Deus Ex™ GOTY Edition

I remember seeing a feature on this from a gaming magazine back in the late 90s. It was about this sci-fi spy game and it had Warren Spectors name attached to it which was something because he helped create quite a few great games in the past such as system shock and Ultima underworld. This game was going to use the unreal engine and the images all looked pretty fancy. When I finally got my copy it was amazing to be able to finally play it. The game ran fairly well on my top of the line system back in the day and I remember not knowing what to really expect. Deus Ex has a lot of themes going on in it, and the biggest one revolves around conspiracy theories which feeds into a lot of urban myths. This is a really slick approach and slightly unnerving because of how some of the games events shadow our present. I think it was slick how they chose to release the game in the year 2000. Anyhow the game takes place in 2052 and the world is amidst a pandemic with a disease known as the Gray death which is caused by a nano-virus. The villains are pretty much revealed in the beginning of the games introduction which was a strange choice looking back, but it's these kind of things that show up and really keep the player guessing what might happen next. This is repeated in the wide array of gameplay styles you can choose which really lets the player role play however they wanted. The games protagonist is named JC Denton and his story is also interesting and completely flips the players perspective when they find out Jcs real past. This type of gameplay is creative and no doubt influenced many future game developers as a standard. I think one of the things that also they should be commended for is the fact they were able to cram this huge game onto a cd-rom. If you have not played Deus Ex and want to play a RPG then you can't do much better than this masterpiece.

One of the greatest games ever

After having finished Deus Ex a good 12 times over the past 11 or so years, all I can say is that till this day it is unrivalled in terms of "soul" and what contributes to this "soul" of Deus Ex is exceptional writing, believable characters, awesome thought provoking story and themes it deals with (trans-humanism, human nature, justice, political & existential philosophy, etc.), exceptional voice acting, brilliant and varied gameplay, incredible music, awesome atmosphere and the Unreal engine (I am a sucker for the Unreal engine). The game is also not short; it is a good 30-50 hours (depending on how diligent you are with exploration), so there is plenty "bang for your buck". Deus Ex is simply a game/experience that no review or any amount of words can do justice (just as with Planescape Torment); you simply need to experience/play it for yourself to "get it" and become one of the many who know this game for what it is (even in todays "gaming explosion"): a timeless masterpiece.

Over the years, the Deus Ex approach to game design has lost out. While the game still has the player chasing objectives, the sheer breadth of choice in how they are tackled and how you act on that particular objective has not been matched often (and certainly not by its new prequel, Human Revolution). Arguably, this depth is only really appreciated on second, third, or further playthroughs of the game. The common line that you'll always discover something new is no lie. The game is in fact deeply flawed, with combat that feels clunky, bad voice acting and terrible graphics (among other problems) but it ultimately succeeds on so many levels as a pure game experience because of its character customization, strong narrative drive, and the aforementioned depth of choice in how to move forward. What most reviewers and publicity of this game fail to mention, however, and what gripped me the most when I first played this game, is the philosophy this game is built upon. Relevant now more than ever in its grim predictions (to the point of even blaming the absence in New York of the World Trade Center towers on terrorist attacks, BEFORE that attack even took place), the game deals in the politics of corruption, greed, and it deals in the philosophies of power, ethics, and the inevitable paradigm shift that new and revolutionary technologies impose upon all of these things. If you take the time to read the public terminals, read the newspapers lying around in-game hotel rooms, listen to the complaints of the bums on the street, etc, you really get not just a depth of gameplay but also a depth of political motivation and inspiration. The developers were clearly well-read. This all lends to a feeling of truly being a part of something HUGE, and scarily real, while playing. Games this smart don't come along often, and it's sad how dumbed-down the actual intellectual content of new titles can be (once again as example, prequel Human Revolution has completely watered down its intellectual content as well to be comprehensible to any audience). In today's world it seems as if the Deus Ex events are coming true - freedoms removed in the name of "security," technological advances that allow extreme degrees of control, grey moral ground that never seems clear. And you get all this in a sci-fi game world that still looks like the world we know today, not some far-removed cloud city with flying cars. You have an amazing game experience, and if you're not particularly politically aware you will learn something too. For $10 you'd be stupid to miss it. This is the gold standard that games born on the PC must always compare themselves to.

This game feels like it was made with passion; like it was made by someone who was permitted to make the game they've always wanted to make. It starts out deceptively unspectacular however. Just keep playing and you'll understand why it's so highly treasured. Also keep in mind that the game was being made back in the late 90's with the tools & computing power that were available at the time. The graphics will look quite dated but there are easily installed community-made mods that improve the graphics considerably.