Absolutely loved System Shock 2, how good is Deus Ex?

I recently played SS2 and it's held up extremely well, yeah the interface could be better but the rest of the game works just fine. Also the story telling was top-notch, on the other hand I hated BioShock 1.

How does Deus Ex hold up, I just got it on the Steam sales and I'm looking for a similar experience.

Original or HR?

I live human revolution but if you have just played and liked system shock 2 it might seem a little shallow.

It can't comment on original dues ex never played it

SS2 is a close as you can get to Deus Ex, I recommend on it, whether the original (if graphics don't bother you) or the new Human Revolution

you are making a correlation between two games that are absolutely nothing alike.

cannot help you.

Deus Ex isn't unlike SS2 at all. Both are difficult games which distinctly offer various options of playthrough, are FPS-RPG hybrids, and have an emphasis on story telling.

The original Deus Ex is awesome by the way. It's one of the best games ever made, bar none. Having played HR, I can say you can ignore HR - but you should most definitely play through Deus Ex. Particularly if you enjoyed SS2. It's the best singleplayer experience I've ever had in a game.

I would play HR, especially since it's so cheap right now. Great game.

I replayed Deus Ex not that long ago, best game ever made imo. Holds up pretty well.

Doesnt hold as well, the health system is riddiculus, all weapons have very high innacuracy and you have to stand till for 5 second till the crosshair fills up, its a harder game to get into than ss2, you gonna have to be stealthy for atleast the first 4 hours.

this. Even though I liked HR very much I think the original Deus Ex was way better. One of my best gamng experiences.

Ive played SS2,and deus ex 1. They are indeed kinda similar. And if you liked SS2 then you will prob like Deus ex 1. HR on the other hand was an ok game, i wasnt exactly blown away by it. especially the ending is crap.

Interesting, Ive played HR and I liked it. I did start playing Deus Ex years ago but the OCD in me made me explore every nook and cranny which really slowed things down.

I mean these games give you choice but if you spend your points wisely there is always a way where you can do just about everything.

HR is a good game but it didn't deliver what make Deus Ex one of the greatest gaming experiences for me. If you have time, definitely go play HR, but if you're a fan of System Shock 2 - Deus Ex is the game you need to put on your bucket list. :P I didn't even touch Deus Ex until 2008, and once I did, I couldn't put the damn game down until I beat it. The game is simply engaging on so many levels.

Dang, I bought SS2 during the Christmas sale last year and still haven't played it. :(

one is a cyberpunk thriller RPG.... the other is essentially a horror game....

their tones and playstyles are -very- different

Original Dues Ex is damn good but has an incredibly slow start, you'll probably also be frustrated by the ineffectiveness of your weapons in the beginning, but like a traditional RPG they become much better the further you get into the game, and you'll soon see the many many options for approaching an objective that makes Deus Ex really stand-alone compared to most games.

Thriller RPG? I don't see what made Deus Ex a thriller, or any more of an RPG than System Shock 2. If anything, System Shock 2 was more fast paced and more of a thriller. They both had their own skill systems, making them both FPS RPG hybrids, more or less on equal levels. You point out Deus Ex is cyberpunk, but fail to mention System Shock 2 is also cyberpunk.

They probably have more in common with each other than HR does with the original Deus Ex.

huh? system shock isnt cyberpunk at all... it is just scifi...

cyberpunk is a futuristic setting with an overtone of social degradation. that is basically deus ex in a nutshell. system shock is just futuristic horror. there is no real "social commentary". its more just about a rogue AI trying to kill you.

Not cyberpunk at all? Maybe you should go brush up on your definition of Cyberpunk. For one, the Wiki says it's cyberpunk in the 2nd paragraph.It's not identical to Deus Ex, but it's undoubtedly cyberpunk. Something doesn't have to have social commentary for it to qualify as cyberpunk, it's simply combination of a futuristic setting mixed with a bleak atmosphere and a focus on the grittier aspects of the futuristic life. It's filled with hacking, cybernetic humans, and A.I, many of the hallmarks that make something cyberpunk.

Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a near-future setting. Noted for its focus on "high tech and low life,"^[1][2] it features advanced science, such as information technology and cybernetics, coupled with a degree of breakdown or radical change in the social order.^[3]

lol... nice try though. im well aware of what cyberpunk is, considering it is my favorite genre and i have been reading and watching movies of it for over 20 years. it is not "a futuristic setting with bleak atmosphere". cyberpunk -always- has social commentary, typically focusing on the separation of classes or the struggle between rich corporations and poor but highly intelligent "rogues". it is a key component of the genre. it is what separates cyberpunk from standard scifi.

Wikipedia is very clear on its definition of cyberpunk, and you're trying to stretch it into something that it's not. The word "features" means that these themes are common in cyberpunk, it doesn't mean that cyberpunk is exclusively about advanced science, IT, cybernetics, and social changes or breakdown in social order.

