NOTE: I previously posted this review in issue number 1 of my 2.5D Blog-Fanzine
With it's first person shooter gameplay, deep story, RPG style stat
level ups, and it's open level design is it any wonder why people have
a hard time classifying Deus Ex within the bounds of a genre.
Located
in the near future you are JC Denton, a nano augmented agent of the
United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition or UNATCO for short. You start
out on JC's first mission which is to retrieve a hijacked shipment of
ambrosia (the cure to the current deadly plague epidemic known as the
"Gray Death") from the National Secessionist Force (NSF)who has
barricaded themselves into what's left of the Statue of Liberty on
Liberty Island in NYC. From there the story proceeds to take you on a
roller coaster ride of conspiracy theories, and secret societies which
takes you around the world and back.
Deus Ex is a game of free choice. The levels are riddled with multiple and hidden paths and which one you take is completely up to you. Do you go in guns blazing against you enemies with lethal force, do you find an air duct and sneak around your enemies keeping your non lethal tranquilizer darts handy in case you're spotted, or do you hack a computer terminal and turn their own turret against them and walk over their corpses after it's finished disposing of them? Those are just a few examples of the kind of choices the games gives you. You'll never play through the game the same way twice. Whether it's your first time through or your fifth, you'll constantly be finding new routes and new ways to deal or avoid a problem with. You also have the choice to kill anyone you see, just be ready to deal with the consequences of your choices.
One of the most unique features that sets
DX apart is it's completely customizable to your style of play via
skills, nano augmentations and weapons modification. The game gives you
skill points throughout the game for completing objectives or finding
new areas with which you use to level up a variety of personal stats
like lock picking, computer hacking, or even how long you can hold your
breath under water. The Nano augs give you super human powers like
super strength or life regeneration, and the weapons mods let you
improve stuff like the accuracy, and reload times. If you want to pick
a door lock while healing your wounds, and holding your silenced pistol
with a sniper scope then go ahead.
Bottom line:Deus Ex is a perfect blend of FPS action, deep storyline, and RPG stat leveling that no one should do without. Go buy it, and go buy it now.
