Deus Ex 2: Invisible War

First of all let me say that, this game isn't as good as the first one BUT, this game stand on its own as a great game. It has its own style, and originality but most people were disappointed because it was considerably different from the first one. This game walks to a very different beat. It invites you to relax and slow down more, and even be hypnotized at its ambient music and techno environment drone sounds while you enjoy its futuristic design. It uses the story of the first game as a context but goes in a very different way. It's more of a darker, desolate, and having more monotone, less vibrant colors, reflective atmospheric game where you soak up the look of everything while you calmly go about your business than the more upbeat, colorful and action packed Deus Ex 1. The story also doesn't grip you in the same way as the one in the first where there was always a cliff hanger around the corner. It also doesn't do as great of a job building a climax as the story of the first game did. The voice acting also seems to be more relaxed and not as intensive as in the first game. I'm not gonna call it worse because I don't understand enough about acting, but most characters, with a few exceptions, just seemed to be on Prozac/ Zoloft while talking regardless of subject and had the same laid back cheerful tone to them. This doesn't make the game bad. It just makes it not as great as the first one where the voice-acting, in itself, really made the situation seem more serious in many occasions and also seemed more varied in tone. This game isn't exactly short but it is definitely not as long as the first one (or so it seemed to me). Also, one of the things this game didn't manage to replicate from the first one, was the sheer amount of new elements that would appear as the game developed. This game, however, still kicks Deus Ex Revolution's proverbial butt and still is one of my favorite games despite not being as imaginative or creative as the first.

As others have said: Invisible War is a solid title, but probably the worst game in the series. Questionable design choices (that the developers themselves have admitted), among other things, leave this to be a disappointing game if you've played any of the others. Hard to recommend if you've tried them. Overall, the game has a great sense of style & range of freedom (even if somewhat shallow). Despite its simplicity & other weaknesses, the developers DID create a very accessible title. Easy to pick up & play, then put down for weeks, & jump back into. IW is a fun & interesting title for those interested in the themes & settings of the future gone wrong & conspiracies small & large. Unfortunately, for most veterans of this genre or series, it'll feel quite watered down. This is probably a good candidate if you'd like to try out the Deus Ex series but never have - to whet your apetite. It has almost everything that made the other games great - just less of them. It's got the cyberpunk theme, the sense of dread & dystopia, the customization & freedom to tackle objectives. If only it had more...

This is the 2003 sequel to Deus Ex 1. Where the first game was and still is a classic of story telling, hampered by some iffy combat and inventory management. This is a game with a paper thin story, the same iffy combat and almost no inventory to speak of. From the get go this game is handicapped by the decision to make this launch at the same time as the original Xbox. As a result of this a lot of the game is simply missing. The world building is reduced to playable hubs connected to a fast travel system. There is little in the way of exploration. There are very few side quests. And as I said, the story was paper thin. It is a continuation of the original and is recognisably Deus Ex. Its just that it is the diet coke version. Just 1 calorie and not deus ex enough. everything is just...stripped down to its basics. From inventory management to mods. Even the levels themselves are stripped down and small. Which is wildly at odds with the story which has some interesting elements to it that have big ideas. Shame it was watered down to fit into a tiny box. Not terrible but not great, but also not essential. It is quite average at the end.

I had fond memories of this game having played it as a child on release - but playing it again in 2021 directly after the original... Wow, what a colossal decline - a step down in every aspect with a story so laughable it is almost a mockery of the originals.

I finally got round to finishing the game. Once you've modded the game into shape and offset some of it's more glaring flaws it is a reasonably good game in a way. (From a CRPG perspective) Despite it's flaws, I've found the game far more enjoyable than Bethseba games such as Fallout 3, which lare narrative voids. Some may tear me appart for saying so but I have not gotten past the initial scenes of the original much lauded Deus Ex. I will get round to it eventually but tend to get distracted by other things too. Currently, I still admire sexuels/prequels such as Deus Ex Human Revolution and Deus Ex Mankind Divided more, for all kinds of reasons. Back to Deus Ex Invisible War though.,, You know, from a modding perspective, this game could do with some graphical mods that offset the continuous blue tint, even if little can be done about the lighting/rendering. You see, even in the visible upgrade version, backgrounds such as the Seattle Outook and many other things look dreadful due to a complete lack of contrast. Ok game