The cyberpunk genre emerged in the early 1980s; combining cybernetics and punk,^[59] the term was coined by author Bruce Bethke for his 1980 short storyCyberpunk.^[60] The time frame is usually near-future and the settings are often dystopian in nature and characterized by misery. Common themes in cyberpunk include advances in information technology and especially the Internet, visually abstracted as cyberspace, artificial intelligence, and prosthetics and post-democratic societal control where corporations have more influence than governments. Nihilism, post-modernism, and film noir techniques are common elements, and the protagonists may be disaffected or reluctant anti-heroes. Noteworthy authors in this genre are William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Neal Stephenson, andPat Cadigan. James O'Ehley has called the 1982 film Blade Runner a definitive example of the cyberpunk visual style.

As stated above, cyberpunk isn't exclusively about social commentary, with the social commentary being the difference between cyberpunk and normal sci-fi. Normal science fiction is perfectly capable of having social commentary without being considered cyberpunk. Furthermore, System Shock 2 does feature a small degree of social commentary - it provides commentary on men's reach exceeding his grasp (in terms of space exploration, development of A.I.). It's mostly in the game's setting and backdrop.

The backdrop of the game's plot....

In 2072, when the Citadel Station was destroyed, TriOptimum's attempts to cover-up the incident were exposed to the media and brought up on charges from multiple individuals and companies for the ensuing scandal, the virus developed there which killed the station's population, and the ruthless malevolent A.I supercomputer named SHODAN, which controlled, and eventually destroyed the Citadel Station in hopes of enslaving and destroying the humanity. After a massive number of trials, the company went to bankruptcy.

30 years after the events, the company's failed stocks and assets were bought by a Russian oligarch named Anatoly Korenchkin, who restored the company to its former status in the next decades, and, with producing healthcare and consumer products, is now signing weapons contracts with various military organizations, private and political-owned, including the United National Nominate (UNN), a UN successor which is opposed to TriOptimum.

In January 2114, 42 years after the Citadel events and 12 years into rebuilding TriOptimum, the company created an experimental FTLstarship, the Von Braun, which is now on its maiden voyage. The ship is also followed by the UNN space vessel, the Rickenbacker, which is controlled by Captain William Bedford Diego, son of Edward Diego, the Citadel Station's infamous commander. Because the Rickenbacker does not have an FTL system of its own, the two ships are attached for the trip.^[15]

The plot of the game doesn't revolve being cyberpunk, like Deus Ex does, but as indicated above, the entire backdrop of System Shock 2 is cyberpunk, thus the game is cyberpunk. Argue all you want, anyone should be able to easily recognize that the game is cyberpunk. Cyberpunk isn't just about plot, it's about the aesthetic and style. The plot of System Shock 2 is "horror", but this "horror" plot is entirely set in a cyberpunk backdrop and world.

It's nice that you have been reading and watching cyberpunk for quite some time. Have you taken college classes which delve into cyberpunk novels and film? I have. Regardless of your time spent on the subgenre, I feel perfectly qualified to speak on the subject. Is Deus Ex more cyberpunk than System Shock 2? Sure, you'll get no argument from me there. But as to whether or not SS2 is cyber punk or not, I think you're splitting hairs - System Shock 2 is commonly considered to be cyberpunk.

I tried to play System Shock 2 in its original format, but it was rough I put on the Rebirth Mod and had a blast with it.

KH always thinks he has the answer.

you have been to college? grats. so have i and hundreds of millions of other people. you are still wrong... lol. they dont teach cyberpunk in college. i went to an ivy league university, i think i would know. you are going to have to try harder to come up with a believable argument.

your copy paste job from wikipedia said exactly what i said... or did you not read it?

"combining cybernetics and punk"

definition of a "punk", in the modern sense: an individual that wants to subvert societal norms.

"Common themes in cyberpunk include advances in information technology and especially the Internet, visually abstracted as cyberspace, artificial intelligence, and prosthetics and post-democratic societal control where corporations have more influence than governments."

an entire portion of your post that points out that cyberpunk is focused on a certain angle of social commentary.

"Blade Runner a definitive example of the cyberpunk visual style"

the entire blade runner film is nothing but a social commentary.... it is the very cornerstone of the film. if you had "studied it"... you would know that.

scifi can have social commentary... but that is not the purpose of scifi. for cyberpunk, however, that IS the purpose. the -entire- purpose.

They teach cyberpunk in some advanced Language Arts classes - they delve and dissect most novel genres in most Language Arts classes, even in high school. It's very odd you didn't learn about any book genres in classes that research literature, what could they have been teaching you all those years? Obviously it wasn't capitalization. Wikipedia doesn't say exactly what you said at all. You said cyberpunk is exclusively about social commentary, where the quote specifically says it commonly features social commentary - but it doesn't say the genre is specifically limited to social commentary in any part of any Wikipedia article relating to cyberpunk. You've completely projected that yourself, and you continue to do so. Try re-reading the quote so you can better understand it. Distinguish the difference between a "common theme" and an "necessary theme", you've confused the two.

