, Hong Kong and more as you unravel the mystery behind NSF terrorists and the 'Grey Death' virus. Before you know it you have to question your motives and why you exist. Ultimately the course of fate lies in your hands.

This is all handled through superb dialogue and creative writing which pops up in newspapers and elsewhere. There's even sections of a novel within the game which questions the games premise. The missions are all open levels, there's no set method or route through allowing you to improvise in a style that suits you. Often guns blazing is the worst but can be satisfying. The open levels are also persistent allowing you to come back later and pick up that important item right where you left it.

The Bad
When I wrote that the game squeezed the most out of it's engine, it's possibly because the engine seems so cumbersome in places. The graphics look blocky with low poly-count models who move in a stiff manner. This is in a world that is always dark, dawn is about the lightest it gets. Whilst I'd like to believe it's purely for mood I'm sure it's also to get away with lower quality textures. It counters the large scale feel to the levels as much of them are shrouded in darkness.

My only other real problem with the game is that opening level which is just too hard. Before I had a handle on the possibilities within the game I had to survive an onslaught with no real indication of how to succeed.

The Bottom Line
Deus Ex deserves recognition as a classic game. It set the tone for open-ended level design, and level design that felt like part of the real world, not simple a set for stunts. The RPG elements work well as you tailor abilities to suit play style. It really improved the standard of game writing making you feel that you had choice – influential choice in a living breathing game world where you could literally change the fate of civilisation. It did all this by putting some serious thought into the question 'why?' a real rarity and in doing so created the best conversation I've ever had with a bartender.

The Good
Without adhering to the usual "best game ever"-ravings, it's save to say that "Deus Ex" is indeed one of the most interesting games of the last decade. Its graphics and animations are fairly well done and there's some interesting lighting, sound effects are all right and its music is, to my opinion, very impressive because it doesn't go for the usual "Hollywoody"-classical score but employs a very "mod"-like type of electronic music. I cherish this nod to a specific gaming tradition (oh glorious sound blaster!) instead of always imitating the way "they do it in the movies". Moreover, it's a fitting choice, for "Deus Ex", though using quite an array of movie clichés (from "Mission: Impossible" to "Ghost in the Shell" and "Matrix") is just that: a game, in the best sense of the word. The three most interesting points of "Deus Ex" would have to be gameplay mechanics, gaming philosophy and a reality-based storyline, combined with the intelligent use of effective symbols and motifs.

1. Gameplay mechanics

"Deus Ex" hardly fits into any specific genre. Though one might argue that it's basically a shooter with RPG-elements (getting experience points for quests, spending them to improve certain talents) and some adventury icing (multiple-choice dialogue), it doesn't really play like a shooter, nor does it play like an RPG or adventure. It merges its different elements so well that it's closer to belonging to an altogether different genre than just being a combination of existing ones, and though it wasn't the first game to do that ("System Shock" comes to mind) it does it extremely well. One feature I especially like is limited inventory space, forcing the player to carry, say, five weapons instead of fifteen. Actually, this could be considered to be an RPG feature as well, for it encourages the player to assume a certain "role", i. e. a certain style of playing the game, since one has to select the type of items/weapons one is going to carry according to a preferred way of getting around problems (like sneaking, paralyzing, sniping, plain killing or completely devastating your enemies). Still, change is always possible, though it will most certainly make the game harder since the amount of experience one can get to increase stats is limited.

1. Gaming philosophy

According to game producer Warren Spector, "Deus Ex" tries to strike a balance between linearity and non-linearity. It's story follows a more or less linear trail of events (ignoring that big choice at the end) but its individual, hub-based levels offer players maximum freedom of choice in getting around any obstacles. Due to that, "Deus Ex" feels fresh and quite "real" most of the time, for one always has to think about which is the best way for your individual character to "get the job done", and that's more or less the way real life works. Just compare it to the set clarity of approaches in, for instance, "Doom" (you shoot), "Thief" (you sneak), "Gabriel Knight" (you talk) or "Monkey Island" (you use the rubber chicken) - in "Deus Ex" all these approaches are basically possible. Well, three of them are.

Moreover, "Deus Ex" takes the player seriously enough to make him/her deal with moral choices, and though these may not always hit the mark, some really interesting dilemmas remain to be solved - and the wonderful ending is just one of them. Also, it's just nice to play a game which at least has a go at confronting the player with the outcome of his/her choices and actions. If one thinks further along that line, the creation of a FPS which could actually make a problem out of the use of violence, while still remaining violent itself, could become a reality (something like a real "anti-war" game, for instance).

