Deus Ex
Description official descriptions
Some time during the 2050's, the world is a dangerous place as terrorists, drug czars, and outlaw states rule, using violence and subterfuge as tools in their push for global conquest. A deadly virus dubbed "gray death" is running rampant throughout the world and the only known cure is a chemical known as "Ambrosia" manufactured by the VersaLife corporation. However Ambrosia supplies are scarce and world governments, particularly the United States, carefully monitor and control who receives this cure. As protest against these events, French terrorist organization "Silhouette" bombs the historic symbol of friendship between French and American people, The Statue of Liberty. In response to this attack, the United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition (UNATCO) organization is formed. Building a headquarters underground at Liberty Island, its mission is to attack terrorism and maintain peace around the world. JC Denton is a nano-enhanced agent who has been primed for UNATCO service. While JC's brother Paul is already an active agent, JC is beginning his first day of service when the National Secessionist Forces (NSF) suddenly raid a supply of Ambrosia at UNATCO headquarters.
Deus Ex is a dark cyberpunk game that combines gameplay styles of first-person shooter and RPG, with elements of stealth and puzzle-solving. The player assumes the role of JC Denton, UNATCO anti-terrorist agent. Pitted against an elaborate global conspiracy, he must interact with characters, pick up weapons and complete objectives. While JC is essentially fixed within the mission-framework of the game, he can be customized in areas such as weapons, technical skills and physical prowess. Completing objectives rewards the player with skill points, which may be distributed to increase JC's proficiencies in eleven different disciplines. The player can choose to increase the damage JC inflicts with various types of weapons, improve his lock-picking or computer hacking abilities, etc. Each such discipline has four levels of proficiency.
Another way of customizing JC is applying nano-augmentations to his body. These cybernetic implants bestow the hero with super-human abilities, and can be installed on different body parts, up to nine at the same time. Along with combat-related benefits, nano-augmentations also grant JC abilities that can be used to overcome certain obstacles within the game world. Examples of those are jumping to extreme heights, swimming, lifting heavy objects, etc. Weapons can be customized as well: their range, accuracy, and magazine sizes can be increased, and they can be enhanced by attaching scopes, silencers, or laser sights to them.
The game leads JC to various places all around the globe. The cities he visits, as well as most mission areas, are expansive and fairly open to accommodate different approaches to solving the same problems, depending on the player's preferred style of play. Most of the missions can be tackled in various ways, e.g. with brute force, stealth, or extensive usage of lock-picking and computer hacking abilities. At certain points, the course of the storyline can also be influenced by the decisions made by the player. Similarly to System Shock games, the environment is largely interactive, the player being able to pick up, use, and discard various types of objects.
Spellings
- 杀出重围 - Simplified Chinese spelling
Groups +
- 3D Engine: Unreal Engine 1
- Deus Ex series
- Eidos Premier Collection releases
- Gameplay feature: Body dragging
- Gameplay feature: Character development - Skill distribution
- Gameplay feature: Drowning
- Gameplay feature: Grid Inventory
- Gameplay feature: Multiple endings
- Gameplay feature: Radiation / radioactive poisoning
- Games with 451
- Protagonist: Cyborg
- Setting: 2050s
- Setting: City - Hong Kong
- Setting: City - New York
- Setting: City - Paris
- Setting: Country - France
- Setting: Ship / Boat
- Software Pyramide releases
- Theme: Hacking / Pseudohacking
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Credits (Windows version)
184 People (144 developers, 40 thanks) · View all
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| In-Game Text and Intro/Endgame Cinematics | |
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| [ full credits ] | |
Reviews
Critics
Average score: 89% (based on 78 ratings)
Players
Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 527 ratings with 34 reviews)
The Good
This is simply my favourite game of all time. It's hard to find anything wrong with it, I have never finished any other game more than once - I've played Deus Ex through three times, last time about six months ago. Sure the graphics are getting a little outdated, but they still work and there are still very few games with such a good script.
What I particularly like is the way you can play this game in a multitude of ways and usually there are several ways of completing something. You can almost completely avoid combat, for instance, if you want. The skills and augmentations you select can also make a very different gaming experience. But the most important thing is still the atmosphere and feel of immersion (of being there). In these ares, Deus Ex is unparalleled to other games.
The level design is probably the best one I have come across in any 3D game. This game has several of my all time favourite levels such as Hell's Kitchen, Hong Kong and Paris.
