Deus Ex™ GOTY Edition

I played it for the first time last month (2021) and I really enjoyed it even if it feels a bit dated (mostly graphics and controls). The game design was top notch, and so ahead of the curve that in some ways remains unparalleled even today. Make sure to explore every nook and cranny and quick save all the time! The soundtrack deserves a special mention - instantly iconic.

This is a reference game we have here, a game so well balanced that one can play inflitrator or with the big guns, and sometimes both. I remember raiding an enemy base, throwing EMP grenades at bots outside, then hacking into the security system to make the turrets attack my enemies.. oh such bliss.... How many FPS (I know this is also a RPG) have such a replay value in single player ? How many games can you talk about 12 years later like that ? The graphics are old for sure, but gameplay, fun, scenario... it's still shiny as new ! :D Now stop reading and try it, my copy never left the shelf ;)

Deus Ex is like a cheezy action-thriller movie with terrible acting and over-the-top ridiculous storytelling and gloriously bad visual effects that you can't help but enjoy the hell out of because its such a purely entertaining hot mess. And then you start paying attention to the story and the characters and realize how well-written and compelling it all is... And then you become invested in the worldbuilding that remains alarmingly relevant no matter when you revisit it... And then you run into Sandra in the middle of California. What the HELL is she doing out here? You hope she knows what she's doing, but at least she got away from that punk JoJo. Wait a minute... you killed JoJo. What is she running from? Sure, the 'Ton had seen better days and her dad was kind of a blowhard, but at least he cared enough about her to try. You hope she sees that some day... And then you think 'did JoJo really deserve to die?' How many people have you killed at this point? Dozens? Hundreds? He was just a low-level gang-banger in Hell's Kitchen, and now you're sniping Area-51 military bots with a crossbow as you turn invisible to elude men in black who are working for a secret branch of the Illuminati aiming to take over the world via techno-omniscience. Hell's Kitchen seems like a lifetime ago, and yet it was only... today? Wait, really? That was today? That can't be... If only you had iced *REDACTED* as quickly as you did JoJo. You knew she was lying to you the moment you accidentally broke into her apartment through the maintenance elevator. You could have simply walked in the front door, but you just had to see what those "renovations" on the fifth floor were all about, didn't you? And now you're supposed to be the one to decide the fate of humanity? You don't even know how to swim! Or you do and you regret it. And now you've played the game over 15 times, and realize games haven't gotten any better since 2001, and they don't have to.

If you want to know why I love to play games on PCs, get this game and experience what early 2000s had to offer. But if you do get this game and play it on a modern PC I advise you to get a mod called GMDX, it gives support for 2560x1440 resolution and enhances the textures somewhat but does in it a way that don't mess with it too much like other mods do... Also I like the changes to AI this mod gives, they are interesting!

This game is a classic for a reason, the gameplay is amazing and really lets you come up with some absolutely broken and fun strategies, which you'll need because those tranq darts aren't going to do what you think they will. The soundtrack is catchy and has tracks I'll come back to just for a listen. Most importantly the story is mind bending and an utter joy to experience, and every year it proves it's self more relevant from 9/11 to the Corona virus. I, for one, welcome our MJ-12 overlords.