Deus Ex 2: Invisible War

Know before you buy that there are severe issues on 'modern' PCs with running this game. For me it started with a crash on start. When I fixed that issue, the game got stuck on each loading screen, which seems to be caused by issues with multi core processors. I have tried getting around that issue with the 'Visible Upgrade mod' (btw: amazing what modding communities do for their games) but could not fix this issue. Therefore needed to give up and refund. Yes, I know that reviews should be mainly about the content of the game itself. If many players have the same technical issue with running a game however, I think this should be adressed even for a good old game.

...but worst game in the series does not mean a bad game by any stretch. Quite the opposite. It's an outstanding game. Hell, it's still a great Deus Ex game. Just not as great as others in the series. The story, writing and world building are just as good as Deus Ex. And there are just as many ways to get to your objective, like stealth, combat, hacking, conversation and exploration. The first game was an RPG through and through, this one is an Immersive Sim. The upshot is that many elements were streamlined and refined. This lead to tighter gunplay and better stealth, but more limited RPG elements. For everything it gained, it seemed like it lost something else, kind of like comparing Morrowind to Oblivion. If you like Deus Ex, you'll love this. If you like Immersive Sims, you'll love this. If you like intelligent storytelling and writing, you'll love this. Buy it.

Deus Ex is considered one of the best games ever made, and creating a worthy sequel to it is almost impossible to achieve. Well, Deus Ex 2: Invisible War failed to do so, but the standards were so high, that is kinda expected. But is it really a worthless game? Let's find out! The main complaint about the game that is dumbed down to fit into the consoles, so expect tiny maps with frequent load screens, horrendous HUD, small inventory, and overall simplified gameplay. The skills are removed, and there are less biomods with less upgrades, less items, and much less freedom, that made the first game unique and awesome. The game uses the Unreal 2 engine now, so it looks better (escpecially the shadows and lighting - Tier looks exactly like Thief - Deadly Shadows, another game they made), but the textures are low-res and blurry (thank god for the Visible Upgrade!), and the ragdoll physics are ridiculous. The music is OK, but nothing memorable. The story is kinda uninteresting at first, but it gets better. The last third of the game reminds me of the first one, where you get bombarded from all sides to do their bidding, and you can choose which faction you wanna side with, if you want to side at all. This is the best part of the game - the story. The dialogues are well-written, the voice acting is... acceptable (it wasn't stellar in the first game either, except for a few characters), and you can choose from four endings now. So is this a terrible game? No, but a terrible sequel. So I think you should play it for the story and the endings, but don't expect the same level of aweseomeness as the first one.

I bought this game from a bargain bin in 2006, having never heard of the original. And the disc was in one of those unmarked Game Stop used-game cases, so I genuinely had no idea it was a sequel to anything. Loved every minute of it! Has sort of a Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines vibe to it. Hub areas are small but open, the gameplay variability is quite nice, and the story is enjoyably campy. Honestly, if you haven't played this or the original, I'd go as far as to recommend starting with this one. It'll even out the learning curve a little bit.

In terms of gameplay the original Deus Ex was a combination of action RPG and System Shock style smart shooter. In terms of story it revolved around taking existing conspiracy theories and spinning them into a decent gameplot where the protagonist was handled as being relatively intelligent and their choices mattered. The problem with Invisible War can be summed up in two words: Coffee Wars. Not only is there idiotic domestic terrorism involved in the Coffee Wars but they are your most consistent set of missions, which the writers made a point to emphasize them as mirroring the main plot. The net effect is that your character plays more like a petty thug then the Black Ops agent you're tagged as and played up as being in the introduction. The conspiracy theory angle was effectively thrown out. The WTO is the governmental figure, but unlike with real conspiracies in the original Deus Ex this isn't really played to. As a result the WTO might as well be the EDF for all it matters, with the faction opposite to this being a made up religion of violent fanatics which then is rendered pointless to the plot in favor of another made up religion of violent fanatics... If you're willing to ignore that the most intellectually stimulating thing in the game is an AI that runs popstar kiosks, feeling more like a petty criminal then an agent, and contrived endings in favor of decent gameplay weighed down by annoyances like universal ammo then you might enjoy this game.