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Deus Ex

aka: DX1, Deus Ex: The Conspiracy
Moby ID: 1749
Windows Specs
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Add-on (unofficial) Special Edition

Description official descriptions

Some time during the 2050's, the world is a dangerous place as terrorists, drug czars, and outlaw states rule, using violence and subterfuge as tools in their push for global conquest. A deadly virus dubbed "gray death" is running rampant throughout the world and the only known cure is a chemical known as "Ambrosia" manufactured by the VersaLife corporation. However Ambrosia supplies are scarce and world governments, particularly the United States, carefully monitor and control who receives this cure. As protest against these events, French terrorist organization "Silhouette" bombs the historic symbol of friendship between French and American people, The Statue of Liberty. In response to this attack, the United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition (UNATCO) organization is formed. Building a headquarters underground at Liberty Island, its mission is to attack terrorism and maintain peace around the world. JC Denton is a nano-enhanced agent who has been primed for UNATCO service. While JC's brother Paul is already an active agent, JC is beginning his first day of service when the National Secessionist Forces (NSF) suddenly raid a supply of Ambrosia at UNATCO headquarters.

Deus Ex is a dark cyberpunk game that combines gameplay styles of first-person shooter and RPG, with elements of stealth and puzzle-solving. The player assumes the role of JC Denton, UNATCO anti-terrorist agent. Pitted against an elaborate global conspiracy, he must interact with characters, pick up weapons and complete objectives. While JC is essentially fixed within the mission-framework of the game, he can be customized in areas such as weapons, technical skills and physical prowess. Completing objectives rewards the player with skill points, which may be distributed to increase JC's proficiencies in eleven different disciplines. The player can choose to increase the damage JC inflicts with various types of weapons, improve his lock-picking or computer hacking abilities, etc. Each such discipline has four levels of proficiency.

Another way of customizing JC is applying nano-augmentations to his body. These cybernetic implants bestow the hero with super-human abilities, and can be installed on different body parts, up to nine at the same time. Along with combat-related benefits, nano-augmentations also grant JC abilities that can be used to overcome certain obstacles within the game world. Examples of those are jumping to extreme heights, swimming, lifting heavy objects, etc. Weapons can be customized as well: their range, accuracy, and magazine sizes can be increased, and they can be enhanced by attaching scopes, silencers, or laser sights to them.

The game leads JC to various places all around the globe. The cities he visits, as well as most mission areas, are expansive and fairly open to accommodate different approaches to solving the same problems, depending on the player's preferred style of play. Most of the missions can be tackled in various ways, e.g. with brute force, stealth, or extensive usage of lock-picking and computer hacking abilities. At certain points, the course of the storyline can also be influenced by the decisions made by the player. Similarly to System Shock games, the environment is largely interactive, the player being able to pick up, use, and discard various types of objects.

Spellings

  • デウスエクス - Japanese spelling
  • 杀出重围 - Simplified Chinese spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

185 People (145 developers, 40 thanks) · View all

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Lead Programmer and Assistant Director
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In-Game Text and Intro/Endgame Cinematics
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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 89% (based on 79 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 537 ratings with 34 reviews)

From God

The Good
In 2000 fledgling game developer Ion Storm dropped a bomb on the unsuspecting PC games market. The game was Deus Ex. An amazing first person shooter/RPG/stealth game. It still stands as the best game they produced and one of the best PC games of all time.

In Deus Ex you are J.C. Denton. The newest Nano-augmented agent for U.N.A.T.C.O. In the not to distant future of Deus Ex, hundreds of terrorist groups run amok. And from the shadows an age old conspiracy is about to begin again. Deus Ex takes you from New York, to Hong Kong, To Paris, and even Area 51. As well as a few other places.

As you unravel the plot you meet many characters all with there own agenda. You decide who to trust and who not to trust. And the fate of several major characters is in your hands. The plot is well written with many plot twists and never gets boring, even after several play thoughts. The game wraps up in about 20 hours. And the real world setting despite being set many years into the future still manages to feel real.

