Deus Ex (2000) - MobyGames (original) (raw)

aka:DX1,Deus Ex: The Conspiracy

Moby ID: 1749

Moby Score

8.2

#1,077 of 25.6K

Critics

89%(79)

Players

(539)

Review Ranking

Collected By

765 players

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Add-on (unofficial)

Special Edition

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

デウスエクス - Japanese spelling
杀出重围 - Simplified Chinese spelling

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185 People (145 developers, 40 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 89% (based on 79 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5(based on 539 ratings with 34 reviews)

Good, very good, but could have been better

The Good
The Plot behind Deus Ex is solid. Stop the Evil COnspiracy from taking over the world, and it does work, the developers have obviously done their conspiracy story research, with a few literary License mistakes, but that cant be helped.

The Graphics are solid, and sound is good too.

The Bad
The Inventory system Sucks, majorly. If I ever encounter the person who thought that up, I will ensure he or she meets a fowl death.

There seems to be little use for money. Bribing guards is out of the question, which is what I would have liked to do, and some Augmentations just seem stupid (okay, why do I need Night vision when I have Torches in my eyes?).

I would have liked some more skills too, but that would require a bigger game.

The Bottom Line
Its very good, but could have been better. You run around NY, HK, Paris, and numerous other areas uncovering plots and counterplots, killing people, blowing stuff up, and its not senseless violence (unlike say, Doom or Quake) which is a major plus.

Seriously, Try this game out, you'll be caught up in it, while winging about the bugs.

Windows · by Chad Henshaw (27) · 2002

A cool cyberpunk shooter.

The Good
Fun fps mixes nanotechnology with more common role playing elements and typical genre cliches. In addition to improving stats, you can augment your character in Syndicate/Shadowrun fashion. Some of these "augs" are hit or miss, but a nice one lets you regenerate and another one lets you leap great distances in a single bound. The story is somewhat branching and events early on in the game affect later outcomes.

The Bad
Unique AI. The game emphasizes stealth elements, but enemies seem to have incredible hearing. I took out one guard with a throwing knife (how much quieter could I be :) ) and had a whole platoon searching for me. Stay still long enough and the enemies lose interest (must be union). Yet I was impressed with the way some enemies regrouped and allies are very useful.

Story. Hope William Gibson and Chris Carter got their royalties. Actually the story is interesting and involving, but becomes far too scripted and linear in the end. The three possible endings are only determined by your character's actions in the last level and -> you are specifically told "if you do this, you will get this ending."

Typical failings: Not only are items stored in crates, but the crates are labeled as medical, equipment, or weapon. Your character has this inability to hoist himself onto crates/ledges, you can only hope that he will eventually be able to jump high enough. At the end of the game I had a shotgun, machine gun, and rocket launcher yet was able to hide in shadows.

The Bottom Line
Great game, hopefully the first start of a great series. Fun gameplay, engaging storyline. Loads of replay value too.

Windows · by Terrence Bosky (5397) · 2001

An impressive approach to debate "real-life" problems using the means of video gaming

The Good
Without adhering to the usual "best game ever"-ravings, it's save to say that "Deus Ex" is indeed one of the most interesting games of the last decade. Its graphics and animations are fairly well done and there's some interesting lighting, sound effects are all right and its music is, to my opinion, very impressive because it doesn't go for the usual "Hollywoody"-classical score but employs a very "mod"-like type of electronic music. I cherish this nod to a specific gaming tradition (oh glorious sound blaster!) instead of always imitating the way "they do it in the movies". Moreover, it's a fitting choice, for "Deus Ex", though using quite an array of movie clichés (from "Mission: Impossible" to "Ghost in the Shell" and "Matrix") is just that: a game, in the best sense of the word. The three most interesting points of "Deus Ex" would have to be gameplay mechanics, gaming philosophy and a reality-based storyline, combined with the intelligent use of effective symbols and motifs.

Gameplay mechanics

"Deus Ex" hardly fits into any specific genre. Though one might argue that it's basically a shooter with RPG-elements (getting experience points for quests, spending them to improve certain talents) and some adventury icing (multiple-choice dialogue), it doesn't really play like a shooter, nor does it play like an RPG or adventure. It merges its different elements so well that it's closer to belonging to an altogether different genre than just being a combination of existing ones, and though it wasn't the first game to do that ("System Shock" comes to mind) it does it extremely well. One feature I especially like is limited inventory space, forcing the player to carry, say, five weapons instead of fifteen. Actually, this could be considered to be an RPG feature as well, for it encourages the player to assume a certain "role", i. e. a certain style of playing the game, since one has to select the type of items/weapons one is going to carry according to a preferred way of getting around problems (like sneaking, paralyzing, sniping, plain killing or completely devastating your enemies). Still, change is always possible, though it will most certainly make the game harder since the amount of experience one can get to increase stats is limited.

Gaming philosophy

According to game producer Warren Spector, "Deus Ex" tries to strike a balance between linearity and non-linearity. It's story follows a more or less linear trail of events (ignoring that big choice at the end) but its individual, hub-based levels offer players maximum freedom of choice in getting around any obstacles. Due to that, "Deus Ex" feels fresh and quite "real" most of the time, for one always has to think about which is the best way for your individual character to "get the job done", and that's more or less the way real life works. Just compare it to the set clarity of approaches in, for instance, "Doom" (you shoot), "Thief" (you sneak), "Gabriel Knight" (you talk) or "Monkey Island" (you use the rubber chicken) - in "Deus Ex" all these approaches are basically possible. Well, three of them are.

