The New Deus Ex: Human Revolution is out and I'm going to need some solid time to sit down and enjoy this game. I enjoyed and played the crap out of the original Deus Ex, but was dissuaded from playing the second in the series because I heard it wasn't very good. Years later I Youtube'd the gameplay which didn't look too bad and bought it off of STEAM for like 6 bucks and change.
Invisible War came out in 2003. The graphics are ... not terrible for the time. Unfortunately, people of the future can't turn their heads or move their eyes so they have to turn their entire bodies to look at something...it's really quite funny when you notice it. There really is only 2 more things to complain about for this game; The zone boundaries are short and the loading times between them are long. You have to cross many boundaries to accomplish certain objectives and then go all the way back to turn them in. The levels are cluttered and confusing. The game crashes enough to be a little distracting and can compromise the integrity of a saved game so that you literally lose all your progress.
What did I like more about Deus Ex? Space. Invisible war is constantly crowded and cramped. I miss the open spaces. Hanging around Hong Kong at the top of a building while Blade Runneresk music plays on the ambient background. I miss the skill point system that you could use to customize you character to unique specifications.
What was good about Invisible war? So many things, actually:
The dialogue was engaged and intellectually stimulating. The story was intricate and linked back to characters from the first. (The irony of being told one of the few truths by a character who's voice actor was the same as Walton Simons - 2IC Villain from the first - did not escape my attention). The Biomods didn't make you a superman...you still had to fight smart. Simplification of resources with multi-tools and 'Ammo' as a generic commodity. The voice acting was generally better than the first *. The intentional music was way better in IW. The ambient music was less in your face with Invisible War but I do miss some points from the original score (Blade Runner ambience). The combat system encourages a player to fight smart **. The newer universal ammo system means that you can use whatever weapon you like. The weapons have an 'Alt Fire' ability that makes them even more fun than before. There are even 'unique weapons' hanging around here and there. Different custom mods to weapons can be used to appeal to different play styles.
The Deus Ex series is an innovation of both story and gameplay. How the game ends is based on what you as the main protagonist chooses to do. You start off not knowing what is going on and end the game shaping the future. Deus Ex: The Invisible War isn't bad. This is a 2003 game I would give a 8.5/10
Definately worth the $6 and change!
**You are as 'bullet proof' at the end of the game as you were at the start. That means that you have to play smart. During one battle where I was surrounded by Templars (purity extremists) in a hanger with a massive military bot. I ran and hit cloaking (both visual and IR) and threw a scrambler grenade at the bot before ducking under cover. Their formerly loyal bot wiped out the Templars and I 'EMP droned' the milbot from my hiding place. In the first Deus Ex..you didn't need to play that smart. You could power up your Ballistic Armor, your Ballistic protection implants, Aggressive Defense and Rambo the room...but really? Doing that just isn't as fun.
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