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Developed by Ion Storm Austin, and released in 2000 by Eidos Interactive (Company), Deus Ex is a first-person shooter/role-playing game hybrid. In Deus Ex, players take on the role of JC Denton (Character), a nano-augmented agent of UNATCO (the United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition). JC is charged with investigating a terrorist group known as the NSF (National Secessionist Force). Though, throughout the course of the story, JC finds himself dropped into a larger ideological war involving the Illuminati (Concept), Majestic-12, and other secret organizations. The future path of humanity is at stake and the game culminates with the player making the ultimate determination of mankind's future by choosing one of three possible scenarios.
Deus Ex plays as a hybrid between a shooter and an RPG. As JC Denton, players can make choices that ultimately alter the course of the main story, both in dialogue and through game actions. The RPG/shooter gameplay supports many different play styles; from run-and-gun, to stealth, to subterfuge. For example, a building might be guarded by robots. Players can choose to sneak past the robots as they patrol in circuit, lock-pick a nearby door to bypass the area the robots patrol, or, of course, go in guns blazing. The same set up might even include an opportunity for both stealth and action-based tactics. Again, for example, the player could stealthily hack gun turrets in order to enter a gun fight with added backup.
As in some RPGs, players can kill almost any non-critical character in the game. Some major characters may live or die based entirely on the player's decisions. Both of these major RPG features can lead to unique dialogue options, or change future mission objectives.
Deus Ex uses a grid-based inventory system. The encumbrance of Denton was adjusted for volume of larger items, and density of small items; assault rifles will take a few blocks of space, a rocket launcher will take a few more, but multiple disarmed explosives can stack on the same block.
A large part of Deus Ex revolves around the ability to improve JC's abilities. There are three notable ways to do this: Augmentation Canisters, Upgrade Canisters, and Skill Points.
The player can improve Denton's abilities via bio-mechanical augmentation. This is done by collecting canisters and interacting with a medical bot. Denton's body contains a set number of augmentation slots. Each slot may only hold a single canister—containing 2 pre-determined augmentations—and only one of the augmentations can be activated at a time, forcing the player to decide between the two bonuses.
The augmentation slots are as follows:
At the start of each game, the player is allotted a set number of points to be spent on various skills. By completing mission objectives (including sub-goals or specific game actions) as well as through exploration, the player gains additional skill points to spend later.
Every skill has 4 levels of progression: Untrained, Trained, Advanced, and Master. The trainable skills are as follows:
| Weapon / Icon / Inventory space | Description / Stats / Possible upgrades |
|---|---|
Flamethrower
Weapon type: Heavy Base damage: 3 (fires bursts of 7 units of napalm additional burning damage) Accuracy: 55% ROF: very fast Clip size: 100 Max ammo: 400 Upgrades accepted Range, Reload speed | |
Guided explosive Projectile (GEP) gun
Weapon type: Heavy Base damage: 300 Accuracy: 75% ROF: very slow Clip size: 1 Max ammo: 20 HE rockets are effective against anything destructible. It has a small splash damage area. WP rockets have a wide splash damage area and sets anything flammable on fire. Upgrades accepted Range, Reload speed Scope | |
Light Antitank Weapon (LAW)
Weapon type: Heavy Base damage: 100 Accuracy: 70% Clip size: Single Use | |
Plasma Rifle
Effective against slow moving targets. Weapon type: Heavy Base damage: 105 (3 projectiles with 35 damage each) Accuracy: 70% ROF: medium Clip size: 12 Max ammo: 84 Upgrades accepted Accuracy, Range, Recoil, Clip, Reload speed Laser sight, Scope | |
Pistol
Weapon type: Pistol Base damage: 14 Accuracy: 65% ROF: medium Clip size: 6 Max ammo: 150 Upgrades accepted Accuracy, Range Recoil, Reload speed, Clip Laser sight, Scope | |
Stealth Pistol
Weapon type: Pistol Base damage: 8 Accuracy: 60% ROF: fast Clip size: 10 Max ammo: 150 Upgrades accepted Accuracy, Range, Reload speed, Clip Laser sight, Scope | |
Mini Crossbow
Weapon type: Pistol Base damage: 25 Accuracy: 60% ROF: medium Clip size: 4 Max ammo: 60 Tranquilizer darts: ( Nonlethal ) Tranquilizes the target slowly and knocks it out.(Does additional poison damage) Darts: Lethal and powerful dart. Flare darts: Useful to light up certain surfaces, otherwise it does damage as a normal dart. Upgrades accepted Range, Reload speed, Accuracy Laser sight Scope Special: (Tranquilizer darts stun enemies instead of killing them) | |
PS 20
Weapon type: Pistol Base damage: 25 Accuracy: 100% Clip size: Single use | |
Assault rifle