1. Reality-based storyline

To me, this is the game's most interesting feature. It's a science-fiction game all right, but it doesn't depict some far-fetched star-world, but a future situated quite close to our present (and becoming ever more so since 9/11). Especially striking about the story of "Deus Ex" is it's mixture between tackling serious political/ethical questions such as the problem of global terrorism or spreading information networks, and wild ramblings on all sorts of conceivable conspiracies. However, these two elements of the story are merged very well and all the fictitious conspiracy stuff is wonderfully used to mirror the "real fears" one may have when looking at the elusive problems of globalization - a process where it is, just as with a conspiracy, hard to pin down who's "pulling the strings" behind all that stuff one hears in the news.

Adding to that, "Deus Ex" is in fact one of the few games which employs meaningful symbolism from start to finish. I mean, this game is all about politics, about democracy vs. autocracy vs. tyranny, about freedom vs. necessary (?) constraints, etc. - and the player's first task is to find his/her way into a decapitated Statue of Liberty (the symbol of democracy if there ever was one)! And "Deus Ex" constantly moves further along this line, elaborating it by certain dialogues, books (quite an amount of world literature lying around in this game), moral choices and, especially, places. One of my favourite ones would, for instance, be occupied Paris, which is consciously used as the main city of "résistance" against a fascist regime - to my opinion, a brilliant use of a heavily "connoted" place (at least in Europe), and in all events remarkable for a video game.

     <br><br>**The Bad**<br>There's a couple of points to mention here, too, though some of the more badly done elements don't bother me too much in "Deus Ex". I can well live with a not-so-hot A.I., although I would have appreciated it being better nevertheless. I can also live with overdone accents, actually, I take that as a symbol of globalization, too (isn't globalization somewhat like "everyone speaks English, but no one's any good at it?"). I also don't mind that there's no freely explorable world, as with "Thief" I think this actually strengthens the game's experience, making the story's flow more focused and keeping it all to the point (which wouldn't be a good thing for every game, but for "Deus Ex" I think it is).

However, I do object to the game's somewhat wavering approach in simulating a "reality". After all, that's one of its strongest points, that's where it's good at. And yet one realizes that the developers must have thought it all a bit too daring and unconventional, so they implemented some "classic" game stuff, too. For instance, there's a whole lot of "secrets" lying around, waiting to be found by the exploratory player. Hey, it's cool to find a battle axe at the bottom of an empty grave in, say, "Ultima Underworld", but the same thing happening in "Deus Ex" is simply inappropriate and encourages a gaming style where the player will try to get to every oh so obscure corner in order to be "rewarded" for his/her sheer persistence in wishing to see every last inch of the game's world. That's very unreal. We don't go about our everyday business looking for health-packs at the bottom of the Mississippi, or for a grenade launcher at the top of the dome of Cologne or whatnot, and neither would a "real" secret agent...or would they? Any secret agents on MobyGames? Anyone?

The Bottom Line
All in all, "Deus Ex" is a brilliant game, and more than that. It has the courage to at least try to be meaningful and succeeds often enough, and that in an industry where you don't get a "Golden Palm" if you miss out at the "Oscars". The only lamentation one could bring forth is simply that it could have still been better. However, think about it: could a medium to large budget game, made in 2001 by financially already waning brand "Ion Storm", really have been any more daring? In fact, let's hope for our future that "Deus Ex" won't get any more relevant to real life than it is now.

The Good
It was like living an episode of the X-Files. Lots of details to uncover, conspiracies to unravel, and allegiances to choose. Plus, there's a way for everyone to play the game out based on their tastes. Whether you want to sneak in through the shadows Bond-style or charge through with guns blazing Terminator-style, the game will accomadate you. Playing settings are detailed and varied, from New York to Paris to Hong Kong. Graphics are excellent, as long as you have a system with the cojones for it.

The Bad
Frequent, if necessary, level loads, since the levels are just huge. And even though the game is very deep and provides numerous ways to solve every problem, it really has a very linear plot, even if it's a line in disguise. The only choice you make that actually affects the direction that the plot takes happens at the very end of the game. That might not be a flaw per se, but it is something that you should know about if you expect a game that has wildly differing storylines based on how you carry out missions. People will react differently to how you deal with situations, but you get the same missions and go to the same places.

The Bottom Line
First and foremost, worth your money. Secondly, worth your time, because it will suck up a great deal of it. In a nutshell, (Half-Life's shooter aspect)+(Theif's sneaking around in the dark aspect)+(Any RPG's depth as far as character interaction and plot twists go)=One Hell of a Game (Working Title: Deus Ex)