Deus Ex

The Good
It's perhaps the only game that has treated conspiracy theories the better, using stuff from real theories and changing the name of some other more polemical things (like "The Grey Death" disease emulating a well-known disease of our times).

The upgrading and personalization of your character (like in an RPG) is one of the main keys why this game is so good: you can become whatever you want, a warfare machine or more stealthy than that guy from that Tom Clancy game.

The game also counts with lots of choices to be taken. Your actions reflect on how the game evolves. For example, important characters to the plot can die or survive depending on your actions (saving them from a planted bomb or helping them when the enemies overcome them, those are two of these situations in the game), you can also face problems in different ways, by talking or being unnoticed or by opening your way with fire power.

The character and plot development is also very good. In the beginning (and if you aren't aware of conspiracy theories) you would never expect one of the biggest plot turns in the game, so you never know who you can trust in the Deus Ex world (like in the real one, let's face it...).

The music is also one of it's strong points, the themes can be epic, relaxing or thrilling.

The Bad
I missed some things from the port to PS2, some of the music was changed and some levels are shortened, but well, can't complain, could have been a lot worse.

Also, some levels felt a bit empty and quickly built. Sometimes it results in a boring exploration experience for the player (maybe it's because I don't like shooters very much).

The Bottom Line
If you like conspiracy theories or a good RPG/Shooter with character and plot development, Deus Ex will be a wise choice.

The Good
What is there to like about this game? To be frank - everything. Each element of this game has been brought together with such verve and flair that the result is something that totally transcends the concept of what a game should be. Deus Ex is a truly unique thing - this is not merely a 'game', this is so incalculably great it's more of a one in a lifetime experience. No, really!

When people traditionally think of an FPS game with a strong plot, many would be inclined to name Half-Life. Yet when you analyse Half-Life's plot in some more detail, you realise that effectively it's identical to that of Doom - scientists accidentally open portal to another dimension, aliens appear and try to take over the world blah blah blah. Add in some friendly scientists and security guards along the way, and have them robotically tell the player what to do, where to go next, and suddenly everyone thinks it's the second coming. For example, the usual dialogue in Half-Life involves some bored security guy with lousy AI informing you that the next section of the game you encounter will involve riding a train. Or going down a lift. Or ducking under some pipes. Yawn. And people even nowadays mistake this for a plot! Enter Deus Ex...

The plot of Deus Ex is such that it's a bit like starring in your very own sci-fi thriller movie; A sort of combination of The Matrix, Blade Runner, X-Files, and 007. This is not simply 'fun' or a diversion, this is so totally immersive and the characterisation so well done that the player is drawn into the game world like never before. The level of interactivity with what you can see is unparalleled. Essentially, if you can see it, it can be interacted with.

Although the game is largely linear in structure, each objective can be completed in several different ways, giving the game massive replayability value. This is one of the few games that has captured my attention so completely that I had no choice but to complete it - but that wasn't enough. Thus far I have played it through a total of 7 times, each time discovering new places, or consequences for different actions. For example, in the first mission where terrorists are holed up in the Statue of Liberty, you can either hack the security terminal and go in the front, or find the UNATCO informant and get a key to the front door, or take the long route round the back way up the gigantic stack of crates. Another example is where you are protecting a certain injured NPC in a hotel room when your apartment is raided. Either you can escape out the window and save yourself, leaving the NPC to die. Or fight your way through about 20 heavily armed soldiers, save him, and meet up later in the game. Because of the 'emotional attachment' I had to this character, I had no choice but to take Option B... Each of your actions or responses has a definite effect on how NPCs react to you, making the game feel very real.

The really great thing about Deus Ex is how the plot builds itself up to epic proportions - as opposed to laming itself out only a third of the way through like Half Life. There are so many plot twists and turns, so many conspiracies and counter-conspiracies, and it is all developed so rapidly that it really grabs your attention and refuses to let go.