The Bad
There are maybe two or three levels that could be a tad better - during the third time through I was a bit bored by them! Enemy AI is of standard FPS level, i.e. it's quite easy to confuse it.
The Bottom Line
Superb level design combined with a good story and gameplay and an unrivalled atmosphere makes this more of an experience than just a game.
Windows · by Marko Poutiainen (1151) · 2005
A fine example of a first person RPG
The Good
I liked the storyline of corruption and conspiracy and the ability of the player to interact with the environment. The skill-building element backed up the strategic FPS element well, and allowed more variation in each game. I found it helpful that there were several different ways to approach any given situation/mission.
The Bad
I thought the ending(s) were a bit disappointing because they don't really tell you what happened, but just hint at it. Also the AI was slightly weird, such as if you set off an alarm, no back-up troops enter the room. I would expect that an alarm would be heard throughout a complex. A lot of the scenes were dark and I found it hard to see with any screen glare, but it did add to the mood. Last thing...I have never before played a game with such long loading times...maybe it's just me.
The Bottom Line
This game is for anyone who likes FPS with a strategic element, such as a bloodier Rainbow Six. Be warned, this is and RPG, so if you can't stand them, stay away. I recommend this game to anybody who's interested, but make sure you play in a dark room with good speakers.
Windows · by bake84 (32) · 2000
The power of this game is in the storyline
The Good
I loved the different locations. Hong Kong was my favorite. I liked the music for the most part. It looked nice, consistent. It was a very fluorescent game. It was cool how you could hack your way through, sneak your way through, or just blast your way through, depending on your mood. You get to blow stuff up! A lot of stuff! The Vandenberg showdown is the single coolest moment in the game, where you hijack a couple of big bots, who start blasting the bad bots, and they're shooting each other for about five minutes. That was at Vandenberg, right?
The best thing about the game was the storyline. The story and dialogue, for a video game, were rich and interesting, and the continuity was nice. You meet interesting people with personality. You travel around the world, learning the truth of conspiracies. I'm kind of a conspiracy fan, so I ate it all right up.
The Bad
There are some nit-picky items that bothered me. The characters acted spazzy and ran around all crazy. It was somehow unsatisfying to fight with standard guns, at least until your skill improved. The ability to blow stuff up with GEP guns and HE20mm and LAMs compensated for this in a big way.
The Bottom Line
This is just fun. It's kind of an intelligent game, so it may turn you off if you're not down with all that fancy book-learning. If you're looking for a game where you just kill your way to the end (and who isn't?), play Half-life. If you're willing to immerse yourself in an interesting story and read a lot of e-mails and such, You'll be rewarded.
Windows · by Thohan (17) · 2004
Discussion
| Subject | By | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Genres | Cantillon (73763) | May 7th, 2021 |
| 20th anniversary | Patrick Bregger (295210) | Jun 22nd, 2020 |
| First original US box design? | sndwv | Aug 28th, 2016 |
| Did you know? | Donatello (466) | Jun 23rd, 2013 |
| Happy birthday! | Patrick Bregger (295210) | Jun 24th, 2010 |
Trivia
1001 Video Games
The PC version of Deus Ex appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.
Alex Denton
Somewhere in Area 51 (the last stage of the game) you can see a number of containers with clones in suspension. One of them is called Alex Denton. Alex Denton is the lead character to the successor Deus Ex: Invisible War.
Books
Ever wonder about the books found in Deus Ex? The Man Who was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton is a real book written in 1901, and takes place in a fantasy version of Victorian England, in which anarchists take names of days of the week it has some similarities to Deus Ex. G.K. Chesterton also wrote a book about St. Thomas Aquinas whom is referenced several time in Deus Ex.
One of the many books you can read in Deus Ex is the beginning of The Eye of Argon by Jim Theis. This is a real book, considered by many to be the worst fantasy book ever written. Information about the book and the full text can be found online.
Cancelled Linux version
The Linux version of Deus Ex was supposed to be ported by Loki Entertainment Software. Unfortunately, they went bankrupt back in 2001. Although their company website still exists, it (obviously) hasn't been updated. The status of Deus Ex in the website is "coming soon". Not likely.
Non-lethal
Due to the array of non-lethal weapon and the numerous stealth options, it is quite possible to finish the game having only killed three people. That's a pretty non-violent option for a first person shooter! With the explotation of glitches, the number can be dropped to one.
References
- There's a register in the hotel at the Hell's Kitchen location... click on it and you will see that the last name is Hyppolita Hall... a character from the Sandman comic books.
