Deus Ex 2: Invisible War

If you judge Deus Ex: Invisible War as a sequel to the original Deus Ex, then Invisible War is incredibly disappointing. Invisible War has simplified a lot of the RPG elements that were the strongest points of Deus Ex's gameplay: skill trees have disappeared and the player is no longer judged by his actions, the options of using force versus stealth no longer has relevence to player choices and each are seen as "viable options" by both military (WTO) and religious (The Order) groups. Also, the music has been overhauled and feels non-existent when compared to the amazing soundtrack used in the first game, and the voice acting has become even more lackluster and emotionless. If you judge Invisible War on it's own merits, it still comes up short as a good experience. It tries to have the in-depth systems but because the RPG elements were removed. The game's confined areas are too claustrophobic to be able to use any type of strategy (stealth, planning etc.) and the plot feels too detached from our main protagonist to be interesting. Our main protagonist (Alex) feels unnecessarily dumbed down, with barely any thoughts or impulses of their own that the player can bounce off and reflect. They don't decide on their own or use their own intuition, instead asking very silly questions to everyone they meet. Also, there are bugs, silly ragdoll effects and poorly written dialogue but they seem like small annoyances when compared to the main problem: Because the game tries to be both in-depth and simplified, trying to have an intricate plot with simplified factions and belief systems, and trying to be a sleek action game with rpg exploration and questing makes invisible war come off as one thing: absolutely boring. For me, this game was not enjoyable and lacks everything that's needed to be either an exciting shooter or a Deus Ex sequel. It just seems to disappoint on all fronts. Do yourself a favor if you're either a Deus Ex fan or not. Just avoid this game, and move on.

Its all been said before but between the plot that feels autogenerated as the game goes along, the terrible gunplay, the lack of real consequences with your choices (you can kill important characters and other characters would go "oh dang what a shame, well anyways heres the next mission i have for you), the simplification of gameplay (multitools now also work as lockpicks for whatever reason, you dont have to memorize or check your notes for codes and passwords anymore, hacking terminals and ATMs is now just right click and wait), its hard to pick whats the worst of it all honestly. One of the few positive things i can say is that the game looks nice for the time and the engine lets you play with the physics and ragdolls and it has dynamic lightning similar to F.E.A.R Overall i cant really recommend this game at all, you're better off just skipping it

I purchased Deus Ex 2: Invisible War originally for Xbox and the controls felt right and the game was fun. However, this game does not do justice to the original (but any sequel rarely does). There is a lot of Deus Ex: The Conspiracy in the tone of the game, but the original was made specifically for PC so the controls make more sense with a keyboard and mouse. I would play this 10 times through before playing "Human Revolution". Developers need to realize when they take on a "Franchise" title that they should stick to the basics of the game and build from them, not tear out entire features, and replace control schemes utterly! With all this ranting aside, I can honestly say that Deus Ex 2 is worth the $10 price here on GOG. You'll have a fun adventure within a world of conspiracies and choice.

As a Deus Ex game, this game is beyond terrible and it's no wonder it almost killed the franchise. Viewed in a bubble, by itself, it's a mediocre game that has aged very poorly. I played it when it came out and I remember I had poor opinion of Invisible War. Having recently replayed the original Deus Ex, I decided to replay IW also. Turns out I had forgotten what a pile of garbage IW was in the 16 or so years since I last played it. After about an hour I had to stop playing and uninstall it, because it is a complete abomination and an insult to the Deus Ex franchise. I highly recommend watching the Errant Signal video that summarizes all the issues with IW (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59PzmOLSf00). If you want a Deus Ex game, skip absolutely this. If you have no decent game to play, no decent TV show to watch, or no other hobbies and simply want to waste some time, then by all means, play IW. I am sorry for every minute of that hour I wasted trying to replay this pile of garbage.

Early game, so a bit primitive, but a great story and good action.