Let's begin...

Welcome to the blog!

The name is matrixman124 and I've put this blog together to try my hand at writing reviews and my opinions, mostly regarding my passions for anime, manga, and video games.

So let's start this off, shall we?

From this blog's title layout, I imagine it's obvious that I'm a fan of Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

While this is true, I want to start this foray into reviews with a slightly less obvious choice:

The original 2000 PC title by Ion Storm, Deus Ex.

I first played Deus Ex a few months before the 2011 release of Human Revolution, hoping to see what the series offered prior to the 3rd installment/series prequel. And for a rather old game, it still impresses!

In a very distant future, JC Denton is an agent of the anti-terrorist organization UNATCO. A nanotech augmented cyborg with capabilities beyond that of the average man, Denton finds himself caught in a worldwide conspiracy which he must overcome to do what he views is right for mankind.

Deus Ex combines elements of sci-fi, FPSs, and RPGs to create a truly unique experience for its time. Most prominently, the game is about choice, not so much with decisions which build toward an appropriate ending vis-a-vis Bioware's games, but more about how the player approaches a situation. The player receives skill points for overcoming situations which they can channel into different specialized skills for their character. They can also obtain nano-augmentations, which allow the player to specialize JC for different types of situations. This allows the player to effectively split the game into different play styles, boosting the title's replay value as the player can spend the first playthrough running-and-gunning, another as a demolitions maniac, and one where the player becomes a silent assassin.

I personally enjoy using stealth and nonlethal takedowns. I've never been a fan of the Thief games and their use of stealth from the First-Person Point-of-View. And yet, I find that stealth suits me better in Deus Ex. There always tends to be an alternate, pacifist route to reaching a goal that requires specialization in some environmental skills or a few types of special grenades, depending on the situation. The fact that those options exist and allow the player to play as a pacifist is amazing.

However, the emphasis on role-playing also causes Deus Ex to shoot itself in the foot. Before the first mission, the player receives some skill points to build the character's initial abilities. However, the game becomes unplayable when JC lacks training for some of the more essential gear for that first level. Thus, the beginning of the game has an extremely steep learning curve, especially when the player has no idea where they are supposed to go. I had to replay it three times until I actually beat it during my nonlethal stealth playthrough. (Maybe I just suck at the game) Fortunately, after overcoming the first level, the gameplay runs much more smoothly afterwards, allowing the player to enjoy the full length of the game. (Which is really, really long)

Despite Deus Ex's more dynamic elements, the developers injected a lot of philosophy regarding the development of technology and its link to human morality via the various texts littered throughout the game. In fact, much of this centers on the title's namesake, the concept of "Deus Ex Machina" or God in the Machine. The dynamic between the older, much more obvious cyborgs and the nano-tech more subtle cyborgs is probably the best touch on the matter, making the gamer question whether man can use technology to transcend divinity.

The music sounds very synthy, so it works in the sci-fi setting though it sounds slightly dated. The voice acting is very subpar, but has unintentionally created some of the most memorable "so bad it's good" lines in video games, especially JC Denton's bizarre responses to various in-game situations.

Deus Ex's graphics are 12-years-old, but they still do a good job conveying a dystopian future. The graphics still  do well to convey the deep contrast between advanced military bases full of advanced cyborgs , and normal people living in the ruins of civilization. All the enemy mooks look the same and the textures are pretty piss-poor, but at least the character models actually move their mouths. I'm still impressed by how Ion Storm went with that option when they could have taken the easy way out and just left them as ventriloquists. 

This week, I replayed the game with the New Vision textures mod so I got to play with some slightly higher graphics. Deus Ex still showed its age and the mod ended up being somewhat like Half-Life: Source; It improved on the graphics of the original, but not by much.

Deus Ex had a huge impact on the gaming world, earning a lot of critical praise. It did a great job combining action-oriented FPSs with RPG elements, while also satisfying cyberpunk fans. The game made me a lot more open to RPGs and undoubtedly pumped me up for its prequel. But, that is for another time...

I'm not a particular believer in the whole number ratings thing, so I'm going to give this game several hilariously bad French accents out of 10.