The soundtrack is probably the best for a game yet. It's really what holds the game together for me, adding depth and emotion to the levels. Produced by Straylight Productions (the same people who did the music for Unreal), it's kind of like the game equivalent of John Williams' Star Wars score. All the tunes are instantly memorable, and I enjoy them so much that despite having several hundred mp3s on my hard drive, I still listen to the Deus Ex tunes on a regular basis. The game is honestly worth getting for the music alone!

I love the graphics (based on the Unreal engine). Of course, the developers could have opted for say, the Quake 3 engine, but I unquestionably prefer the Unreal engine as the lighting is superb and atmospheric and everything looks very real and organic. Also, despite having only a Pentium II 400, I can run this game with practically all visual options on and it runs quite fast.

The Bad
There really wasn't anything that had an adverse effect on my enjoyment of this game. People seem to think that because there's a big ol' box for stuff you don't like, that you have to nitpick and point out the comparatively trivial niggles that this game has.

Often cited is the in-game speech - which often veers in quality of acting from top notch Hollywood production to school play and back again in the space of a few seconds. This totally doesn't matter though as the characterisation and dialogue is so good that you forget that the voice acting is something less great. There are literally hundreds of really great quotes from Deus Ex, the scripting is THAT good.

The game often criticised for having bad enemy AI. Yet in all the FPS games I have played, games that feature superb AI are in my opinion no better than those which don't - even in some cases having great AI is annoying. An example would be the marines in Half-Life which magically know exactly where you are despite you not making a sound. You're then on the receiving of a hail of grenades and you die. So you reload your game, but you die again. So you reload. But then you die. So you have to reload, until by sheer luck you manage the get pass the marines. Having really good AI as in Half-Life's case makes the game unbalanced and in my opinion, the AI in Deus Ex, while being far from perfect, does not adversely affect gameplay. The aim of an FPS should be to challenge the player, but not make it so hard that you spend more time hitting the load saved game key than actually playing. Deus Ex succeeds in getting the balance just right, even at higher skill levels.

The Bottom Line
I'm always wary of describing games as 'classic' or as a 'masterpiece'. Invariably once you've made your grand claim, you'll soon find another game that surpasses it, and that game you thought so highly of begins to look only average. So instead, so I don't contradict myself in future, I will say that thus far this is my favourite game ever, on any platform. It really is that good! So if it's not in your collection, and you are looking for a new title, buy this now!

The Good
Deus Ex is perhaps the most interactive game since System Shock 2. The game uses the unreal engine for some stunning visuals and really enhances the gaming experience.You play as J.C. Denton (at least that’s his code name), a nano-augmented agent who is a member of UNATCO (United Nation Anti-Terrorist Coalition). After a few missions battling the National Secessionist Forces, NSF for short, you realize that UNATCO may not be all that it seems, the line between good and evil is blurred as the light and the dark blend into a shade of gray. The story takes place in a variety of places including Battery Park (NYC), Hong Kong, Liberty Island, Paris, Vandenburg Air force base, and even Area 51. The story to DeusEx is simply amazing, and will keep you interested to the end. The game contains 13 missions but expect to spend at least 1 to 2 hours on each mission. Best of all, you can play however you want. The missions allow you to play any way you want and there are always at least 3 solutions to any problem. Don't want to fight with the guards, hack a computer and release poison gas into the enemy barracks or turn the security system against itself. Feeling confrontation, you could bust open the door and shoot everyone. You can complete the whole game without killing a single person or you could kill as many people as you want. The story keeps up with your actions, and decisions you make have visible consequences.

The Bad
The entire game takes place at night, so colors may seem drab in certain areas. Another weak point in the game is the voice acting. Your character's voice shows no emotion whatsoever, in fact he kind of sounds like Joe Friday from Dragnet (the show, not the movie). There are also a few bugs and AI glitches but nothing serious.

The Bottom Line
Deus Ex is a first person role playing game that beats System Shock 2 hands down. The revolutionary game play system allows you to play the game any way you want. The plot includeds twists and turns to keep anybody interseted. Buy it.