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It's not every day you get a game like Deus Ex; a game that tries to blend FPS action with RPG-style character building, all tied together under a vast, globe-spanning adventure to unravel ancient conspiracies. And games of its ilk, or even its ambition, certainly don't always succeed. Yet Deus Ex did exactly that, scoring Game of the Year awards and endearing itself to gamers and reviewers alike. Even today, a sizable and loyal contingent of fans hails it as one of the best games ever made.
The question remains: How did it do so well? What made it a good game?
Released in the middle of 2000, the game looked old even then, with character models nobably blocky and animation stiff and wooden. Compared to games like Half-Life, which came nearly two years earlier, Deus Ex was anything but a visual triumph, courtesy of the aging Unreal engine. Level design was well done for the most part but artificial boundaries were easy to spot; having a couple blocks of Hell's Kitchen physically inaccessible to vehicle traffic seems just a little out of the ordinary.
Hailed for its diverse skill and augmentation systems, which encouraged differing play styles, it shared similar problems with the earlier System Shock 2; namely, poor balance. Some skills and augs are simply better, while others are nearly worthless. Regeneration and Rifle skills are godlike; EMP protection and Environmental Training are close to worthless. Speed Enhancement helps you get to previously inaccessible areas; Run Silent is moot when you can crawl (and remain unheard) faster than enemies can walk. Computers let you hack any computer at the first level of skill, while the Targeting aug is fun, but basically worthless fluff.
Weapon balance is anything but balanced. Sniper rifles and combat shotguns rule the day, with more exotic weapons like a mini-crossbow and the plasma rifle regarded as generally more trouble than they're worth. Knives are more for opening crates than combat, while the Dragon's Tooth Sword kills any enemy in the game in one or two hits.
Other minor quibbles abound. The AI is wonky, sometimes intelligently setting off alarms or running for help, sometimes running helplessly around or trying to hit you with a pistol from half a mile away. Some of the accented sounds are a bit off; the Chinese, in particular, tend to sound like Charlie Chan rejects. Scripting is sometimes off, the plot is as linear as they come, and the any of the game's three endings can be picked at the very last minute.
So where does it shine? The sum. The sum of all its parts, the game as a whole; that's where the beauty of Deus Ex comes through.
Level design is somewhat confining, but when you combine it with an intuitive interface, the ability to play as aggressively or conservatively as you like, the detail of the world around you, the intricacy of the plot... when these things come together, the result is undeniably impressive. Your options may be limited to 'go in shooting through the front' or 'bust open a vent in the back' half the time, but within those options are a wide array of styles; you can just as easily punch through the frunt then turn into a ninja as you can sneak in the back and start shooting.
Puzzles tend not to have just one solution. You can sneak past an enemy patrol, kill the guards loudly or silently; sometimes you can mess with the enemy bot helping them and get it to kill them for you, and sometimes you can just run past and hope for the best. Codes and passwords can be found on datacubes, bought from informants, picked up by your support team, or even guessed from the surrounding environment. Locks can be picked, blown off, opened with a key or gone around altogether. Laser sensors can be shut off with an EMP grenade, by bypassing the panel next to them, through the computer controlling them, destroyed with explosives, or even leapt over if you can get high enough. With the right augs, you can simply walk through them without incident.
Despite the age of the engine and somewhat confining level design, the graphics are still a treat. Characters are visually distinctive - the Men and Women in Black, in particular, look suitably menacing, as do the various mechanically augmented agents - and areas are given considerable attention to detail: corporate offices boast rows of cubicles with interactive computers, bars have pool tables that work, public terminals and newsstands have readable newspapers and books that talk about ever-changing current events (some of which you'll have a hand in), and bathrooms have sinks, showers and toilets that work.
Sound work, despite the above-mentioned troubles with accented characters, is still above par. Talented voice actors bring life to the cast. The UNATCO team - agents and support crew - all have their own distinct style and demeanor, ranging from jovial to cold, and few have trouble getting into character; Walton Simons, voiced by the inimitable Tom Hall, deserves particular notice for sounding every bit the stone-faced government agent, with such lines as "We have less civilized ways of making you talk." The music never rises to the level of 'epic,' but it matches the mood step for step, changing to suit conversation, exploration, fighting, leaving the area, and even dying. Each zone has its own set of tunes, and they never feel of place.
It is, quite literally, a "Be Your Own Six Million Dollar Man" game. It boasts an intelligent plot, excellent sound work (most of the time), mood-setting music, action tailored to a vast number of playing styles, and many, many other redeeming traits; none of which are perfect, but all of which gel to make a truly memorable experience.
Deus Ex, for lack of a better word, is awesome.
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