This is the core idea of Deus Ex and always has been - deceptively shallow on the surface; "Go to objective marker A and talk to Person X", but immensely deep in the torrent of ways in which you can tackle the issue at hand.
The way the designers have created these options for the player is through the system of augmentation that falls in perfect alignment with the story. You are Adam Jensen; a former SWAT member who through a series of events is now a security chief at Sarif Industries, one of the worlds leading designers and developers of human augmentation technology. Without revealing too much of the story you somehow become augmented with cybernetic implants and plunged into the world of corporate espionage, the underbelly of the upper class and a global conspiracy that threatens the entire human race.You further upgrade your character through gaining 'Praxis Points' by completing objectives, conversations and side missions, as well as a minor gun crafting mechanic that allows you to improve your weapons to take down enemies skillfully - the more creative the better.
Jensen is a shadow of his former self
Jensen on the whole controls gracefully, darting around cover at the touch of a button and can realistically slink around objects to make a believable character in motion. The stealth gameplay is rewarding and provides you with a real sense of satisfaction when you come behind multiple guards and disable them without them even hearing you coming. The shooting (if you engage in any) can at times feel unsatisfying, but I think that is more to do with the fact that the game is primarily meant to be experienced with a low level of intense combat; I wouldn't say they punish the player with poor mechanics, but I'd say that the shooting definitely feels like an afterthought. Jensen is supposed to rely on his augmentations and the powers they grant him to survive.
It's the depth of the powers that you can gain which gives you such variety in gameplay. I personally played the game non-lethally so focused on upgrading stealth skills and my hacking abilities. In doing so, I was able to get through an encounter which from my evaluation had 3 options:
- Shoot the enemy with a very powerful rocket launcher until they die.
- Disable the enemy repeatedly with EMP grenades and try to tranquillise them.
- Sneak around and find an alternate way to end the conflict.
I took the latter option; choosing to sneak upstairs past the enemy to try and find another way of beating the enemy, as my character was a Jensen who was depressed by the death of a loved one and was accepting of his new life as an "Aug". As a result he avoided combat when necessary as he was tired of death and aggression. I still find myself shocked over how the title was able to inject an internal narrative into me that gave the PC personality traits and defined what the term "character" means.
I found a series of valves which when turned, released gas to the room below me, which choked my enemy and slowly wore her down until she managed to work out what was happening and lunged upstairs towards me. I panicked and had Jensen turn the turrets against the boss character through a very fun hacking mini-game; persistent across the entire world, that actually requires skill, to take control of the connected terminal, which ripped her to shreds and left me confused as to why I made such a decision when no-one had died by my hands otherwise.
The very fun hacking mini-game - play it the way I did and you'll see this screen a lot.
It's moments like this which make the game so satisfying; if you replayed the same scenario repeatedly, not only will you get different outcomes in the story and different dialogue options, you will feel differently about the world Jensen lives in and how you have affected the environment around you. At one point in the game you can literally turn an entire base against the characters inside by hacking one computer. You feel like a cybernetic God, the power grand but disturbing.
That's the essence of the title - in it's beauty, Deus Ex finds it's darker side. The homeless litter the streets, desperately searching through bins for anything of worth to eat, drink or feed their neuropozyne addiction from their rejected augmentations, gangs size you up and down, wondering whether you'd be easy enough to kill and salvage for parts, people judge you silently; throwing abuse at you for simply existing. It shocked me. Having luckily never been a victim of discrimination before, I felt rejected and disappointed that a character who I'd never met before simply turned to me and shouted "F*** off Aug, no-one wants you here". It's a clever piece of social commentary that seems obvious on the outset and "edgy", however until it's experienced, you can't quite put a finger on how it feels.
Futuristic China (Hengsha) in all It's glory
As mentioned, the world of Deus Ex is stunning, the scenery for the most part, built with a sharp utilitarian dark brushed steel and painted in a gorgeous but dirty golden tinge that makes Detroit, China and the part of Canada you visit feel like a future with a clear wealth divide. This is because as you walk away from the grand, well lit structures of the multinational corporations that rule this virtual world, to the dark and gloomy slums, you understand why the golden hue is so dark; the upper class in this game are wealthy, but at a cost that blackens the splendor of it all by the time you see the credits roll.
Although this is true, the game does have some issues with it's visuals that seriously break immersion, such as it's murky and poorly detailed wall textures and inside of ventilation shafts; quite a problem when you spend a lot of the stealth game play travelling through vents and looking at walls, as well as sky boxes that don't move with the player and some backgrounds that are static and badly drawn, as well as being extremely low resolution. This is unforgivable in modern AAA titles, especially in a Director's Cut that promises vast improvements over the original.
"I didn't ask for this."
In terms of the sound design, Deus Ex provides you with a constant hum of a futuristic synth-opera which slowly envelopes you into it's virtual world; it seems to pick you up whenever there's some action and pull you back down when you are sneaking with no noticeable change. It's gentle, but effective - all part of it's magnificence.
However, once again Deus Ex does suffer from problems with voice overs. I repeatedly found people's twins; both in in voice and physically - something that yanked me out of this new reality that they had lulled me into with a harsh tug. Although these are small things and something which I oddly got used to after a while, it just became something I ignored for the sake of the experience. The main characters are well voiced; from the rough, husky voice of Jensen to the strange, harsh tone of Tong, the conversations are something I didn't skip through so that I could listen to every word the characters had to say.
The one thing I want you to bear in mind while reading these negatives I've listed is that these are extremely minor things and although as I've said they can cheapen the ride that the game puts you through, it is still not enough to dull what is a very sharp and streamlined game where the positives are too many to list.
However, once again Deus Ex does suffer from problems with voice overs. I repeatedly found people's twins; both in in voice and physically - something that yanked me out of this new reality that they had lulled me into with a harsh tug. Although these are small things and something which I oddly got used to after a while, it just became something I ignored for the sake of the experience. The main characters are well voiced; from the rough, husky voice of Jensen to the strange, harsh tone of Tong, the conversations are something I didn't skip through so that I could listen to every word the characters had to say.
The one thing I want you to bear in mind while reading these negatives I've listed is that these are extremely minor things and although as I've said they can cheapen the ride that the game puts you through, it is still not enough to dull what is a very sharp and streamlined game where the positives are too many to list.
To end this write-up, I want to leave you with this: "Deus Ex" comes from the Latin phrase "Deus Ex Machina" which when translated literally means "God From the Machine". In this instance, there could have never been a more aptly titled game, as it literally creates a rich and fulfilling world which makes you question your existence in this alluring dystopian future - the entire game probing what it means to be alive. I've never played a title like this before and I probably never will again; but in saying this, I'm happy with that; I can mourn and move on past the "what if's" and "could've's" and simply reminisce about the time spent with Adam Jensen and his struggle to steal fire from the Gods.
9/10
