Deus Ex™ GOTY Edition

I've been playing this over and over every few years since it came out. It holds up well and is brought up with GMDX and other modern supports. Massively prescient of subsequent decades and a major innovator for a range of genres, it is what I measure games against.

Happy 25th anniversary, Deus Ex. (June 22)

Just look for this meme DEUS EX Everytime you mention it, someone will reinstall it It is probably the best game of its generation and deserves the meme because, from all the contemporary games, it's the most equilibrated on its parts: - About action it is not Half Life, but if you want to draw your shotgun, go on it - About atmosphere, System Shock 2 is probably better, but not that far away - About stealth, it may not be Thief, but hiding to avoid fights is very enjoyable So this is an FPS RPG that can be played with stealth/action, that forces you to take decisions, with a conspiracy plot, a bunch of abilities to be upgraded and something that I haven't seen that much since I played it: the body gets damaged on every part (i.e. good look running with a leg hurt) It was worth it, it is worth it and it will be worth it

While a bit daunting for newcomers, Deus Ex still offers up some great FPS meets RPG gameplay. We all know the cliche's: cyberpunk, dystopian future, with a morally grey protagonist who ends up entangled in something far bigger than himself. Hell, what am I talking about? We LOVE these damn cliche's! Deus Ex manages to deliver everything we love about the ol' William Gibson novels (which are turning out to be rather prophetic these days), while offering a pretty wide variety of CHOICE. What sorts of choices? From augments to multiple ways of handling situations. Wanna run-n-gun it? Do you. Wanna go Solid Snakin' it? Slither, homey. Wanna be diplomatic? Everyone needs friends. Just be sure to equip the augments that play nice with said play style. Graphically, Deus Ex uses the ol' Unreal Engine. So don't expect face melting graphics. However, for retro gamers like myself, these "old" graphics lend to the atmosphere in Deus EX: a time when cyberpunk was more escapist and less like what we all now live. In terms of difficulty, Deus Ex can be punishing. Particularly if you choose augments that don't work well with your tactics. At its time of release, this mechanic was still very experimental in gaming. Deus Ex definitely plays best on a second or third (or fourth or fifth) play-through. Whether for challenge, for a good story, for nostalgia, or for a good allegory of where First World society is right now, Deus Ex is worth owning.

There are two sides to this game. One is storytelling. And while some of my friends consider the story a bit too convoluted, I enjoyed every minute of it. Sometimes the game can be a bit frustrating with all those multitools and lockpicks and you running out of them in the important moment. But the general feeling of the game is just great. The other thing is the technicalities. Well, the game is over 20 years old and it shows. The models are very low-polygon for today standards, the textures are so-so, the mechanics can be sometimes annoying. And it definitely pays off to find some mod that lets you play in higher resolution and such. (like GMDX). The streets are not as crowded as in GTA, there are relatively few areas you can get into. But you have usualy several approaches available depending on your style of play - stealth or gun blazing. Overall - if you've never played it before, you might get put off by the technicalities but it's worth getting over this feeling to get through the story.