Full Games List
Featured Games
New Games
Reviews
Media
Images
Blogs
Game Updates
Images Feedback Summary
Game Design Highlights
Tutorials
Articles
Scripts
Utilities / Plugins
Resources
Engines
Engine Bulletins
What is Makerscore?
Past Events
Achievements
Misaos
Forums
Post History
Chat
New to RMN?
Full Store List
RMN Music Pack (free)
MOGSPECTIVE: DEUS EX
Posts
Pages:
1
Feldschlacht IV
View playlists
CloseLet me start with this: Deus Ex is one of the finest games ever released. It's more than just 'hey guys here's a cool game'. You owe it to yourself to play it. Period. Let's begin.
In the year 2000 (notably, before 9/11) a bunch of dudes led by a guy named Warren Spector decided to try to make a First Person Shooter with RPG elements. What came out was Deus Ex, which ironically is not only more of an RPG than a FPS, but is actually more of an RPG than most RPGs.
The concept of the game, set in a futuristic dystopia, circles around a nanotechnology enhanced anti-terrorism agent, JC Denton in the year 2052, investigating and tracking down members of a secessionist terrorist group in the United States who are fed up with how shitty things are; the world is gripped by economic divide, social decline, financial collapse, and a very virulent plague that only poor people are being screwed by.
JC Denton ends up biting off more way than he can chew and ends up going balls deep in a worldwide conspiracy involving Majestic 12, FEMA, the Knights Templar, the Bilderberg Group, and just how much of the world's problems are actually being manufactured by the people 'in charge' Did I mention that in the game's plot, the World Trade Center was destroyed in a terrorist attack? Did I also mention that the game was released in the year 2000?
WHY I LIKE IT, AND WHY YOU SHOULD PLAY IT
I'll divide it into two; the plot and the gameplay. Gameplay first; for an FPS with RPG elements, it pulls off both well, the gameplay is FPS, meaning yeah, at the end of the day you shoot people, but how its executed brings it to another level; you have skill points for things like efficiency in weapons, lockpicking, hacking, swimming, melee, and things like that, that govern how well you do those things.
In addition to that, as I mentioned before, JC Denton also has nanotechnologically enhanced abilities that the player can find and improve like healing, running faster, invisibility, scanning enemies, and even cool shit like being able to emit a field that blows up enemy explosives before they leave the barrel. And finally, you have things like being able to improve your weapons through modifications and things.
The biggest thing about it's gameplay is the element of player choice. Almost every segment, area, and problem the game throughout the narrative gives can truly be solved in a multitude of ways. Don't want to shoot your way through a stronghold? Sneak your way past! Don't feel like sneaking? Bribe the guard! Ran out of money? Shoot that fuck in the face! Shot that guy in the face and changed your mind about going guns blazing? Disappear and try sneaking again! Do just one of these things! Do all of the above!
This is easily facilitated by the fact that the game world is massive; you can literally play the game about 5 times and discover some method, nook, cranny, hallway, building, mission, dialogue, some guy, etc that you didn't before. This is doubled down by the fact that the narrative branches in some key points. The 'role playing' element in Deus Ex is absolutely gargantuan and the replay value is among some of the highest I've ever seen in a game, period.
Okay, so what about the plot and narrative? That too is incredibly well done; inspired by a lot of real world conspiracy theories and tempered by real world issues that people talk about today (economic divide, governments, free will, transhumanism, and other things), and the writing is not only consistent, clear, and engaging, but the narrative and pacing is impressive too. The conversations in particular shine even in unexpected places; see if you can find the one with the bartender in Hong Kong.
The simplicity what JC is dealing beginning of the game 'gotta get these terrorists doin' terrorist shit' and and the complexity of the question posited to JC (and the player) of 'what am I?' at end of the game flow very smoothly into each other, and the game manages to be 'deep' without being overwrought bullshit that's very easy for a narrative to fall into (I love you Xenogears, but...)
The only gripe about the game is that it's aged, quite a bit. The engine is clunky and doesn't always do what you expect, the graphics are dated, and weird shit can happen when you play it with a new computer. But the game itself? Playable even now in 2016. If you've ever played or heard of it's prequel, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, that's a pretty good game too, but even that is watered down from its grandpappy, Deus Ex. Grab it for dirt cheap and install that shit on your PC like, yesterday!
In the year 2000 (notably, before 9/11) a bunch of dudes led by a guy named Warren Spector decided to try to make a First Person Shooter with RPG elements. What came out was Deus Ex, which ironically is not only more of an RPG than a FPS, but is actually more of an RPG than most RPGs.
The concept of the game, set in a futuristic dystopia, circles around a nanotechnology enhanced anti-terrorism agent, JC Denton in the year 2052, investigating and tracking down members of a secessionist terrorist group in the United States who are fed up with how shitty things are; the world is gripped by economic divide, social decline, financial collapse, and a very virulent plague that only poor people are being screwed by.
