The classic gaming bible will aim to look at some of the best games that have ever been released, from titles that changed the industry through to hidden gems that many in the community may not have played before. It will spread across multiple platforms and eras of gaming, hopefully offering a nice hit of nostalgia to older players and a few ideas on what to explore for newer gamers who are interested in gaming’s history. I’m thinking about making this a weekly feature, though that will obviously depend on feedback and whether or not the idea gains any traction.
With Deus Ex: Mankind Divided almost upon us, this week we will be taking a look at the game that started the series and was so far ahead of its time that it still feels like some modern games are struggling to catch up. This is Deus Ex.
Deus Ex was released in the year 2000 by Ion Storm, with Warren Spector acting as the main mind behind the game. It saw the player take control of JC Denton, an augmented human who worked as part of UNATCO, which is essentially the military arm of the United Nations in-game. It takes place in a pretty bleak future world where crime is rampant, a mysterious plague has become a major issue and, as the game progresses, conspiracy runs rife, with those at the top controlling things far more than you may believe.
Deus Ex contained a staggeringly complex story that was laden with conspiracy theories, taking the player on a rollercoaster ride that took in everything from the Illuminati and Area 51, through to Chinese Triads and mysterious A.I.s. Simply put, if there is a conspiracy out there, you can bet on Deus Ex including it. The main selling point, however, was the sheer amount of choice on offer. Players had plenty of dialogue options to select from and many would change the course that the game would take, if only slightly in some cases. This may seem like a fairly common thing now, but at the time it was revolutionary and there are still few games that pull it off quite like Deus Ex.
This idea of choice was extended to the gameplay. Deus Ex, even when looked at today, was a staggeringly complex game in terms of the level of options that it offered players to complete the game in the style of their choosing. Ostensibly an RPG under the surface, with stat increases and the like usually being handled through the application of more nano-augmentations and skills that would grant Denton with superior weapons handling, invisibility, computer hacking abilities and a range of others. Of course, the way you wanted to play the game would dictate the selections you made in this area, with poor choices limiting your options in some areas.
In action, the game mixes stealth and first-person shooter mechanics expertly, which, when combined with the absolutely stellar level design, meant that there were always multiple ways to fight or sneak your way through the many challenges that were presented. Depending on the options you took you could possibly find hidden information that would help later on in the game, or just try to brute force your way through everything. It was really up to the player and while it was not the first game of its kind to try to offer this freedom, the ideas had never been executed quite as grandly as they were in Deus Ex.
What is perhaps most impressive is that the game could be completed without killing anybody outside of the main bosses. Even then, savvy gamers worked out ways to exploit the A.I. to complete true pacifist runs.
Of course, being a sixteen-year old game at the time of writing it should come as no surprise that Deus Ex has aged graphically quite considerably. However, it is still very easy to play and the primitive graphics - at least when compared to modern examples - are still crystal clear and won’t hinder your progress at all.
Musically the game also excels. A superb mix of soundtracks complement the various areas that you will explore perfectly, adding to the gritty atmosphere and sense of realism that you will experience, even in a world that has gone to pot far beyond our comprehension.
The only downside to the package is the voice acting. Robotic would probably be the kindest word to use here, with many characters delivering their lines in a sort of monotone or with terrible accents that border on stereotyping. Still, some feel that this monotone works pretty well for Denton in particular, given his background, and the voicing doesn’t take away from the pure quality on display in the game.
Deus Ex was released to a rapturous reception, earning multiple ‘Game of the Year’ awards and being hailed as one of the greatest games of its generation by critics and players alike. The game was converted to the PS2, though the end result was generally inferior to the PC game due to excessive amounts of loading, lower graphical quality and some level redesigns that were put in just to incorporate the need to load more.
However, Deus Ex’s real legacy is the effect that it had on the gaming industry. The idea of offering gamers more choice was becoming an increasingly prominent theme in the early-2000s, with games like Grand Theft Auto 3 and Shenmue doing a similar thing in a different way, while the Fallout series had earlier focused on choice without offering the graphical power on display here. Today we see the fruits of those efforts, with the direction of so many games being influenced by the choices that players make. Even now, there are few that can execute this in the way that Deus Ex did, with even its sequels struggling to quite live up to the standard set by the original, though Human Revolution put in a stellar effort.
So now you know about the game, you probably want to be able to get your hands on it, right?
Thankfully, PC gamers are in luck. The amazing gog.com has the game available for download, usually for less than $10/£10, in a format that will be playable on modern computers. You will also get the benefit of updates for new operating systems and the like, which is a far better option than trying to find an original disc copy and trying to get it to run on modern systems.
Console gamers shouldn’t have too much trouble locating a copy either, though it should be noted that pretty much any computer made in the last ten years will be able to easily run the far superior PC version. Still, if it’s console action you’re looking for you need to have a PS2 handy and should expect to pay somewhere in the region of $5-10 if you’re in the US and around £5 in the UK.
Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this look back at one of the greatest games of all time and those who haven’t experienced it are now considering buying a copy for themselves. Hopefully this little feature will be back next week to take a look at another classic game and, as always, any and all feedback is welcome.
