(The game had awesome written all
over it.)
Our goal here
isn’t really to review certain aspects of Deus Ex. Instead, the focus is placed
on how awesome this game is. As Deus Ex Human Revolution is released, it’s
important to look back at how this incredible game came to life. Released in
2000, Deus Ex exploded into an instant sensation amongst gamers worldwide. It
has been named “Best Game of the Year” several times in magazines such as PC
Gamer. It doesn’t end there, though. Not only has it been called the game of
the year, but it’s been called the game of the year across the world. We’re talking
from Great Britain, to Germany, to Russia. Unless you’re a gamer who resides
under a rock, you should instantly know Deus Ex.
If the game was so great, it had to have state of the art graphics, right?
Wrong. Deus Ex was far from looking spectacular. If you compare it with a few
other games, such as Half Life (1999) or even Quake 2 (1998), it isn't a huge
difference in terms of upgrades. So, if it wasn’t the graphics, then Deus Ex
had some ground breaking new mechanics right? Wrong. Deus Ex actually lacked in
the department of “brand new.” Lock picking was nothing more than jiggling your
hand around with a stick. Bypassing electrical equipment such as alarms and
turrets simply involved waving a remote control at a control panel. We were
still far off from Oblivion’s lock picking system or Bioshock’s hacking
abilities. So what really made Deus Ex the best game ever made?
(I really enjoyed traveling the
world, even if Hong Kong was a bit small)
There is no
true answer to that question. What we do know is that the game held so many
great features that everyone’s answer could be different. In my opinion, the
way players molded to the game is what made it so incredibly amazing. We’ve all
experienced how games get increasingly harder to force us into using a different
style. Deus Ex had us pick a style from the start and tested us to how true we
were to that specific style. Were we a pacifist? Did we try to avoid all
confrontation and simply take down enemies using non-lethal force? Did we prod
with the prod? If so, we were like ninjas in the dark. We crept through the
shadows and tried our best to stay out of sight. For those of us who weren’t
ninjas, we were destruction-seeking terminators. Nothing stood in our way and
survived. We didn’t care about the value of life as we mowed down soldier after
soldier. Screw that tranquilizer and give us the GEP gun. Forget being quiet;
let’s make as much noise as possible. We went head on with brawn and force. If
something stood in our way, it was most likely going to get blasted into
oblivion.
The third style of play was that of the explorer. We mostly took on the role of
a somewhat confused hero, like in a book or movie. The truth is out there and
we’re bound to find it, but our emotions evolve through the storyline. The
enemies are just misunderstood, so we’re taught to subdue them without
excessive force. As the story progresses, we find who our true enemies are.
We’ve lost love ones and are on the edge of losing the battle. Now, we find
anything to gain the upper hand. We kill when we need to kill. We break into
things and hack electronics to give us that upper hand. We hunger for more
information that will help us better understand what we’re up against.
(The touch of normal responses was
nice.)
Just the way
players played Deus Ex is what makes it one of the greatest games ever. Players
had decisions to make that would alter the world around them. You could even
say that the way Deus Ex saved files was unique – as it saved full copies of
how the game evolved and was altered every time a character saved their game.
Just the way you play isn’t enough to put you on top, though. The storyline was
a massive world to dive into. We stated that the graphics weren't a major
upgrade, but what made us appreciate them so much was how and where they were
placed. Everything seemed to fit the scene perfectly.
Deus Ex takes us across the world from New York, Hong Kong, and Paris. There
was a lot of detail in building these areas, which I absolutely loved about
Deus Ex. Even while the accents of foreigners are a little over the top, they
still fit in just perfectly. You can really see what the developers were aiming
for. Each little area holds a key objective that will unravel more of the
story. While I've heard the overly used theme of some sickness or plague
sweeping the population, Deus Ex kept me glued to the story at all times.
There is no doubt in my mind that Deus Ex will be remembered for at least
another five or ten years. Just recently I picked up a PC Gamer magazine with a
Top 100 games of all time. While I thought Doom might take the number one spot,
since it basically put PC Gaming on the map, Deus Ex was listed as the first
place winner. No argument there. The game expands much further than your basic
first person shooter. It doesn't use a big scary monster or introduce a badass
weapon for its climactic ending. It uses a well written story, a changing
world, and plays of the character's emotions. It allows players to craft the
player that they want to be through stats and power ups. It's a game that gives
you the world and tells you to make it what you will.
So the big question is this: “Will Deus Ex: Human Revolution live up to the
original?” It's been over ten years and I sure am looking forward to something
quite epic. Judging from the screen shots, trailers, and sneak peak game play
videos, it looks like we're in for a treat. I can honestly say that if the
first hour goes well within the game, I may not be able to leave my seat for
the next month. Deus Ex excelled in the RPG aspect by creating different routes
players could take. This means that the replay ability is quite high. If Deus
Ex: Human Revolution follows the same path, we may see a good chunk of the
multi player world vanish for the month of September.
3 comments so far...
Brainspecialist, last year
Great article, this is one of my favourite games ever i still replay it every once in a while.
xXDanteXx, last year
and there u go a true FPS RPG addict :)
AlexDenton, 2 months ago
Best game ever, even today nothing comes close...
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