"Common themes in cyberpunk include advances in information technology and especially the Internet, visually abstracted as cyberspace, artificial intelligence, and prosthetics and post-democratic societal control where corporations have more influence than governments."

Once again, as I already stated in my previous post but you conveniently chose to ignore - System Shock 2 features this exact theme. If you actually played System Shock, or read the plot description I just posted, you'd know the game features all of these exact things. TriOptimum, the source of all the trouble in System Shock, is a megacorporation that has a major influence in the government and is the major supplier for the military and the consumer. The game features exactly what the above quote is talking about, more or less word for word. Your Ivy League education isn't doing you any favors. You're busy arguing about whether or not social commentary is the sole defining feature of cyberpunk while you're ignoring the entire fact that System Shock 2 has the majority of the genre-defining themes, including corporations having more influence than governments which you've gone so far to bold. Maybe if you actually tried playing the game we're arguing about...

And what is all this about me thinking I always have the answer? You're the one attempting to quote Wikipedia in arguments against me, yet ignore that Wikipedia already stated that System Shock 2 takes place in a cyberpunk setting. You're the one who thinks you're smarter than everyone else here by against the common opinion. Wikipedia states that SS2 is cyberpunk, as well as the majority of gamers out there (which is why it often appears on lists of top cyber-punk themed games). Why is it that every one else is wrong here, including the world's most commonly used Web Encyclopedia, but you're the one who's exclusively right?

it's one of my personal all time favourites but i imagine it's not all that accessible if you didn't play it when it first released. then again if you've just played ss2 and loved that chances are you'll not be put off by its inevitable ageing

I couldn't get into Deus Ex (the original) but you should try it at least once since it's considered one of the best games ever made. I loved Deus Ex: HR though.

Thanks for the replies guys, also to the poster who thinks Deus Ex and SS are nothing alike, like really?

The original Deus Ex was a fantastic game.

But it's kind of hard to play now; the graphics and gameplay are just so dated...

As for human revolution - don't bother.

so deus ex has a slow start, form what I'm hearing. How slow are we exactly talking about? Does it pick up like in 30 minutes to an hour? Because I don't think I would be able to handle a game where the game is getting good at 3+ hours. That would really kill the replayability if I wanted to

It's good right from the start if you ask me. Ah, the music is really good too.

Deus Ex, in my opinion, has one the best starts of any game out there. It throws you right into the game, and the first level is really quite good (lots of exploration, multiple options of playthrough).

Human Revolution, and most modern FPS games, try to put you to sleep long before before you even get the real gameplay. As if every FPS developer thinks they're making the next "Half-Life". Remember Bioshock? Now that game has a slow-as-shit, boring introduction. Deus Ex doesn't have one of those introductions. It simply asks you what weapon you want, and throws you into the story. If every game copied that idea, as opposed to the slow prefaces that we receive in every modern shooter today, gaming would be a lot more succinct and a lot less boring.

Loved SS2 too but Deus Ex is better. When i play SS2 it is like dating my girlfriend. Everything is smooth and i like it. But when i play Deus Ex it gives me a feeling of cheating my girlfriend. Not better necessary but more exciting. Hope this helps. Wait, now that i read my post i am kind of confused...

wut....

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is the right choice here. The game works exactly like Deus Ex and System Shock 2.

Um no. That game is terrible.

I'm surprised that people are even talking about Human Revolution in a thread about SS2 an Deus Ex.

Human Revolution was a fine game, but those two are on a whole other level of excellence.

Aaaanyway, Deus Ex is a clear descendant of System Shock 2, adapting many of its ideas into a more free-roam heavy setting. If you loved SS2, you'll probably love Deus Ex.

^Also hilarious to see someone call Vampire Bloodlines terrible. Dear god, gamers these days! Anyway, Bloodlines does actually feel quite a bit like Deus Ex.

They're both very similar in terms of gameplay. I'd say System Shock 2 is a tougher, more tense, claustrophobic experience; there's a lot less room for error and hardly any down time from enemies. There's more room to play around in Deus Ex and more time to breathe. I can't say I prefer one over the other as they both nail everything (except combat and voice acting) to a tea. If you mean Human Revolution, it's a great game, not as good as the original though, dodgy out of place boss fights and less creative level designs.

Ah opinions eh?

I think the combat in particular is quite tedious and boring in v.t.m.b.l. Also, being 2014 it's kind of hard to recommend - given the out-dated graphics and all...

Interestingly though, when checking the gamespot player review average I noticed that it gets an average score of 8.7 which is exactly the same score that Doom 3 gets.

Now, just as you are amazed to see someone canning v.t.m.b.l., I also find it hard to comprehend when people diss doom 3.