The references to novels, and philosophy are very well done. And help give Deus Ex a thinking man’s game feel. Can you think of any other game that has a quote by Voltaire? Even the title, which is Latin for From God, imply deep meaning.

The game has three real endings and one hidden one. The three real endings all have a quote from authors and philosophers. There is one part in Deus Ex where in you interact with an A.I. that asks you several philosophical questions, very cool.

The Graphics is Deus Ex are a little dated now. But they are still pretty good. Thanks to the always nice Unreal engine. The character models are were the dated graphics show the most. The maps and weapons look much better. The lighting effects are superb. And best of all this game runs well even on weaker machines. So unless you have a PC older than 10 years you will be able to run Deus Ex.

The Music is excellent. Particularly the main theme. The sound effects are realistic. And the voice acting is amazing. Some people have complained about J.C.’s voice but these complaints are unfounded, I think that his performance is one of the better ones in the game.

The game is almost completely customizable. You can pick and choose what skills you will make use of. You can be well balanced or weapon or stealth oriented. You can choose which augmentations you want and upgrade them as you see fit. Weapons too can be augmented. The way you play the game is also up to you. You can go in shooting or sneak around. There are always multiple ways to solve any problem you may come across.

In the end you even must choose the fate of the world. The fate of characters also depends on your decisions. And certain actions can make the game easier. Or harder.

The Bad
The Graphics are a little dated. This game is so good that any other Ion Storm game has a hard time by comparison. A few of there games do come close to the excellence of Deus Ex. Such as Anachronox, and Thief: Deadly Shadows.

The Bottom Line
You have to play this game it is just to good to pass up. And unless you have an ancient PC and less than 10 bucks you have no excuse not to play it.

Windows · by MasterMegid (723) · 2006

The Ultimate Action/RPG FPS

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!

Windows · by Dragoon (106) · 2000

Who says games that are 2 years old can't compete with the current market? WOW, this game is the BEST!

The Good
Where should I start? Okay, first, the graphics are totally awesome (but the mouths are jerky). The sound is excellent, as well as the music, and the alarm is totally freaky. The story...well, I can't praise it highly enough. I got a tingly feeling by the end because of the greatness of the twisted plot. I never got that feeling from any other game. Everything is very non-linear, and you can customize anything, and I mean anything: pathways, side quests, decisions, augmentations, skills, inventory: you name it! The game world is extremely detailed, with a network of vents and tons of different pathways in every level. Will you: sneak through the vents, wasting a lockpick; go in using the all-action approach; hijack the security; go through the backdoor elevator, using a multitool; sneak out using another path; etc. There are practically an infinite amount of paths you can take, and there are tons of buildings and characters that you don't have to visit! WOW! Finally, the game has a sort of real-world/cyberpunk feeling: a gritty feeling which I REALLY liked...it really helped the game along.

The Bad
I didn't like the fact that it was set in the night. Also, the AI doesn't instantly see you, it always has to say something stupid, even if you're in front of their nose ("Who's there, I know you're around here somewhere!"). In addition, you have limited inventory space (this isn't bad...I just didn't like it). The loading times are waaaaay to long, and you die too often. There are also loads of ammo shortages in the beginning. Finally, after you beat the game once, playing it again isn't as surprising. But that is nothing!

The Bottom Line
Damn! This is, hands down, the best game I have EVER, EVER played, and I played LOTS of games!

Windows · by Archagon (108) · 2002

[ View all 34 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Genres Cantillon (83231) May 7, 2021
20th anniversary Patrick Bregger (305406) Jun 22, 2020
First original US box design? sndwv Aug 28, 2016
Did you know? Donatello (466) Jun 23, 2013
Happy birthday! Patrick Bregger (305406) Jun 24, 2010

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The PC version of Deus Ex appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Alex Denton

Somewhere in Area 51 (the last stage of the game), there is a number of containers with clones in suspension. One of them is called Alex Denton. Alex Denton is the lead character to the successor Deus Ex: Invisible War.

