Deus Ex™ GOTY Edition

I have played this through countless times and always enjoy it. Great atmosphere and storyline, very memorable. Consequences do matter in this game, there are a few major characters that can live or die based on your actions, a few boss battles that can be bypassed, and it is even possible to complete the game without killing anyone aside from a small number of bosses. The only real fault is the graphics, which were dated at the time (1999) But gameplay over graphics right? There are hi-rez mods available if you feel the need.

This is one of my favorite games. I love the decision you can make and also the design. Its a great old game with some rpg mechanics. You get points for different actions so you can level up different abillities like swimmig, diving, healing, hacking etc. One big feature for me was the freedom you have. The levels are big enviroments where you can choose your path. You can kill everybody and walk trough or you can play stealthy and walk around the enemys. There are many computers, cameras and other machines to hack. You can choose your own way to get to the goal. So its definitely a good old game.

Any seasoned PC gamer's collection is not complete without Deus Ex, disputably one of the best PC games of all time, and one of my personal favorites, it just goes to show that a complex RPG can still really stand up today (other than the graphics).

One of the funny things about this game is how people describe it so differently. It's a FPS, with RPG elements. It's a first person RPG, with shooter elements. It's a stealth game with a subversive message. It's a puzzle-oriented action adventure game. It's an open world socializing game, where knowing the right people makes all the difference. It's a survival horror game, with occasional breaks for munchies. How do you reconcile all of those perspectives? By saying, yes, it is. This game really did try to do it all, and pretty much succeeded. The best part, for me, was that although you could play through it several times in different ways, you could also (if you were determined and attentive), actually do several styles of gameplay in the same play through. You could sneak in the back way, set things up, sneak back out, and then go in guns blazing. It was a lot of fun do that, try to find every path before finishing an area; take out every last enemy, bot, and creature; hack every single thing you find; read all of the back story intel, and interact with every possible character. Then you understand the scope of this game, and how, unlike RPGs that just overload you with "lore," everything you find, read, and do is immediately integral to your game experience. If you have not yet played this game, and you are not the type to let 14-year old graphics (which were pretty hot, at the time) ruin it for you, what are you doing reading this review?

I love this game. I love the quirky humor. I love the augmentations. I love the plot. I love the progression. I love the characters. I love the fact that everytime I play its a new experience as I take a new route or play style each and everytime. I don't love the Swimming skill.