Deus Ex™ GOTY Edition

Such a brilliant game and it still stands up today. I still play it regularly.

So much to say, so little that feels adequate to descrbe what a wonderful game this is. The stars truly aligned for this work of art to be made. Giving Warren Spector a large budget and a team of unsurpassed developers with incredible individual visions remains the greatest thing John Romero has ever done. What remains the most incredble about this game is just how many things it absolutely excels at. The level design is THE BEST I've seen to this day. The augmentation system is fantastic, and fecilitates emergent gameplay, another thing the game excels at. The writing is some of the best, most unique, most realistic, and most thought provoking I've seen (people mostly talk like real people, but usually about interesting concepts). The limb damage system is STILL much more advanced than most modern ones. I love how the game feels mechanically: the little head bob when you run around, the smooth and unrestricted controls, and the way aiming is done. The plot is also still the most relevant (and incredible in its own right) among games. We will need another ridiculously unlikely miracle of a dream team led by a dream leader with a huge budget for any game to even START TO APPROACH the greatenss of Deus Ex. Do yourself a favor and play through this game (repeatedly). Your brain will thank you.

I first played this many years ago and wasn't sure i wanted to play it again - I remembered it as a long game with dated graphics which while engrossing was maybe a 'play once only' experiemnce. However, having recently played and enjoyed 'Mankind Divided' and 'Human Revolutions' - and really enjoyed them - i thought i'd like to go back to it. I used the GMDX mod which updates the graphics and experience while, according to those who know, replicating the original experience of the game. It certainly improves the textures and detail while admittedly not totally dispelling the grey-green shadows i remember from the original Tihs is particularly noticeable in the early parts of the game in New York which to be honest i found a bit slow at first and lacking in atmosphere. this is partly because i tend to turn off game music and there aren't many ambient sounds in this game compared to System Shock 2, which was made at a similar time. So unusually for me i did use the game music to add atmosphere and must admit some of it is very good, some of the Hong Kong music for example the story picks up and once you start to gain weapons and skills the combat improves and there are always multiple ways to achieve objectives the final set of choices you are given are well-presented and it's all cleverly done to leave you with a final decision to make. I would very much recommend this to anyone who likes FPS/RPG I would also recommend you keep the GEP gun when you get it - you need it!

Mixing first-person perspective, cyberpunk world, role-playing, deep customization and freedom of action, Deus Ex remains an unchallenged masterpiece. Now, let's be clear: it sucks absolute *ss if you play it as an FPS game. The clunky feel of the weapons and weird enemy behavior makes the strategy of running around and gunning people down reliable, but unfun, and a lot of the RPG elements are ungracefully implemented: cybernetic augs and special skills tend to be clumsy. But, the thing is: DE is a lot more than a shooter, or even an RPG. It is an adventure game all about possibilities, alternate paths, and choices that have repercussions: once you learn how to use items, body mods and skills to their full potential, you start to see each level as an open-ended playfield that lets you go forward the way you see fit. Lay traps! Sneak up! Snipe enemies from afar! Backstab them or knock them out! Hack bots to do your dirty job! Talk to NPCs to find clues! Blow up doors, or just pick their locks! I have finished it about ten times now, and not only do I still find new content, never have I completed a level twice the same way! Few games nail this feeling of liberty of action: how many recent titles let you kill children with cigarette smoke?! Hell, even the interface and controls are surprisingly well-designed and easy to get a hold of! The storyline is also pretty good due to solid twists and intriguing plot points. As a cyberpunk tale, it has a lot of interesting things to say about politics and the future of mankind – a lot of which is discussed through in-game docs and dialogues. It is quite riveting, and even the few bad writing and acting bits are very memeable (“A BOMB!”). And I don't even have room here to talk about the great atmosphere! So, yeah, DE can be hard to get into, and some levels (notably the last ones) are a bit weak. It's also an immortal classic that has rarely been successfully imitated and that every computer gamer should play at least once!

What a game! It's great FPS, excellent RPG, and it has remarkably story to tell.