- One of the computer passwords used in the game, "reindeerflotilla", is actually a reference to the 1982 movie Tron, where it was used by Flynn to hack into the computer network and challenge the MCP (the time when he's actually inside the Encom building).
- The helicopter pilot Jock with which J.C. Denton allies himself in the game is possibly a reference to the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. In the opening scenes of that movie, Indiana Jones makes a getaway in a biplane, flown by a pilot also named Jock.
- Main voices of JC Denton and Agent Navarre are eerily similar to the protaganists of Nocture... as well as their general appearances.
- A couple of tidbits. JC Denton was supposed to have a famous ancestor with the Initials J.C. If you look at the game logo, you see a very stylized J and C rotating around a tiny sphere.
- Castle Clinton, as well as the Statue of Liberty, are real buildings represented in the game as playable maps.
- In the hotel, in NYC, check the guest register. One entry is, Gabriel Syme, from London, England. Syme was the title character in the novel, The Man Who Was Thursday.
Special edition
Beware the "special edition" that's being sold for $9.99 in bargain bins at Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, etc. This is a one-level demo being passed off as a full retail version. Unlike other legitimate bargain bin software, the Deus Ex being sold in the bargain bin section is only a demo and not the full game.
Eidos has a nasty habit of releasing game demos disguised as full retail versions and pedalling them in bargain bin software racks (they've done this previously with Tomb Raider). Nowhere on the packaging is it mentioned the "special edition" is a demo and not the full retail version of the game.
Title
The title "Deus Ex" comes from the latin term deus ex machina. It means- 1. A god introduced by means of a crane in ancient Greek and Roman drama to decide the final outcome. 2. A person or thing (as in fiction or drama) that appears or is introduced suddenly and unexpectedly and provides a solution to an apparently insoluble difficulty.
Twin Towers
If you run around Liberty Island, you can see the New York skyline. The Twin Towers are missing because allegedly, they were destroyed by terrorists. This was a design decision for a game released before September 11, 2001.
Voice acting
Lots of Ion Storm employees were used as voice actors. Tom Hall plays the villain in the game; Jay Franke, a QA tester, played the protagonist. He used to be on the TV sitcom California Dreams.
Awards
- GameSpy
- 2000 – Game of the Year
- 2001 – #18 Top Game of All Time
- 2011 – #3 Top PC Game of the 2000s
- PC Gamer
- 2000 - Game of the Year
- October 2001 - #10 in the "Top 50 Games of All Time" list
- April 2005 - #27 in the "50 Best Games of All Time" list
Information also contributed by Adam Baratz, Alan Chan, Dr. M. "Schadenfreude" Von Katze, emanjonez, Entorphane, Jason Musgrave, jeremy strope, MasterMegid, PCGamer77, Ryan Prendiville, Scott Monster, Stephen Atkinz; Tomer Gabel and WildKard
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Related Sites +
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Deus Ex HDTP (High Definition Texture Project)
Deus Ex lives and will soon look cooler than ever in hi-res! -
Deus Ex Incarnate
Check up on Deus Ex news, walkthroughs, and tips on this site. -
Deus Ex Machina
See Deus Ex articles, interviews, polls, and screenshots at this site. -
Deus Ex Post-Mortem (1/2)
Warren Spector and Harvey Smith speak about the development process of Deus Ex (Youtube, part 1/2) -
Deus Ex Post-Mortem (2/2)
Warren Spector and Harvey Smith speak about the development process of Deus Ex (Youtube, part 2/2) -
Postmortem: Ion Storm's Deus Ex
Gamasutra article by Warren Spector about the development process of Deus Ex -
Something Awful review
A humorous review on Something Awful (PC version) -
The Making Of: Deus Ex
A retrospective of Deus Ex at EDGE Online, provided by Warren Spector, which covers the game's development and struggles (September 11th, 2009). -
The Nameless Mod
A total conversion which features the main gameplay advantages of Deus Ex with a completely new plot. Also includes full voice acting and two mostly separate story branches. -
Wikipedia: Deus Ex
Information about Deus Ex at Wikipedia
Identifiers +
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by rstevenson.
PlayStation 3 added by GTramp. Macintosh added by Kabushi. PlayStation 2 added by NeoMoose.
Additional contributors: MAT, Adam Baratz, Unicorn Lynx, Shoddyan, Zeppin, DreinIX, Zeikman, Patrick Bregger, FatherJack.
Game added June 25th, 2000. Last modified January 11th, 2024.