JC Denton ends up biting off more way than he can chew and ends up going balls deep in a worldwide conspiracy involving Majestic 12, FEMA, the Knights Templar, the Bilderberg Group, and just how much of the world's problems are actually being manufactured by the people 'in charge' Did I mention that in the game's plot, the World Trade Center was destroyed in a terrorist attack? Did I also mention that the game was released in the year 2000?
WHY I LIKE IT, AND WHY YOU SHOULD PLAY IT
I'll divide it into two; the plot and the gameplay. Gameplay first; for an FPS with RPG elements, it pulls off both well, the gameplay is FPS, meaning yeah, at the end of the day you shoot people, but how its executed brings it to another level; you have skill points for things like efficiency in weapons, lockpicking, hacking, swimming, melee, and things like that, that govern how well you do those things.
In addition to that, as I mentioned before, JC Denton also has nanotechnologically enhanced abilities that the player can find and improve like healing, running faster, invisibility, scanning enemies, and even cool shit like being able to emit a field that blows up enemy explosives before they leave the barrel. And finally, you have things like being able to improve your weapons through modifications and things.
The biggest thing about it's gameplay is the element of player choice. Almost every segment, area, and problem the game throughout the narrative gives can truly be solved in a multitude of ways. Don't want to shoot your way through a stronghold? Sneak your way past! Don't feel like sneaking? Bribe the guard! Ran out of money? Shoot that fuck in the face! Shot that guy in the face and changed your mind about going guns blazing? Disappear and try sneaking again! Do just one of these things! Do all of the above!
This is easily facilitated by the fact that the game world is massive; you can literally play the game about 5 times and discover some method, nook, cranny, hallway, building, mission, dialogue, some guy, etc that you didn't before. This is doubled down by the fact that the narrative branches in some key points. The 'role playing' element in Deus Ex is absolutely gargantuan and the replay value is among some of the highest I've ever seen in a game, period.
Okay, so what about the plot and narrative? That too is incredibly well done; inspired by a lot of real world conspiracy theories and tempered by real world issues that people talk about today (economic divide, governments, free will, transhumanism, and other things), and the writing is not only consistent, clear, and engaging, but the narrative and pacing is impressive too. The conversations in particular shine even in unexpected places; see if you can find the one with the bartender in Hong Kong.
The simplicity what JC is dealing beginning of the game 'gotta get these terrorists doin' terrorist shit' and and the complexity of the question posited to JC (and the player) of 'what am I?' at end of the game flow very smoothly into each other, and the game manages to be 'deep' without being overwrought bullshit that's very easy for a narrative to fall into (I love you Xenogears, but...)
The only gripe about the game is that it's aged, quite a bit. The engine is clunky and doesn't always do what you expect, the graphics are dated, and weird shit can happen when you play it with a new computer. But the game itself? Playable even now in 2016. If you've ever played or heard of it's prequel, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, that's a pretty good game too, but even that is watered down from its grandpappy, Deus Ex. Grab it for dirt cheap and install that shit on your PC like, yesterday!
I don't have any significant insight to add so I'll push Bobbin Threadbare's incredibly complete and thorough LP of Deus Ex for anybody too lazy/cheap/:effort: to play the game. He covers practically every facet of the game including some/all of the multiple solutions to some of the game's challenges and gives a good primer on the various conspiracies, literature, and philosophers that Deus Ex brushes with. I whole heartedly recommend it!
Shinan
4314
I remember playing this through twice back in the days. But I broke the player agency fairly quickly. Even in my first playthrough. Because I wanted to be loyal to UNATCO but that was clearly impossible :)
I remember on the second playthrough I tried to kill unkillable people and just break the game as much as possible. There were certain somewhat difficult thing I managed to pull off and the game reacted to them. (I think saving your brother. The game sort of tells you that he can't be saved. But he can be saved. Which really surprised me... at the time)
I haven't replayed this game in ten years or so but I remember it fondly. The augments and just playing around with what can be done and what cannot be done. There are many paths I'm pretty sure I didn't discover. But putting loads of points into being able to breathe underwater did give me some nice things.
I also remember this being the first game I played where the crosshairs changed size depending on how many skillpoints you put into stuff. (and also sniper rifle scope jumped around a lot early) Overall there were so many good things!
I will say though that Human Revolution was also very good. There's always this fear when series are getting new games after a long break (like the abomination that is Fallout 3) and I was very sceptical towards HR but it is really, really good.
One of my fondest memories is beating one of the final bosses by crawling under a car or something and sniping the legs of the enemy for like fifteen minutes before his HP went all the way down. (and I had the augment that let me see how much HP the enemy had left)
Whatever happened to localised damaged. This game had you break your legs didn't it. That's something FPSes don't do anymore.
