Customer Reviews

Deus Ex

5 star:		(166)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I feel bad not giving this game five stars, it's certainly one of the best I've seen in a long time and I can't believe I haven't heard more buzz about it. I bought the game based on the other reviews here, and I have to say, they're right on target.

Deus Ex really delivers serious gaming fun. It's like a game with an X-Files-esque plot (without the aliens), Rogue Spear gaming (strategic FPS), and Soldier of Fortune(action-oriented FPS). It really delivers and gives the player the opportunity to take a balls-out, guns blazing approach or a more stealthy, sneaky method to get what you need done (either way, you get just as much skill points, so you're not penalized for not getting a maximum body count).

The graphics are great. Nothing particularly revolutionary (as with Vampire) but definitely nothing to complain about. Generally very smooth with lots of detail, nice lighting, good atmosphere (you really don't see this on a lot of the screenshots). The plasma gun really has a nice effect, as do the grenades, but when things blow up (like crates) it's just a bunch of polygons (yawn). I guess we can't expect all games to have the detail (and gore) of Soldier of Fortune.

There are a few holes in the plot (such as it's feasibility), but with a little willful suspension of disbelief, it's rather engrossing. (I've had more than my fair share of 5+/hour playing sessions with this puppy.) Travelling from New York to Hong Kong to Nevada, you'll see plenty of places and meet enough interesting characters to keep you going. I don't know if different responses to conversations give you significant variances in the plot, but it's interesting all the same--especially the different ways you can solve your missions.

I've become very picky in terms of the games I buy, I don't have a lot of time to play them and I don't have a lot of money to spend on them, so they've got to be good. This is one of those games I am delighted to have bought and -certainly- recommend to others.

The only reason this didn't get five stars is because of the unplausible premise in the plot and the lack of anything really ground-breaking in the realm of gaming (though, I'll admit, this is one of the best games I've ever seen at really having the feel of an authentic RPG.)

I've played well received games such as System Shock 2, Thief 1 and 2, Half-Life, and Baldur's Gate, and since this game is definitely competitive with them, I'm giving it 5 stars.

As you probably heard, Deus Ex allows players to approach missions in a number of different ways. I usually try for the sneaky Thief-style approach, so I'm not sure how well the game would play if you are the shoot-em-up Quake type. But if you like sniping and avoiding patrols Deus Ex is excellent.

Although some of the missions toward the middle and end are repetitive and similar, there are many missions which I found extremely compelling. Here is an example: Someone, whom you are not sure you can trust, tells you that a woman has stolen a sword and that you should get it back. When you talk to the woman, it seems everything is in place, and she says the evidence of her innocence is held in a locker at the local military-police station. You can either break into the police station, or look around for more clues in her apartment... On another mission you are supposed to rescue the daughter of a scientist who is being held captive. However, she will be killed if her captors realize you are coming. I found it fairly difficult but satisfying to complete the mission successfully, but it is no problem if you fail. You can even kill her yourself if you feel like it. A third quick example: You must destroy four military robots attacking an installation. Quake types might just try to destroy the bots directly, Thief types will probably choose to activate the defensive military bots which the attackers locked down and have them kill the enemy bots.

Hand in hand with these choices are the skill and augmentation system. As you progress, you can choose to develop your character to better fit your style of play. For instance, you can upgrade your weapons skills, to kill enemies better, or your lock picking so you won't need to. Each mission can be played successfully in different ways, but remember to be realistic when designing your characters. You won't always be able to get on a rooftop and take out a guard from 500ft away with a headshot from your sniper rifle. The flexibility required and better dialog options keeps the gameplay from getting repetitive as it seemed (to me) to in games like Thief, System Shock, or Half-Life.

My favorite part of the game was the plot. It may have the best plot of any game I have played! UNATCO (the UN force), the NSF (a terrorist organization), the Illuminati, Majestic-12, Silhouette: if you liked the conspiracies in the X-Files, this game's plot is up your alley.

My disclaimer: This game performed very well on my machine, with minimal crashes (maybe 2 from beginning to end), and seemed to have very impressive and smooth graphics, but I have an Athlon 700 w/256MB ram and a Geforce (only SDR w 32mb). Other people are saying performance is poor on slower systems.

Quite simply if you adored Half Life, Thief and System Shock 2 then you will love this as it is a mix of all 3. Go and buy one of the greatest games ever written NOW!

Every First Person Shooter Fan should be with this game and it does more for its genre with nice touches like being able to complete levels in different ways and having targeting on your gun. I like these new ideas and its good to see. The game feels fresh and has lasting appeal.

It is tough going but has similar traits to the aforemetioned games.

SS2 - It has a similar character building theme taking a Hacker, Stealth or Heavy Approach. You look at items using the same interface method and inventory is similar.