Books

Ever wonder about the books found in Deus Ex? The Man Who was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton is a real book written in 1901, and takes place in a fantasy version of Victorian England, in which anarchists take names of days of the week it has some similarities to Deus Ex. G.K. Chesterton also wrote a book about St. Thomas Aquinas whom is referenced several time in Deus Ex.

One of the many books you can read in Deus Ex is the beginning of The Eye of Argon by Jim Theis. This is a real book, considered by many to be the worst fantasy book ever written. Information about the book and the full text can be found online.

Cancelled Linux version

The Linux version of Deus Ex was supposed to be ported by Loki Entertainment Software. Unfortunately, they went bankrupt back in 2001.

Non-lethal

Due to the array of non-lethal weapon and the numerous stealth options, it is quite possible to finish the game having only killed three people. With the explotation of glitches, the number can be dropped to one.

References

  • There's a register in the hotel at the Hell's Kitchen location... click on it and you will see that the last name is Hyppolita Hall... a character from the Sandman comic books.
  • One of the computer passwords used in the game, "reindeerflotilla", is actually a reference to the 1982 movie Tron, where it was used by Flynn to hack into the computer network and challenge the MCP (the time when he's actually inside the Encom building).
  • The helicopter pilot Jock with which J.C. Denton allies himself in the game is possibly a reference to the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. In the opening scenes of that movie, Indiana Jones makes a getaway in a biplane, flown by a pilot also named Jock.
  • Main voices of JC Denton and Agent Navarre are eerily similar to the protagonists of Nocture... as well as their general appearances.
  • A couple of tidbits. JC Denton was supposed to have a famous ancestor with the Initials J.C. If you look at the game logo, you see a very stylized J and C rotating around a tiny sphere.
  • Castle Clinton, as well as the Statue of Liberty, are real buildings represented in the game as playable maps.
  • In the hotel, in NYC, check the guest register. One entry is, Gabriel Syme, from London, England. Syme was the title character in the novel, The Man Who Was Thursday.

Sales

The game was sold in just over 1 million copies by 2009.

Special edition

The "special edition" that was sold for $9.99 in bargain bins at Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, etc. was a one-level demo being passed off as a full retail version. Nowhere on the packaging is it mentioned the "special edition" is a demo and not the full retail version of the game.

Title

The title "Deus Ex" comes from the latin term deus ex machina (God from the machine). It was commonly used in Greek and Roman drama as an abrupt resolution to the plot.

Twin Towers

When going to the Liberty Island, the player can see the New York skyline, but the Twin Towers are missing. According to Warren Spector's Reddit AMA in 2015, they were merely omitted in error. Until that statement, there were fan theories on why this was the case, especially after the real world terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, over a year after the game's release.

Voice acting

Lots of Ion Storm employees were used as voice actors. Tom Hall plays the villain in the game; Jay Franke, a QA tester, played the protagonist. He used to be on the TV sitcom California Dreams.

Awards

  • GameSpy
    • 2000 – Game of the Year
    • 2001 – #18 Top Game of All Time
    • 2011 – #3 Top PC Game of the 2000s
  • PC Gamer
    • 2000 - Game of the Year
    • October 2001 - #10 in the "Top 50 Games of All Time" list
    • April 2005 - #27 in the "50 Best Games of All Time" list

Information also contributed by Adam Baratz, Alan Chan, Dr. M. "Schadenfreude" Von Katze, emanjonez, Entorphane, Jason Musgrave, jeremy strope, MasterMegid, PCGamer77, Ryan Prendiville, Scott Monster, Stephen Atkinz; Tomer Gabel and WildKard

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by rstevenson.

PlayStation 3 added by GTramp. Macintosh added by Kabushi. PlayStation 2 added by NeoMoose.

Additional contributors: MAT, Adam Baratz, Unicorn Lynx, Shoddyan, Zeppin, Zeikman, Patrick Bregger, Plok, FatherJack, Zhuzha.

Game added June 25, 2000. Last modified September 5, 2024.