I finally played and finished this great cyberpunk themed FPS-RPG-stealth hybrid genre classic. You are JC Denton, international United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition (UNATCO) peace force agent fighting NFS terrorist organization in dystopian 2052 New York. New, unknown virus ("the grey death"), widespread zyme drug addiction, police curfew are the reality. You aren't just a regular person, you are nano-augmented. This means you have bionic upgrades giving you almost superhuman capabilities in some fields.
The game has some first person shooter qualities. There are multiple types of firearms including pistols, shotguns, sniper and assault rifles, experimental plasma guns, tranquilizer darts and various melee weapons including swords, batons, crowbars and knives. You can also use various grenades and explosives. But here come the RPG qualities: you are initially inexperienced with all of these weapons and as the game progresses you need to choose skills to upgrade. How about some stealth? You don't have to upgrade your fighting skills. You can upgrade swimming, lockpicking and hacking. Deus Ex is not-so-linear and usually you have more than one way to finish a level. Fighting is one option, but usually you can also crawl into ventilation ducts, climb some ladders, jump some containers and find yourself on the other side without having killed a single person (or bot).
Along with upgrading your skills, you choose and upgrade your bionic augmentations. Your game tactics will depend on implants you choose. There are 18 types of implants, but you only have 9 slots. You get to decide whether you prefer to install Speed Enhancement or Run Silent implant. Will you need Ballistic Protection (reduced bullet damage) or EMP Shield (protection from electrocution which is used by some bots)? To use your augmentations you need to use bioelectrical energy and you need to plan carefully, because it has limits.
JC Denton will discover conspiracy, traitors, surprising allies in many locations, all of them with neo-noir feel. New York City, Hong Kong (think Blade Runner), Paris, Area 51, ships, hotels, underwater labs. The plot is really long, has many surprise twists and gives you multiple choices, including three quite different endings. Music is quite cool and fits the atmosphere of the locations. Graphics... well, the game was released in 2000, so it's a little disappointing as of 2014, but if you can get over average graphics, Deus Ex is amazingly immersing.
The game has some first person shooter qualities. There are multiple types of firearms including pistols, shotguns, sniper and assault rifles, experimental plasma guns, tranquilizer darts and various melee weapons including swords, batons, crowbars and knives. You can also use various grenades and explosives. But here come the RPG qualities: you are initially inexperienced with all of these weapons and as the game progresses you need to choose skills to upgrade. How about some stealth? You don't have to upgrade your fighting skills. You can upgrade swimming, lockpicking and hacking. Deus Ex is not-so-linear and usually you have more than one way to finish a level. Fighting is one option, but usually you can also crawl into ventilation ducts, climb some ladders, jump some containers and find yourself on the other side without having killed a single person (or bot).
Along with upgrading your skills, you choose and upgrade your bionic augmentations. Your game tactics will depend on implants you choose. There are 18 types of implants, but you only have 9 slots. You get to decide whether you prefer to install Speed Enhancement or Run Silent implant. Will you need Ballistic Protection (reduced bullet damage) or EMP Shield (protection from electrocution which is used by some bots)? To use your augmentations you need to use bioelectrical energy and you need to plan carefully, because it has limits.
JC Denton will discover conspiracy, traitors, surprising allies in many locations, all of them with neo-noir feel. New York City, Hong Kong (think Blade Runner), Paris, Area 51, ships, hotels, underwater labs. The plot is really long, has many surprise twists and gives you multiple choices, including three quite different endings. Music is quite cool and fits the atmosphere of the locations. Graphics... well, the game was released in 2000, so it's a little disappointing as of 2014, but if you can get over average graphics, Deus Ex is amazingly immersing.