One of the best role playing games ever made!
Gameplay: 9.5/10
- Wow. Just wow. Talk about player choice & freedom. I'll admit, the combat is not the best thing ever made, but everthing else makes up for it. I'll use an example here: You have orders to capture this leader of a 'terrorist' organisation, when you reach him, you could:
1) Open fire on sight, and kill him easily.
2) Talk to him, and wait until your fellow agent interrupts, then you have two options: A) Keep talking, and your fellow agent will shoot the guy. B) Shoot *your fellow agent*. Now how many FPS games let you kill your buddies and change the storyline based on that? You could even kill the agent before she even arrives by placing a mine on her path.
Oh and BTW, Deus Ex is a hybrid of FPS/RPG. Meaning that the combat & action is like your standard FPS, but it has skill points. And immersion. And player choice. You could shoot your way through, or you could go through and air went and bypass your enemies. You could hack a security turret and use that to kill your enemies. You could snipe your enemies using a sniper rifle, a silenced pistol or a mini-crossbow. You could just run through if you had enough armor and are fast enough. You see, there are almost no situation in the game where you have to do a particular situation in a single way, or go through a single path. You don't *have* to kill almost anyone to complete the game, only a couple of bosses. And using glitches, you could complete the whole game without dealing damage to anyone at all. The game is still one of the most open ended FPS's to date.
Atmosphere & Immersion: 10/10
- This game has the best and deepest storyline in any game, ever. It even puts 90% of movie storylines to shame. It has more conspiracies, twists and turns than you can count. The atmosphere is really, really perfect. You can really feel like you are *in* there, you are JC, you are making a difference to so many people's lives. Only game that is more immersive than Deus Ex is Thief: The Dark Project. These two are IMO, the best games ever made, period.
Graphics: 8/10
- Yes, they look outdated. But if you are going to compare 8 year old graphics to Crysis, you are an idiot. The graphics don't bother me at all, this is one of the few games (again with Thief) that has an unique look, which makes the graphics look good even after many years.
Sound: 10/10
- Just for the music. Sound effects are ok, and the voice acting is just classic, especially on the main character, JC. But it's the music that really makes the game perfect. Composed by Alexander Brandon, the guy who made music for games like Jazz Jackrabbit. He really did an excellent job. I usually don't keep music in games, just for the immersion. Deus Ex is one of the exceptions. The music is very unique and I don't think the game would be the same without it.
Physics: 6/10
- Just basic stuff. But the game doesn't really need top of the line physics to be good IMO. I would've gave it a 5, but the fact that you can jump on someones head and break his neck that way (and your legs too, usually) is just too great.
Replay value: 10/10
- I have played this game oh-so many times. Multiple player choices, many different paths, many different ways to solve problems, many different skills, multiple difficulty levels, self-made challenges (for example: use only melee, don't kill anyone, don't ever heal yourself, don't use biomods eg)... Just make this game a great one to play again and again. And the game is LONG, I mean REALLY long.
Value for money: 10/10
- Given that you could probably get this game these days for under 20-10 €, it's just a must buy. I would even pay full price for this, no discussion. Perhaps even more than full price.
Bugs, Stability & Performance: 9/10
- I've never had any bugs or crashes. Though it won't perform well on a computer from 2000, most modern computers can run it with full settings no problem.
Will this game be remembered by old school gamers as a classic after 10 years?:
- Oh yes it will be! It is already regarded as a very classical game by many old school gamers. I think this is one of the games that changed the industry, so I think it will be remembered for a VERY long time.
Who would I recommend to buy the game?:
- Anyone who enjoyes an open ended RPG's and FPS's and has enough patience... Console kids can hit the road and get back to their Halo, CoD & Bioshock.
Final score (not necessarily an average): 10/10