Weapon type: Rifle Base damage: 3 (fires bursts of 5 rounds) Accuracy: 65% ROF: very fast Clip size: 30 Max Ammo: 300 7.62 x 51 / 32 20mm HE grenades 7.62 x 51 ammo: Effective against organic targets and some destructible objects. 20 mm HE: Effective against everything with a wide splash damage area. Upgrades accepted Accuracy, Range, Recoil, Clip, Reload speed Laser sight, Silencer | |
Assault shotgun
Weapon type: Rifle Base damage: 20 (5 pellets with 4 damage) Accuracy 60% ROF: fast Clip size: 12 Max Ammo: 96 Both types 00 Buckshot: Effective against organic tissues. Sabot slug: Effective against armored targets. (In the game this is a pellet round that does more damage) Upgrades accepted Clip, Reload, Recoil | |
Sawed Off Shotgun
Weapon type: Rifle Base damage: 25 (5 pellets with 5 damage) Accuracy 70% ROF: slow Clip size: 4 Max ammo: 96 00 Buckshot: Effective against organic tissues. Sabot slug: Effective against armored targets. (In the game this is a pellet round that does more damage) Upgrades acceptedClip, Reload, Recoil | |
Sniper Rifle
Weapon type: Rifle Base damage: 25 Accuracy 75% ROF: slow Clip size: 6 Max ammo: 96 Upgrades accepted Accuracy, Range, Recoil, Clip, Reload speed Laser sight, Silencer | |
Baton
Weapon type: Low Tech Base damage: 7 Accuracy: 50% ROF: fast Special: (Stuns enemies instead of killing them) | |
Riot Prod
Weapon type: Low Tech Base damage: 15 Accuracy: 75% ROF: medium Clip size: 4 Special: (Stuns enemies instead of killing them) | |
Combat knife
Weapon type: Low Tech Base damage: 5 Accuracy: 50% ROF: fast | |
Throwing knives
Weapon type: Low Tech Base damage: 15 Accuracy: 55% ROF: fast Max ammo: 25 | |
Pepper gun
Weapon type: Low Tech Base damage: 0 Accuracy: 65% ROF: very fast Clip size: 100 Max ammo: 400 Special: (Immobilizes enemies and causes minor damage to JC when fired by an enemy) | |
Crowbar
Weapon type: Low Tech Base damage: 6 Accuracy: 50% ROF: medium | |
Sword
Weapon type: Low Tech Base damage: 10 Accuracy: 50% ROF: medium | |
Dragon's tooth sword
Weapon type: Low Tech Base damage: 100 (5x20) Accuracy: 50% ROF medium | |
EMP grenade
Weapon type: Demolition Base damage: 0 Accuracy: 50% ROF: medium Max ammo: 10 | |
Gas grenade
Weapon type: Demolition Base damage: 0 Accuracy : 50% ROF: medium Max ammo: 10 Special: (Immobilizes enemies who are in the gas area and causes damage to JC) | |
LAM (Lightweight Attack Munitions)
Weapon type: Demolition Base damage: 50 Accuracy: 50% ROF: medium Max ammo: 10 | |
Scramble grenade
Weapon type: Demolition Base damage: 0 Accuracy: 50% ROF: medium Max ammo: 10 |
Hazmat suit
Thermoptic Camo
|
Ballistic Armor
|
| Utility |
Rebreather
Fire extinguisher
Creates a cloud to disable enemies similar to pepper spray |
Night Vision Goggles
Flare
Short durability but useful for saving other resources. |
Goggles
Lockpick
|
Multitool
|
| Weapon upgrades |
Accuracy upgrade
Laser sight
Pressing the laser button will toggle its visibility. |
Range upgrade
Scope
Pressing the scope button enables a zoom function. Every weapon has a set zoom power. |
Recoil upgrade
Silencer
|
Reload Speed
|
Clip upgrade
Add 1 ammo in the magazine if the mag is under 20 ammo and adds 10% if the mag =20 or above |
| ===Consumables=== |
Medkit
Zyme vial
Causes vision blur and sway. Can be sold to some dealers to gain money or other useful things. |
Soy Food
Cigarette pack
Removes 10 HP from the torso. |
Soda can
Beer bottle
|
Candy bar
Wine bottle
|
Liquor
|
The player is given 1 head slot, 1 eye slot, 3 torso slots, 1 arm slot, 2 sub-dermal slots, and 1 leg slot in addition to the default augmentations. The player must choose the augmentations they wish to equip in those slots. The available augmentations are listed below:
| Default |
Infolink
IFF
|
The light
|
| Head |
Aggressive Defense System
Spy Drone
|
| Eye |
Targeting
Vision Enhancement
Upgraded: Can see through walls within a certain range, and at great range when fully upgraded . |
| Torso |
Aqualung
Environmental Resistance
|
Regeneration
Energy Shield
|
Power Recirculator
Sythetic Heart
(Cannot be upgraded) |
| Arms |
Combat Strength
Microfibral Muscle
|
| Subdermal |
Ballistic Protection
Cloak
|
EMP Shield
Radar Transparency
|
| Legs |
Speed Enhancement
Run silent
|
The music in Deus Ex was composed by Alexander Brandon (Person) and consists of jazz, techno, and ambient sounds. These tracks are implemented dynamically, much like the iMUSE system developed by LucasArts. Thus the music changes based on what is happening around the player.
Deus Ex Track List:
Deus Ex was well received by critics, who praised it for its interesting story and immersive gameplay, as well as the game's cyberpunk setting. The game scored solid to exceptional reviews from some notable gaming outlets, such as an 8.2 from GameSpot, a 9.4 from IGN, a 5/5 from GamePro, and a 88/100 from GameSpy. Overall the game averaged scores of 90 and 91 as tracked by review aggregate sites Metacritic and Game Rankings. It was nominated for over 40 Game of the Year and Best in Class awards by numerous gaming outlets, including IG'''''N, GameSpot, and PC Gamer, and is arguably one of the most influential CRPG/shooter hybrids in gaming history.
Many reviewers repeatedly mentioned a few negative aspects, such as the underwhelming graphics. The voice acting was also criticized, GamePro's Chris Patterson calling it "truly cheesy."