Half Life - You get to shoot a lot of excellant AI computer characters, maybe the best AI yet?? The story and plot is also deep and riviting. Nice to have both the shooting and stategy/stealth element to a game.

Thief - Obviously theres the stealth mode and you can carry bodies so enemies wont see them. Silent killing with crossbow.

This game takes 3 of the best FPS games of its genre and mixes them together with its own original ideas. Finally there may be a game to beat all 3 and in my opinion this is the bench mark in FPS Adventure games.

What are you waiting for - Go Buy Deus ex! (pronounced Due Sex)

This game is just fun to play. If you've played System Shock 2, then you have a good idea what Deus Ex is. This game is hard core RPG with FPS thrown in. Let's start the review:

Graphics: Graphics uses the Unreal Engine therefore it doesnt have good D3D support. The game will run on D3D but expect some slow FPS when polygons start accumulating. A beta patch to fix D3D performance did help a bit. If you're using a GeForce card, dload this beta patch. Voodoo owners shouldnt have any problems.

Interface: There's a lot of control keys to memorize but with a little practice, you'll be able to memorize each function. Prepare to use a lot of the USE ITEM key since there's a ton of items you can pick up in this game. Like System Shock 2 and Thief, Deus Ex gives you the action to lean left and right however I didnt find any option to lean forward (very helpful though when sniping from an elevated position).

Gameplay: This is where the game shines. The story is based on several conspiracy theories eg. secret governments, roswell, etc. Your mission is to investigate the relationship of each conspiracy and discover that all of these conspiracies are part of a worldwide organization to control and subjugate people. Game runs via mission objectives. You are given primary and secondary goals and you can accomplish them in any order you want. There are some primary goals that you can skip too as long as you've accomplished the most important goal. Lots of skills building is involved (it's RPG). You get skill points for every goal you accomplish; goals from as simple as talking to someone in your HQ to arresting a terrorist. Most missions involve stealth, infiltration. You dont have to go into a mission with guns blazing. You can move in as quietly as possible and still achieve success.

AI: Very inconsistent. In a way this is a good thing because it makes the game very unpredictable. AI here are smart. They can hear you if you make too much noise or expose yourself too much. They run away if critically wounded, and they'll gang up on you when you're cornered. Also, the AI remembers things you've done whether they were good or bad. For example, i tried to hack the ATM machine in the game. When I spoke to my boss, he warned not to try hacking into any facilities in the area. And I did my hacking almost like 30 minutes ago. That scene made me smile. Inconsistent AI can be a bad thing too. Sometimes they wont react when they see their dead buddy in front of them, and sometimes they'll sound the alarm. Must suggestion: dispose of the bodies properly.

Story and Overall: The game has a lot to offer. The story is multi-varied because it runs on several conspiracy theories. And we know how much we love to listen to conspiracies. This game involves a lot of mind thinking and not senseless shooting. It requires resource management, analysis of tons of information, and a lot of stealth moves. This game is a must buy. Pick it up.

THis really is a game that makes one think and act on knowledge as much as brawn. If you enjoyed Theif 2 or System shock then you are in for something FAR deeper than those games combined.

BUT.......be warned...this game does not run well on systems not useing Voodoo based graphics cards. You need to really run this in Glide...Direct 3d makes it very unstable. If you can't get a good framerate this game is IMPOSSIBLE to play.

Be warned.

Combining aspects of both FPS and RPG (First Person Shooter and Role Playing Games), Deus Ex promises a genuine gaming experience like no other, but let's face it; the game is now outdated in practically ever technological aspect. The graphics are showing their age, the sounds don't have the quality compared to newer titles, and the engine is almost redundant. Now you might say, "Yeah, without a doubt!" - But there is something in the game that to masses changed their perspective of gaming when it was released. Some spark, some hint of ecstasy that brought the game out into the open, and inspired a generation.

No doubt many of you have played the latest and greatest of gaming technology. Titles that made you drool over the astonishing graphics, map design, physics systems...but as you sat down and glued yourself to the monitor, you began to realise that it lacked the ability to immerse you into its environment, storyline and overall game play. Very soon it became `just another game' that promised everything, but delivered nothing but poor results, and frankly, was just another mediocre game packaged into impressive visuals.

However what Deus Ex now lacks in visual `eye-candy' it more than makes up in game play. It has the undeniable ability to draw the player into its chaotic world and immerse them deep within the corruption. The fact that your actions reflected the outcome of a situation or even the entire, game allowed us to think long and hard about what we really desired to achieve; and also questioned our very own morals - AND for four years it has continuously captivated me personally.
Few games have ever had the capacity to bring about such empathy and judgment in casual and hardcore gamers alike - and is becoming clear that it's something we are lacking in the gaming industry; INSPIRATION. What Ion Storm created was nothing other than a masterpiece, pure and simple. Regretfully the studio has now collapsed, and so their work has become but cherished memories of a company striving to become something more than just `average'. They yearned for remarkable results, and hence in my opinion they have triumphed!

