Deus
Ex is
one of a handful of games that are regularly referenced
by gamers as being the pinnacle of gameplay and freedom
of choice. Developed under the direction of Warren Spector
(Thief, System Shock), Deus Ex advances the evolution of
the first-person shooter into the first-person sneaker/RPG.
And what an evolved piece
of gameplay it is. Players choose both the path their
character
takes in the game world and the development path their
character chooses as they upgrade their skills
and
"augmentations." Enhanced strength allows for
a surprisingly pacifist approach to conflict -- a strong
arm can wield a club to knock out an opponent rather than
shoot them outright. Swimming ability avails paths around
conflict, and Enhanced Speed provides for a quick escape
or an extra long leap to reach an essential item.The complimentary
way in which the kind of character the player
creates enhances the style of play the gamer prefers is
at the heart of the game's appeal.
None of this would make for
a superstar game without a powerful sense of place. Deus
Ex has a setting that is filled with the age-old intrigue
of the Illuminati, and the timeless struggle between those
striving for order and those risking the
luxury of certainty in exchange for freedom from tyranny.
In fact, it is required of the player that
a choice be made
of
which future shall prevail, and the game provides three
separate endings to accommodate the player's selection.
But perhaps what keeps
Deus Ex unique even to this day is that the hero can
actually be motivated by compassion to keep his enemies
alive. The player gets to know the front-line grunts,
the red
shirts of both UNATCO and the NSF, actually growing
to like them. Early in the game, the NSF's
'terrorist' conversations can be overheard, fleshing
them out as more than cardboard enemies. The stealthy
approach is desirable not because the mission artificially
ends in failure once an alarm sounds, but because
the story provides
motivation to protect the NPCs that would otherwise be
left dead.
Graphically, the game is
considered to be a fair bit behind its time, but if guilty
on this point, it is only because the Unreal engine's developers
backed the wrong horse in the graphics card race. Originally
optimized
for
3dfx's Glide API, Deus Ex looked impressively polished
for those running Voodoo cards at its release in the summer
of 2000. Subsequent patches have allowed the visuals to
hold up rather well on the Direct3D API, and ATI's TrueForm
technology
gives the screenshots seen here a final bit of sheen. The
game's excellent audio fits into gameplay as it does in
Thief - listen for enemies to protect your cover.
No game is perfect, and perhaps
the best criticism against Deus Ex is that the game is
actually too long. I recommend stopping after the Hong
Kong level,
then
picking
up from there after you're fresh from playing something
else, treating the rest of the game as a sequel or add-on.
Several questions are repeatedly
asked by Deus Ex
players, and that's
where this walkthrough will come in handy, answering the
following common Deus Ex questions:
With these questions addressed, Deus Ex
is a game that will stay with you for a long time, and
is perhaps the greatest FPS, ever. -
Last Update 04/06/07
Special
note: This walkthrough will present multiple
paths as they avail themselves, but will focus on a pacifist
approach to play. You can follow this walkthrough and finish
the game with only a single kill.
Deus
Ex is
one of a handful of games that are regularly referenced
by gamers as being the pinnacle of gameplay and freedom
of choice. Developed under the direction of Warren Spector
(Thief, System Shock), Deus Ex advances the evolution of
the first-person shooter into the first-person sneaker/RPG.
