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.
As adventure game titles go Sanitarium is very punchy. You have a set of several, relatively small, areas to explore and puzzles in those areas to solve before things get mixed. This style of puzzle handling was also used in the Castle of Dr. Brain and its sequel, but unlike those titles the puzzles here are not the ends onto itself. The puzzles are instead integrated into a story, which for gaming purposes is solid enough and much like Blade Runner leaves itself open to being read into by those who care to do so. This punchy style further assists by making it hard for any particular area of the game to excessively drag, and allowing for plenty of variety in puzzles. Add on to this inventory management that’s straightforward enough and this title manages to avoid a lot of its brethren’s failings, although it has more problems with moving around the character then most. On the nature of the puzzles while like similar titles some require a certain amount of pixel hunting to find something the developer intended you to mouse over, on the average they involve legitimate logical thinking. This is one of the title’s I suggest players take a mediocrum of notes with, and figure out some of the puzzles out on paper with, as that tends to help with some of these more complex puzzles verses simply manipulating things on the screen. Hence I can easily recommend this title for those who enjoy these type of adventure games. It is not however appropriate for children.
