A masterclass in just about everything it sets out to achieve, Deus Ex is an amazing experience and truly worthy of being considered one of the greatest PC games ever and one of my personal favourites ever.
The thing that makes Deus Ex special the most compared to other games released before and after is the sheer amount of options you are given to progress through the story. Never before have I seen such a massive amount of attention and effort put into every possible method the player might go for to tackle its intricately-designed big levels, bordering on "overdesigned" in many cases. Every decision you make, from the most important ones to the minor or goofy ones, will come back and either play a role in the story or be mentioned again. It's absolutely fucking insane. You can choose to either go gunsblazing and kill the enemies, sneak by them, stealthily kill them, smoke bomb your way through, fucking camo your way through levels, use swimming, lockpick and hack your way through, let bots or other people do your bidding, be a sarcastic jackass and have everyone hate you, throw vending machines at them, kill every single character (important or not) YOU NAME IT, THIS GAME LETS YOU DO IT AND ACKNOWLEDGES IT. HOW COOL IS THAT??? Best part is that none of them feel forced or tacked on and are instead very well-fleshed out mechanics and playstyles, thanks in no small part to its skill and augmentation system.
Every skill and augment in the game is useful in some shape or form and are well-worth going out of your way to explore each level and hub to have enough skill points to upgrade your skills or find augmentation canisters to gain new augments. Skill systems include general upgrades to the core mechanics you're gonna use through the game like: hacking, lockpicking, shooting, using melee weapons, swimming, resistance to environmental hazards. Because of that, they remain useful throughout because every level is littered with opportunities to use them. The augmentation system is just additional abilities that are used in addition with your general skills to open up even more opportunities to tackle levels in a different or easier way. All of the augmentations are useful too, depending on your playstyle, and are fun to use as well.
Of course, deus ex wouldn't be as well remembered if it weren't for the story too. Basically a "what if every single insane conspiracy theory is true" narrative, the game uses it effectively to tackle themes of freedom, capitalism, influence, dependence on technology, philosophy and politics, placing them in the near-future (which still looks like modern times, minus the robots) to make its commentary stick even more with players. It's very intriguing and keeps you guessing at every turn. Not only that, but YOU are able to shape how the story plays out. While the storyline has a fairly linear structure, you still have control on how it's shaped based on your choices and playstyle, making the game highly replayable. The dialogue writing and voice acting is also top-notch, making for some highly quotable and memorable moments. The characters are all written well, especially JC Denton (who has the most memorable and hilarious dialogue options).
The music is well-done too. Composed by Alexander Brandon, the music is a variety of different genres, all of whom perfectly fit each hub and level where they appear and help to elevate the atmosphere around the whole game (they're also bangers in their own way sooooo)
No game is perfect sadly, and there are two minor complaints i have for this game. The game doesn't look that good, even for year 2000 standards. Its optimization is also all over the place. Sometimes it runs good and in other places it runs like complete ass. They are extremely minor when compared to everything else the game does really well.
I think i've said enough regarding why this game deserves to be praised as much as it is. Its gameplay and story are a true showcase of what the industry can accomplish, accompanied by a great soundtrack to boot. While its presentation and performance on pc may leave a lot to be desired, those complaints disappear when you look at the package as a whole. This is a game you have to play before you di. If you don't, I will hunt you down with a GEP gun.
The thing that makes Deus Ex special the most compared to other games released before and after is the sheer amount of options you are given to progress through the story. Never before have I seen such a massive amount of attention and effort put into every possible method the player might go for to tackle its intricately-designed big levels, bordering on "overdesigned" in many cases. Every decision you make, from the most important ones to the minor or goofy ones, will come back and either play a role in the story or be mentioned again. It's absolutely fucking insane. You can choose to either go gunsblazing and kill the enemies, sneak by them, stealthily kill them, smoke bomb your way through, fucking camo your way through levels, use swimming, lockpick and hack your way through, let bots or other people do your bidding, be a sarcastic jackass and have everyone hate you, throw vending machines at them, kill every single character (important or not) YOU NAME IT, THIS GAME LETS YOU DO IT AND ACKNOWLEDGES IT. HOW COOL IS THAT??? Best part is that none of them feel forced or tacked on and are instead very well-fleshed out mechanics and playstyles, thanks in no small part to its skill and augmentation system.
Every skill and augment in the game is useful in some shape or form and are well-worth going out of your way to explore each level and hub to have enough skill points to upgrade your skills or find augmentation canisters to gain new augments. Skill systems include general upgrades to the core mechanics you're gonna use through the game like: hacking, lockpicking, shooting, using melee weapons, swimming, resistance to environmental hazards. Because of that, they remain useful throughout because every level is littered with opportunities to use them. The augmentation system is just additional abilities that are used in addition with your general skills to open up even more opportunities to tackle levels in a different or easier way. All of the augmentations are useful too, depending on your playstyle, and are fun to use as well.
Of course, deus ex wouldn't be as well remembered if it weren't for the story too. Basically a "what if every single insane conspiracy theory is true" narrative, the game uses it effectively to tackle themes of freedom, capitalism, influence, dependence on technology, philosophy and politics, placing them in the near-future (which still looks like modern times, minus the robots) to make its commentary stick even more with players. It's very intriguing and keeps you guessing at every turn. Not only that, but YOU are able to shape how the story plays out. While the storyline has a fairly linear structure, you still have control on how it's shaped based on your choices and playstyle, making the game highly replayable. The dialogue writing and voice acting is also top-notch, making for some highly quotable and memorable moments. The characters are all written well, especially JC Denton (who has the most memorable and hilarious dialogue options).
The music is well-done too. Composed by Alexander Brandon, the music is a variety of different genres, all of whom perfectly fit each hub and level where they appear and help to elevate the atmosphere around the whole game (they're also bangers in their own way sooooo)
No game is perfect sadly, and there are two minor complaints i have for this game. The game doesn't look that good, even for year 2000 standards. Its optimization is also all over the place. Sometimes it runs good and in other places it runs like complete ass. They are extremely minor when compared to everything else the game does really well.
I think i've said enough regarding why this game deserves to be praised as much as it is. Its gameplay and story are a true showcase of what the industry can accomplish, accompanied by a great soundtrack to boot. While its presentation and performance on pc may leave a lot to be desired, those complaints disappear when you look at the package as a whole. This is a game you have to play before you di. If you don't, I will hunt you down with a GEP gun.
Reddish
2 years ago