Deus Ex: Invisible War

The Good
Unlike the original Deus Ex, this game starts pretty interesting right from the start, and then as it gets more and more complicated and everyone turns their right face in the grand final, it turns out to be just another regular sequel with nothing new to offer but graphical goodies due to a time difference. However, this game holds a strong point over its originator, and that is that certain places are so well made it almost reaches the worlds created in Anachronox in its intriguing exploration and citizens. Well, far from Anachronox, but still, it poses a touch of creative design.

Unlike what other have said, I find the graphics to be quite good (after seeing how character looked in original, I can't say I expected them to be anything too great, but they are fine nonetheless), and game does support higher resolutions, so whether this is an Xbox port or not, it may be questionable. Whereas Deus Ex put you in a role of JC Denton without giving you so open choice over your freedom, this game quite vividly forces you vast selection of choices on every corner. It is neat to pretend to work for everyone's cause yet working against them all, while still trying to spare certain people you may care about to stay alive.

Physics are something I totally forgot from the first game. I expected that from Half-Life 2, but never have I thought they'll be so cool to utilize in here. I remember how cool it was the fact you could carry enemy soldiers and put them somewhere in the shadows or such unspottable places, but here, you can toss them further than those guys toss discs and spears on the olympics. The whole tossing issue puts a great deal of fun to this title, and it's done pretty well. This is definitely a much more interesting game then I ever imagined it'll be due to all those cons, it's as addictive to rid me of my sleep for the past couple of days, really driving you on.

The Bad
JC Denton looks like crap in here, I sure don't remember him like that. Not just his attitude because he's merged with Helios now, but the whole extern appearance.

Also, there's a crappy bug about the savegames, I reached the ending map, just to later figure that savegame can sometimes be buggy and drops you right back at your desktop, so had to replay the past four hours since the previous valid savegame file. Tsk tsk tsk, seems they had some serious lacks in the code, and the sound starts to crackle after some time, maybe it's not their fault, but of Microsoft's DirectX, so I guess I should look pass it, it wasn't the first game to have sound problems like that.

Also, there is some serious AI balance on the loose. For example, certain leader and his surrounding troops are not firing at me, but any other of his will be. Kinda weird to take it serious when he asks from my allegiance then, wouldn't you say? Also, there was a scene when some bum accidentally caught a fire and started yelling and running all in flames. Soon after, one bumped into another, and then that one into the third one, and they were all on fire. Kinda strange to observe, so I didn't have a choice but to put their pain to an end with a bullet through each one's head. Also, it's not good when nearby people won't talk with you after some shootout, they seem either to be afraid or just want to relax for some time but, it's strange, and not likely, especially if they're on your side and even more, if you came to rescue them.

The Bottom Line
All in all, very addictive game from the moment you start playing it. It made me appreciate a PC after long period of time of preferring console games. Sure, this game exists for Xbox as well, but still, it just ain't the same feeling, not to me anyway. Deus Ex and Deus Ex: Invisible War are two great games on their own that deserve a certain percentage of respect no matter the odds, and they aren't just a mindless shooters in a true sense of FPS way, so you guys stalking over another masterpiece called Half-Life, don't go into playing these games unless you're ready for some dialogues and a bigger story.