PC GAMES ROUNDUP OF 2000
Date: 1/17/01
By Rice

#1
DEUS EX
Developer: ION Storm (Austin)
Publisher: Eidos Interactive

Oooh... Ahhh... Ubercoolness.

For those of you that have regularly followed my rantings and have read my Deus Ex review, this should've come as no surprise. Warren Spector's masterpiece engaged me like no other game this year, and will definitely be inducted into my hall of fame. Some call this game an FPS. Some call it an RPG. I call it an FPRP, which stands for First Person Role Player. I was never a big fan of the traditional over the top style RPG's like Final Fantasy and its derivatives. I found it tedious and complex with storylines that were over melodramatic. However, I didn't even realize that Deus Ex was technically an RPG styled game until I was hip deep through the missions!

The beauty of this game is its open-endedness. You have a choice for almost everything! It's like a tree. You start at the trunk and move your way up. As you progress, you'll run into various branches which in turn branch into thinner branches. That's how the gameplay is like. The dialogue you choose affects the next one, and so on. Of course, some of them will merge back into the main storyline, or else the game would be impossible to program, but nonetheless, it was extremely engaging for the player.

Character interaction is both vital and interesting.

The story is a dark sci-fi thriller one that involves government conspiracies and underground organizations that are the real rulers of the world. In the future, an epidemic will sweep the world population and bring world leaders to their knees. You take the role of J.C. Denton, a super agent with nanotechnology capable of upgrading physical capabilities. As the plot unfolds, you learn more about your history, as well as the true enemy you're fighting against. Deus Ex's deep and complex chronicle of one man's struggle to seek identity in a Blade Runner-esque setting is without doubt the most absorbing aspect of the game.

A sequel is in the planning already, according to Spector, and I for one cannot wait. If you could only take one game with you onto a deserted island, do yourself a favor and pick up Deus Ex.

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