Deus Ex will forever be the landmark of gaming brilliance, and I so I only hope that the reader of this review not blindly take my word for it, but download the demos - experience the game for yourself! There are copies of both the original and GOTY Edition (Game Of The Year) still lingering about; I should know - I only just purchased a NEW copy the other day. So do yourself a favour; if you haven't yet experienced the genius that is Deus Ex, or are looking to rekindle the old flame, DO IT! You won't regret the decision!

I'm a pretty hard-core gamer, and I have to say, this is my all-time favorite game. Just to give you an idea of my tastes, here are my top 5: 1. Deus Ex| 2. Half Life| 3. Baldur's Gate 2| 4. Rainbow Six: Rouge Spear| 5. Asheron's Call| My favorite thing about this game is the story-line. It is very engrossing and has plot twists at every turn. You will love this game's focus on conspiracy theories, especially if your already interested in topics like The Illuminati. This game has beautiful graphics, and the Unreal engine runs fairly well on most mid-range and up computers. The plot flows wonderfully, and the action will always keep you on your toes. One of the things I love about this game is that there are so many approaches you can take to each individual situation based on your playing style, a feature unique to this game. My only dissapointment with Deus Ex was that the facial animations are lacking, and that it has little replay value. Fortunately, the game delivers many many hours of play before you reach the stellar ending, where you choose how you want to complete the game. I suggest you buy this game now, you won't regret it.

This will be one of the great games of 2000. I am normaly a stradegy and action gamer, taking little interest in the roleplaying scene. When I first heard of Dues Ex, however, I was extremely interested. The level of detail involved,(I just learned you can step on rats) was incredible, and the story-line kicked major booty. The deep level of character custimization was incredible, from choosing traits,(everywhere from sharpshooting to hacking) to choosing your own augmentations. With five, count em', FIVE different endings and different ways of approaching every situation, youve got a game with seemingly unlimited replay value which will be sure to please any gamer for weeks on end. It will for me.

That's right Ion Storm has managed to do the impossible, make a game I like more than Half-life. Deus Ex is a work of art to every sense.

For starters Deus Ex has the best story out of all the games I've played (it's better than most movies too). The settings change in almost every mission, you go from New York to Hong Kong to Paris, and many other incredibly detailed areas. The plot is deeply woven and contains many shocking twists and turns. Then for the frightening part, look up some of these orginizations on a search engine. Yes MJ-12 really does exist and hey so does UNATCO. But perhaps the coolest part about this story is that no matter how far fetched it's based on reality and could really happen.

The graphics are nothing short of spectacular, except for some of the extreme close ups on the characters, but hey they weren't any better in any other game released within the past year and from the previews I've seen they aren't going to within the next year. On another note, yes I know there has been a fuss raised about DX's video card support but people are just nit-picking, if you download the beta D3D patch you'll be just fine.

The sound effects are mostly execellent with the exception of voice acting. In some places, namely Hong Kong, the voice acting was just awful and yet other times in was perfect. I tend to disagree with other reviewers in my beleif that J.C. (your character) sounded just right, cold and calculating. Besides voice acting the sounds were perfect the ambiance of a Hong Kong Market was just right, while hearing nothing but the wind and distant footsteps on empty New York Streets was nothing short of spooky.

DX's gameplay was also very good although the A.I. (artifical intelligence) could have used some work. Fights are usually fast paced and exciting where as puzzles are brain teasing but not to the point of detracting from the gameplay. Of Course DX's big difference from Half-life and what makes it an RPG is the ability to customize your character. This is handled in two ways skill points awarded through completing mission objectives and progressing through out the game and Augmentations. Augs are things that can be added to your player's body it's kinda hard to explain simply but it's sorta like adding robotic parts to a human body.

All in all this is quite possibly the best game ever. The game drew me into it's world and I almost didn't wanna leave when it was over. Can't wait until DX2!!

I am highly pleased with this game! I don't usually go for the "First-Person" shooter games (except the R6 line) because I find the occultic atmosphere in them less than appealing. However, what made me buy this game was the fact that it doesn't involve supernatural concepts and there is no "one way" to play it. It all depends on your personality, so it makes for great re-playability. Other pluses include a FANTASTIC, unimaginable game engine with great ambience and a HIGHLY intriguing story-line. Deus's storyline is not so "futuristic" that it's hard to grasp, however. I've spent countless hours at Deus Ex Machina now and am fully satisfied in my purchase. The only drawback are the tech requirements. I'm using a PIII with 500mhz and 96megs of RAM, and I still get a little bit of etchy-ness. Other than that issue, this title is masterfully done. Definitely a must-own, even for those like myself who don't usually play this genre. One of the best games available!