When the original Deus Ex was released on PC in 2000 it was widely acclaimed and won many awards. With a subsequent release on the PS2, console owners were able to experience the dark and twisted world of one mans struggle to fight for what he believed in. Offering gamers a first person experience with RPG undertones and a story as engrossing as any movie or book a sequel has been highly anticipated. What seperated Deus Ex from other games was the sheer amount of options available to the player to accomplish goals. Deus Ex has returned in the form of Deus Ex:Invisible War and follows on from the story of the first game, albiet years into the future.

The Player takes on the role of Alex D (either male or female) a highly trained fighting machine infused with bio mod technology which grants Alex superhuman abilities. A terrorist attack in Chicago has meant that Alex has escaped to Seattle along with his/her superiors and colleagues.Starting out unarmed and with no bio mods installed Alex is thrust into a world of intrigue deception and misguided loyalties. It is up to the player to decide the fate of Alex and ultimately the World itself. Welcome to Deus Ex:Invisible War.

Gameplay:
Deus Ex:Invisible War is a first person viewed RPG adventure game. Starting the game with little to no information about the events that unfold before you the whole emphasis of the game is based on player decisions. After arriving in Seattle you discover that your base of operations is also under a terrorist attack. Yet now having complete control over your actions its up to the player to decide what is to be believed and what is not. Various people offer you conflicting opinions and thus the decision of who to follow becomes the players own with drastic results depending on who you decide is right or wrong. This approach underlines the whole game experience as you uncover sinister plots and undertake many lengthy side quests. In fact such is the nature of the game you could ignore many sidequests completely and play strictly by the book although this is not always entirely practical and may lead the player into making ignorant decisions.

Alex D is able to find many weapons on his/her travels which although probably vital to most players can actually be ignored completely if you so choose. Weapons range from pistols to melee weapons to the big guns such as rocket launchers, sniper rifles and a whole host of various grenades. Unfortunately combat is not the games strongest point as the enemy AI can be viewed as being a little suspect. However depending on your playing style you may never even notice this and if you do it wont stop your enjoyment of the game.

What makes Alex unique compared to your regular human being is the bio-mod technology which he/she can use. Scattered throughout the Deus Ex world are canisters which enable the player to add these bio mod infusions to various body parts. For example add a blackmarket Bio mod to the head and alex is able to hack various security and computer terminals. Alternatively in the same slot but not at the same time alex could opt for a cloaking device which allows him to remain unseen by humans but not electronic surveillance devices. Each mod can be upgraded to level 3 and the choices the player makes really does have a bearing on the way the game is played. With enough bio mods available throughout the game it is possible to switch from one to another fairly easily depending on the situations you are faced with. Although I am sure many first time players will stick with what they have until they become more familiar with the game.

Another key feature and appeal of Deus Ex is the multiple solutions to problems. Does the player go direct guns a blazing or does the player seek an alternative entrance which may require a bit more exploration? Does the player ask someone for info or find keys to a locked door? Each scenario has many solutions and with the inclusion of which bio-mods have been used means that one persons solution may differ from the next. This is what makes Deus Ex so appealing as it begs for multiple playthroughs just to see what happens if you do something different from the last time.

Graphics:
Deus Ex IW features an excellent graphics engine especially as far as the lighting is concerned. There are some really impressive shadow effects on display that are even on par with those seen in Splinter Cell. With loads of items to interact with you can see that a lot of effort was put into this lighting engine as mundane items such as cups, chairs,bottles etc cast their own realtime shadows.

Interacting with the non essential items is also impressive and can be entertaining to mess around with. Dead bodies can be picked up and thrown great distances as well as crates, barrels and other items actually being effective weapons when thrown.

Sadly Deus Ex:IW seems to have focused a little too much on the eye candy and physics engine to the detriment of the framerate. This at times can drop very low making a very jerky playing experience. This raises questions as to why the developers even allowed the game to be released as it is. Most of you like I did will overlook this glaring fault and get on with enjoying the game for what it is. Where as others will find it horribly annoying and will probably argue that the game is rushed and unacceptable.

Sound:
The sound in Deus Ex:IW is of a reasonable standard. As you traverse the globe you encounter many characters all with something to say. The voice acting is convincing and the ambient sounds are of a high standard. Weapons fire is also quite good as are the explosion sounds from grenades. Although there is one explosion at the begining of the game that will possibly cause all the dogs in the neighbourhood to bark if you are playing through speakers. Ok that maybe an exaggeration but still, it got me barking. Also playing as a male or female will have different responses from people as well which is a nice feature.

Longevity:
Deus Ex:IW is not a very long game and can be completed on the first play through quite quickly. However due to the games nature it begs to be played several times. There are 5 different endings to see and the sheer enjoyment of experimenting with the bio-mods is one that will keep most gamers playing through multiple times. Also the multiple routes to accomplish goals is something that most players will want to explore and therefore offers that well needed longevity. Sadly this is a single player game only, although one cant be sure how a two player splitscreen co-op mode would have worked (if at all).

Round Up:
Deus Ex:IW is an ambitious project and one that gamers have had high expectations. Yes the game is not as in depth as its predecessor yet it still remains a worthy addition to adventure fans and fans of the original games collections. Those who require less brain work may feel a little disappointed, as I mentioned earlier the combat is plentyful yet perhaps badly executed.The frame rate issues also do not help this aspect either. That said for those who do like to add a bit more thought into their gaming will enjoy this game regardless of its faults.

Pros:

• Freeform game play
  
• Biomods
  
• lots of replay
  
• Cool storyline
  
• great lighting effects
  
  

  Cons:
  

  • Poor Framerate
    
  • not as in depth as the original
    
  • Poor AI
    
  • Fairly short