I remember on the second playthrough I tried to kill unkillable people and just break the game as much as possible. There were certain somewhat difficult thing I managed to pull off and the game reacted to them. (I think saving your brother. The game sort of tells you that he can't be saved. But he can be saved. Which really surprised me... at the time)
I haven't replayed this game in ten years or so but I remember it fondly. The augments and just playing around with what can be done and what cannot be done. There are many paths I'm pretty sure I didn't discover. But putting loads of points into being able to breathe underwater did give me some nice things.
I also remember this being the first game I played where the crosshairs changed size depending on how many skillpoints you put into stuff. (and also sniper rifle scope jumped around a lot early) Overall there were so many good things!
I will say though that Human Revolution was also very good. There's always this fear when series are getting new games after a long break (like the abomination that is Fallout 3) and I was very sceptical towards HR but it is really, really good.
One of my fondest memories is beating one of the final bosses by crawling under a car or something and sniping the legs of the enemy for like fifteen minutes before his HP went all the way down. (and I had the augment that let me see how much HP the enemy had left)
Whatever happened to localised damaged. This game had you break your legs didn't it. That's something FPSes don't do anymore.
This is one of my top 5 games ever. Shame about the second one, though the third one was quite good, and I'm looking forward to the next one.
What blew me away the most was, as with saving your brother, there were not-immediately-obvious actions you could take that the game would acknowledge. (Spoilers from here on out). For instance, you can kill Navarre early in the plane, and things change from then on. While the overall plot is more or less railroaded from the beginning (and you get the first taste of the soon-to-be-standard "multiple choice" ending), the little permutations make it all worth it.
Also, it has one of my favorite scenes in all of gaming, which also serves as a microcosm of the game's story:
What blew me away the most was, as with saving your brother, there were not-immediately-obvious actions you could take that the game would acknowledge. (Spoilers from here on out). For instance, you can kill Navarre early in the plane, and things change from then on. While the overall plot is more or less railroaded from the beginning (and you get the first taste of the soon-to-be-standard "multiple choice" ending), the little permutations make it all worth it.
Also, it has one of my favorite scenes in all of gaming, which also serves as a microcosm of the game's story:
Corfaisus
"It's frustrating because - as much as Corf is otherwise an irredeemable person - his 2k/3 mapping is on point." ~ psy_wombats
7874
author=Feldschlacht IV
Did I mention that in the game's plot, the World Trade Center was destroyed in a terrorist attack? Did I also mention that the game was released in the year 2000?
That's all the proof I need to condemn video games for turning otherwise normal, friendly people into career criminals.
I encourage all of you guys to download this game and give it a try! Bonus points if you post in the topic and contribute!
Yeah, there's a ton of those. A lot of people didn't know you could save Paul. The game acknowledges all kinds of those things. For example, did you know that if you didn't save whats-her-face's dad at the Ton you see her near Vandenberg way later in the game?
author=Deltree
What blew me away the most was, as with saving your brother, there were not-immediately-obvious actions you could take that the game would acknowledge.
Yeah, there's a ton of those. A lot of people didn't know you could save Paul. The game acknowledges all kinds of those things. For example, did you know that if you didn't save whats-her-face's dad at the Ton you see her near Vandenberg way later in the game?
No biters? This is one of the best games of all time; I'm surprised more haven't played it/interested.
Corfaisus
"It's frustrating because - as much as Corf is otherwise an irredeemable person - his 2k/3 mapping is on point." ~ psy_wombats
7874
What strikes me about this game (I'm on part 6 of ThreadbareInc's LP of it now) is how physically open the world is. Like, I know this was around the same time as Goldeneye, but you'd think they could've done more with the external landscapes.
Also, the spherical nature of the protagonist's head and the wonky way his mouth moves is hilariously dated.
Also, the spherical nature of the protagonist's head and the wonky way his mouth moves is hilariously dated.
Well, I played a bit of Dues Ex - Human Evolution on PS3. I must confess, I didn't get very far with it. Though, I did manage to stealth through the first mission post-augmentation, which was pretty cool. There was an optional task there that I never did, though, and that made a lot of people die. I don't remember if there was a waypoint for that task, or any way to tag/highlight it, so, maybe I could have done something about that?
El_WaKa
3568
I know this topic is pretty old, but Deus Ex is my favorite game of all time, yeah, the graphics are kinda dated, the gunplay could have been improved, the stealth isn't also the best... but what makes this game perfect it's the sum of all it's parts, the freedom to explore and complete the missions in any way you want is what makes this game so awesome, I replay Deus Ex every year and it always feels fresh
What mods do you guys use? I prefer playing the vanilla version but lately, I been looking for new ways to play it, like Revision and The Nameless Mod(And Malkavian mod)
What mods do you guys use? I prefer playing the vanilla version but lately, I been looking for new ways to play it, like Revision and The Nameless Mod
Pages:
1
