Not quite perfect, but still fantastic
I truly appreciate the excellent blending of RPG, FPS, and stealth elements. It makes for a unique game experience that I really haven't come across in any other game (except for the original Deus Ex, that is). I know the PC version is buggy, but the Xbox version has always run incredibly smooth for me.
The things I like best about this game:
* Variety of locations to visit - Seattle, Cairo, Germany, Antarctica, and Liberty Island, and all of the sub-levels contained within. There is a lot to explore and I love it.
* Over 20 biomod choices, which can be overwritten and then reinstalled later. I found all the biomods to be very unique, though some were not really needed for a majority of the game (like missile deflection). What really helped increased replay value for me was challenging myself to play through the game with different biomods each time and work with what I had in each situation.
* Most of the characters in the game were great and had a lot of personality and life in them. I normally at not an RPG kinda guy, but the characters were so well-done that I was easily able to immerse myself in them and their part in the overall story.
* The graphics are fantastic, not perfect, but excellent nonetheless. The use of dynamic lighting really helped give the game more realism. Everything in the environments really comes together to help set the mood quite nicely as well.
* Loved all the music, from the title score to the background themes from each level to the Kidney Thieves songs under the guise of a popstar. It all really helped set the mood.
* Great variety of weapons, and like with the biomods, you can challenge yourself to use certain weapons when you play through. Not wanting to kill anyone? Stick to the stun prod and boltcaster. Want to be silent and stealthy? Sniper riper and assassin pistol. Go in with guns blazing and really cause some mayhem? Plenty of guns like the assault rifle, shotgun, magrail, rocket launcher. Lots of grenades to choose from as well.
With that said, there were plenty of things I didn't like about this game. These were especially amplified after I played the original Deus Ex just recently. What I didn't like:
* The sometimes lack of intelligent AI. I could sometimes do things such as walk around an area or steal something and would get nothing more than a "hey what are you doing?" from nearby characters. I couldn't hack an ATM in front of an SSC guard without him turning on me, but one example is that I could go to the apartment of the QueeQueg's manager and rummage around and take things with him right nearby, and he'd just stand there. It would have made things more believable if he called the police or attacked me himself.
* While there were a wide variety of levels to explore, I have to say that a majority of the levels are very small and almost made me feel a bit claustrophobic. The cities of Seattle, Cairo, and Trier especially - these are supposed to be big, bustling cities but they were just incredibly tiny. Especially when compared to the original Deus Ex, where you could explore a good healthy portion of NYC and even go into different buildings by climbing a fire escape. I don't know why the environments couldn't have been more expansive - games like Halo and Half-Life 2 on Xbox have done large areas just fine. It bugged me before, but this really bugs me now after having played the original Deus Ex.
* Universal ammo. This just made it way too easy to get ammunition for any gun you needed, whereas in the original (and pretty much is most games period) you need a certain ammo for a certain weapon. The explanation for the universal ammo clip at least made sense, but I would have preffered unique ammo clips.
* Load times. For crying out loud, how long must it take???? Whereas Deus Ex only took a few seconds, at times it can take up to a minute to load a new level (or sub-section of a level) with this game. It drives me nuts. It also cuts into the RPG element, takes away some of the game's realism. What was especially odd was that even if you'd already been to a certain area before and were going back, it still took the same amount of time to load.
* The overly-simplified lockpick/multitool/code system. No more lockpicks, everything is opened via multitool, and for keypads and logon interfaces, you hack in if you have the biomod installed, or if you got the info from a datacube you just automatically bring up the interface. It'd have been better to be able to have a distinction between lockpicks and multitools, and be able to interact with the consoles a la Deus Ex.
* This is something that the first Deus Ex didn't have either, but some kind of stealth indicator (as in Splinter Cell) would have been great. Unless you're crawling around in vent shafts, it makes it hard to sneak around in the open, even when it's dark, and know how well you're hidden. Since stealth was supposed to be a big part of the game I think a system like this would have made sense.
* Lack of a skill system and the simplified health meter. I really liked the skill system in DX1 and have no idea why it wasn't included in IW. I also liked you could take damage to certain parts of the body in DX1 (and hence it would affect your ability to walk or whatnot), but in IW you just have a simple health meter and that's it.
And finally here are a few things I think this game improved upon from its predecessor:
* Obviously the graphics and sounds are much much better.
* The ability to cloak yourself from machines as well as humans, and it is fine and indeed makes sense for them to be two different biomods, but never being able to mask myself from bots and cameras in DX1 drove me nuts.
* Being able to dampen the sounds you make when you walk and run. It helps with the stealth element.
So despite all its shortcomings, I still love Deus Ex Invisible War and have played it many, many times and I know I'll play it many more. Definitely a great game - better than Deus Ex 1 in some ways and not as good in others, but still one of my favorites :)
Now if Eidos would just sell the rights to the DX franchise back to Warren Spector, maybe he could get us a DX3 that would combine the best of both games and also take things to the next level... I can dream, can't I?