Moreover, "Deus Ex" takes the player seriously enough to make him/her deal with moral choices, and though these may not always hit the mark, some really interesting dilemmas remain to be solved - and the wonderful ending is just one of them. Also, it's just nice to play a game which at least has a go at confronting the player with the outcome of his/her choices and actions. If one thinks further along that line, the creation of a FPS which could actually make a problem out of the use of violence, while still remaining violent itself, could become a reality (something like a real "anti-war" game, for instance).

Reality-based storyline

To me, this is the game's most interesting feature. It's a science-fiction game all right, but it doesn't depict some far-fetched star-world, but a future situated quite close to our present (and becoming ever more so since 9/11). Especially striking about the story of "Deus Ex" is it's mixture between tackling serious political/ethical questions such as the problem of global terrorism or spreading information networks, and wild ramblings on all sorts of conceivable conspiracies. However, these two elements of the story are merged very well and all the fictitious conspiracy stuff is wonderfully used to mirror the "real fears" one may have when looking at the elusive problems of globalization - a process where it is, just as with a conspiracy, hard to pin down who's "pulling the strings" behind all that stuff one hears in the news.

Adding to that, "Deus Ex" is in fact one of the few games which employs meaningful symbolism from start to finish. I mean, this game is all about politics, about democracy vs. autocracy vs. tyranny, about freedom vs. necessary (?) constraints, etc. - and the player's first task is to find his/her way into a decapitated Statue of Liberty (the symbol of democracy if there ever was one)! And "Deus Ex" constantly moves further along this line, elaborating it by certain dialogues, books (quite an amount of world literature lying around in this game), moral choices and, especially, places. One of my favourite ones would, for instance, be occupied Paris, which is consciously used as the main city of "résistance" against a fascist regime - to my opinion, a brilliant use of a heavily "connoted" place (at least in Europe), and in all events remarkable for a video game.

     <br><br>**The Bad**<br>There's a couple of points to mention here, too, though some of the more badly done elements don't bother me too much in "Deus Ex". I can well live with a not-so-hot A.I., although I would have appreciated it being better nevertheless. I can also live with overdone accents, actually, I take that as a symbol of globalization, too (isn't globalization somewhat like "everyone speaks English, but no one's any good at it?"). I also don't mind that there's no freely explorable world, as with "Thief" I think this actually strengthens the game's experience, making the story's flow more focused and keeping it all to the point (which wouldn't be a good thing for every game, but for "Deus Ex" I think it is).

However, I do object to the game's somewhat wavering approach in simulating a "reality". After all, that's one of its strongest points, that's where it's good at. And yet one realizes that the developers must have thought it all a bit too daring and unconventional, so they implemented some "classic" game stuff, too. For instance, there's a whole lot of "secrets" lying around, waiting to be found by the exploratory player. Hey, it's cool to find a battle axe at the bottom of an empty grave in, say, "Ultima Underworld", but the same thing happening in "Deus Ex" is simply inappropriate and encourages a gaming style where the player will try to get to every oh so obscure corner in order to be "rewarded" for his/her sheer persistence in wishing to see every last inch of the game's world. That's very unreal. We don't go about our everyday business looking for health-packs at the bottom of the Mississippi, or for a grenade launcher at the top of the dome of Cologne or whatnot, and neither would a "real" secret agent...or would they? Any secret agents on MobyGames? Anyone?

The Bottom Line
All in all, "Deus Ex" is a brilliant game, and more than that. It has the courage to at least try to be meaningful and succeeds often enough, and that in an industry where you don't get a "Golden Palm" if you miss out at the "Oscars". The only lamentation one could bring forth is simply that it could have still been better. However, think about it: could a medium to large budget game, made in 2001 by financially already waning brand "Ion Storm", really have been any more daring? In fact, let's hope for our future that "Deus Ex" won't get any more relevant to real life than it is now.

Windows · by worldwideweird (29) · 2007

[ View all 34 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject	By	Date
Genres	Cantillon (84588)	May 7, 2021
20th anniversary	Patrick Bregger (305657)	Jun 22, 2020
First original US box design?	sndwv	Aug 28, 2016
Did you know?	Donatello (466)	Jun 23, 2013
Happy birthday!	Patrick Bregger (305657)	Jun 24, 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), there is 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.

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. 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 protagonists 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.

Sales

The game was sold in just over 1 million copies by 2009.

Special edition

The "special edition" that was sold for $9.99 in bargain bins at Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, etc. was a one-level demo being passed off as a full retail version. 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 (God from the machine). It was commonly used in Greek and Roman drama as an abrupt resolution to the plot.

Twin Towers

When going to the Liberty Island, the player can see the New York skyline, but the Twin Towers are missing. According to Warren Spector's Reddit AMA in 2015, they were merely omitted in error. Until that statement, there were fan theories on why this was the case, especially after the real world terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, over a year after the game's release.

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 byAdam Baratz,Alan Chan,Dr. M. "Schadenfreude" Von Katze,emanjonez,Entorphane,Jason Musgrave,jeremy strope,MasterMegid,PCGamer77,Ryan Prendiville,Scott Monster,Stephen Atkinz;Tomer Gabel andWildKard

Analytics

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.

Identifiers +

MobyGames ID: 1749 [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

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Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

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, Zeikman, Patrick Bregger, Plok, FatherJack, Zhuzha.

Game added June 25, 2000. Last modified September 5, 2024.

Deus Ex (2000) - MobyGames (original) (raw)

Description official descriptions

Spellings

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Videos

Credits (Windows version)

Reviews

Critics

Players

Discussion

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Alex Denton

Books

Cancelled Linux version

Non-lethal

References

Sales

Special edition

Title

Twin Towers

Voice acting

Awards

Analytics

Related Sites +

Identifiers +

Contribute

Contributors to this Entry