It has been said of Deus Ex that every time someone mentions it; one of those listening will go and reinstall it. We've managed to attest to the truth of this since we are constantly installing and playing this little gem from way back in 2000. While only needing a paltry 300 MHz CPU to get the game running, this Unreal Engine-based action RPG game is quite possibly one of the best games to ever be created.
Released back when multiple story braches and solutions were mostly pipe-dreams, Deus Ex took itself very seriously and delivered huge quantities of satisfaction for almost any player. It gave rise to a love affair with the game which saw players replaying the entire game in order to find alternate paths through certain sections.
While it all took place from a first person view, the range of options used to progress through levels were impressive then and still impress now. One could hack through security systems, negotiate with NPCs, take a very stealthy approach or even rage through the level with guns blazing. All would achieve the desired effect which was what made Deus Ex such a classic.
The storyline which put players in control of a cybernetically enhanced JC Denton was not to be sneezed at either. A player's cybernetic body could be enhanced further and upgraded, skill points could be assigned to various abilities and some weapons could also be modified. A character with a fully upgraded Rifle skill and a modded weapon is nigh-unstoppable from a distance.
In favor of the game was the length and depth of the storyline, the deep notes system that recorded the information gleaned during play and the dark dystopian setting that had folks traipsing around a garish Tokyo, brooding New York and various secret societies and institutes trying to find out what UNATCO is really up to. As old and dated as the engine is now, the game is still just as impressive as it ever was. It was worthy of near-perfect scores across the board when it was released and it just as worthy now, perhaps even more so since it has survived the test of time.
On top of this, the third installment of the Deus Ex series has been announced, the original is available on Steam and Eidos is offering the full game as a download with a one hour trial period on their website.
