User Rating: 8.9 | Deus Ex: Invisible War PC
Gameplay: I gave gameplay an eight for several reasons. First, the decision to lump all ammo together into a common pool was disappointing. I would much rather have to conserve ammo on a gun to gun basis, it makes for more intresting circumstances, and it also adds realisim. Also, as nifty as the equipment console is, I am of the mind that the less you have on the screen, the better. I've seen a few people gripe about the combat not having a real FPS feel to it. This really wasn't a concern for me, the original Deus-Ex was much the same, and it's just a different gameplay philosophy. I'm able to move around just fine, but if you want Quake, this ain't it. That said, the physics system is the best I've seen so far. Generally FPS games tend to tweak the physics to maximise hard core shoot em up gameplay. This game goes for realisim, and the restrictions that come with that are actually a plus to the game. I did feel a bit let down that there was no lean function, it would have been a great addition, and since Warren Spector pioneered lean, I kinda expected to get it in this game. Kudos to Ion Storm for getting a patch out quickly, especally in regards to the underpowered stun prod, and head damage. Several other issues addressed in the patch were aimed at making the key controls more PC friendly. Nice touches for a patch, but this kind of highlights a pitfall of cross platform development. A lot of PC users seem to feel slighted, and it's certaintly understandable. However, I've found that throughout all these issues, the game still has the same feel that made the original Deus-Ex such a great game. The story presents itself in great detail and makes for intresting decisions throughout the game, and although there are some cool twists and turns, I still feel that it's not quite as good as the original. I suppose that the major difference is the ability to choose sides early on in the game. While this does provide for at least one replay, if not more, I would have prefered something closer to the original in which you play rank and file for a while, at least until you have a firm grasp of the power struggle going on. I had the feeling that the developers were trying a bit too hard to diversify the story options, and it ends up showing. I think there's a danger in making things too linear, but I wouldn't go so far as to say this game strays away from what it was trying to accomplish. A final note here, the gameplay seems to be where all the controversy stems from. There are a lot of minor issues that some people will take harder than others, but in the end, when you look at the many facets of gameplay, you can't help but appreciate what was done right, and Invisible War is ultimately "good enough" to be called a worthy sequel to the original. Graphics: Graphics are very nice, and my score of nine reflects that. Rag-doll physics are awesome, the best I've seen in any game so far. Shadows are even better. This game has shadows down to a tee, and the atmosphere they create bring this game a level of realism not seen in other games thus far. The textures are adequate, and I get the idea that the polygon count wasn't being pushed into new ground, perhaps because of X-box limitations, or from the effects demands. But because of the excellent effect produced by the shadows, a nine is still merited. Sound: In general, the sound is very good, holstering and drawing weapons can get annoying though. There were many occations when I was able to hear the sounds of bots as though they were in the same room, when in fact they were not. The walls simply didn't dampen the sounds as much as they should have. But the sounds themselves were par or better, the voice acting was adequate and the ammount of spoken story lines from the various characters is simply huge. From start to finish, no expense was spared in making sure everybody got to voice their lines. Value: Even through all the little gripes, and the relatively short play time, this game is worth the money for those people who enjoy this type of hybrid shooter/sneaker/RPG. These kinds of games are rare, and this game stands up despite all the various issues surrounding gameplay. Invisible War might not be everything to everybody, but if the general premise of the game sounds like fun, the game won't dissapoint you. Tilt: This is one of the few games that I've played for hours on end, and can't get enough of. Although the story line seems a bit more distant than the original, it is more than enough to get me into the game and keep me there. The originallity of this game is only superseded by perhaps the original and it is a breath of fresh air in a market driven by marketing that caters to the largest common denominator. For the most part it stays true to what the original was about and thus earns a tilt of ten in my book.