A revolution (Deus Ex (PC))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	Deus Ex (PC)
Date:	04/09/09 (2 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb premise and execution

Disadvantages: None

One of the best, and most hugely underrated first person shooters of all time is Deus Ex, a game that few people actually seemed to pick and play, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that it's one of the most intelligent and uniquely crafted games available on any platform. The game is heavily inspired by cyberpunk literature, both with its dark premise, and also its superb aesthetic.

The film depicts the badass-monikered JC Denton, a United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition agent trying to stop terrorist activities during a dystopian period of the 2050s. However, he becomes embroilled in a winding plot that would take him places he couldn't possibly imagine, including outings with both the Illuminati and the Triads. This, combining with a genre-bending level of gameplay, where elements from numerous genres, such as RPG and FPS, makes a very strange, but wonderfully strange game that's quite unlike anything else you've played before or since.

What really does the game for me is the augmentation system. Throughout the game, the player will amass attributes which contribute towards enhancing their nanomachine-enhanced strengths, allowing them to get better lockpicking, certain weapons, and other physical attributes such as running and jumping. The game allows a high level of customisation which, when combined with a branching plot, allows numerous possibilities, that will surely have you coming back for more time and time again - I know it made me plough through the game a few times!

Unlike a lot of recent FPS games, where the campaign is over in a heartbeat, and you feel cheated out of your money, Deus Ex is a very lengthy title, and there are many different ways to get through a level, meaning that if you mess up one attempt, you can just try another - if you can't hack the terminal, just beat up all the guards and steal a key card, or try smooth-talking your way past the door.

With an unprecedented level of options, and a supreme level of depth, Deus Ex isn't somehow as recognised as Half Life, but it's an extremely intelligent game that takes the very best from a few genres, puts them in a blender, and then paints a wonderful new image - a dystopic one - with the remnants. Fantastic.

Summary: A superb FPS