By: Eidos Interactive

At first glance Deus Ex appears little more than one of countless Doom clones. Gamers follow that all too familiar gun held by a poorly rendered hand down dark corridors. Been there, done that, right? Wrong! With a few masterful brushstrokes, Deus Ex tramples the boundary between reckless shoot-em ups and engrossing role-playing games. In terms of setting the game is a mixture between Blade Runner and X-Files. In terms of gameplay think Police Quest meets Quake.

As futuristic New York Police officer J.C. Denton, your first mission involves neutralizing a terrorist threat on Liberty Island. The terrorrists are a group known as the NSF who believe that the American government is nothing but a corrupt group of fascists who oppress the poor and the weak.

Will Denton fight to uphold the law, or join the terrorists in a revolution to overthrow what seems to be a corrupt government? Eventually the choice will be up to the player.

Denton is a souped up human being enhanced by cybernetic implantations and some bad-ass sunglasses which, for some reason, he wears even at night. Throughout the game, the �nano-aug� has to collect augmentation canisters to enhance his strength, and give him other super powers. Denton must also learn skills such as lock-picking and computer hacking.

To what end? Well, Denton must use resources beyond a varied supply of creatively destructive guns. To bamboozle enemies, Denton aquires a vast, vast, vast supply of technological toys�. Vast! The tools range from items to bypass elaborate security systems, to tranquilizers which silently render enemies comatose. Such items are important because in the game it is often undesirable to rouse an entire area of armed men with loud gunshots.

Denton is not a one man army! Consequently players find themselves hiding in shadows while they stalk foes before clobbering them with a crowbar, stunning them with an electrical prod, spraying them in the eyes with a fire extinguisher or if they are feeling particularly reckless, shooting them at point blank range with their choice of guns. (Ah, so many memories). What I like most about the game is there is often the option of playing it safe by disposing of foes from a safe distance or charge into the fray of blazing guns like a homicidal maniac (old school). It makes for a game which has a certain grim realism to it.

Many of the characters, friend or foe, will speak their minds about the government, previous history or simply their love of violence. It is all done so lucidly, that major plot points can be revealed with subtle comments made by loitering gunmen. Still, players will have to endure some very long cut scenes.

The game is very realistic. You can interact with everyone and everything. Even loitering around the office can be a truly entertaining experience as you talk to the various jerks and know-it-alls.

The game is very long and very challenging with a lot of replay value. The storyline is very engrossing. Buy the game when you don�t expect to be too busy, because people like me with little will power will put off studying and stay up way, way past there bedtime. It is extremely addictive. There are dozens of ways to complete each mission. There are so many choices to make that no two people will experience the same thing.

Needless to say the game would not have pulled off such realism without extremely high quality graphics and sound. The textures in the game provide realistic reflections from mirrors and glossy floors. As for the sound, you can hear the sympathetic sound of a terrorist sighing, or his strangled cry as he dies. And yes, the guns blare loud enough for any psycho gamer.

I give Deus Ex a King. I know what you�re thinking: �No Ace? Why no Ace?� To Eidos interactive I would ask, �Why no multiplayer?� Furthermore, when one actually does decide to pull a gun on someone, it takes like�a million bullets to kill them!(maybe I�m exaggerating a bit). That can be very annoying, especially for a game which emphasises the use of more covert stragegies. The endings were very short and unsatisfying for a story that was so involved. Nevertheless, all are things which Eidos Interactive will attempt to improve in the upcoming sequel. Rumor has it that there are also some multiplayer patches on the web.

At first, it is very difficult to hold a weapon and not unleash a rain of bullets on your foes, and I confess, I nearly vomit when I was told to bring in the terrorist leader alive. (Alive?!?! What the �?) Some gamers may not have the patience to endure stalking their enemies from the shadows and tactfully dispatching other pitfalls throughout the game. If you do however, grab your virtual �gat� and go bust some thugs!!!

Cuz MastaCSG says so!!!

MastaCSG
King