Deus
Ex: The Invisible War, the sequel to the excellent Deus Ex, is shaping up to be
released in the coming weeks. GameZone recently got a chance to sit down with a
preview and, from what I saw, fans of the original and newcomers alike should
have plenty to salivate over.
Those
who missed the first Deus Ex (an excellent game, yet not one that gained as much
fame as it should have) missed out on an exciting FPS/RPG with deep role-playing
elements and a fantastically weaving epic sci-fi story. The sequel hopes to
repeat that with a deep storyline filled with tons of turns and twists that will
keep you in suspense until the very end.
The
game’s story begins shortly after the destruction of Chicago. Your character,
Alex D. (either a man or woman, depending on your choice), is a trainee for
Taurus Academy and just happens to have been from Chicago. Your character has
nano-augmentations similar to the ones introduced in the first game. After
that, the story details are on the down-low, but gamers can expect a rich and
intertwining journey much like that of the first game.
Although it’s an FPS, the gun fighting transcends standard “shoot anything that
moves” action. The gameplay in Deus Ex: Invisible War is extremely deep and
non-linear; you can solve any problem or situation by using any variety of
means. Violence and gunfire, while certainly a possible solution, is not the
only means for getting through a situation. You have a good many non-weapon
items to help you solve problems through non-violence, like multitools, which
allow you to bypass electrical locks or hack a subsystem. You can interact with
NPCs you meet, get offered side-quests for extra credits, and you can interact
with basically everything that isn’t bolted down, like grabbing chairs and
chucking them across the room.
Your
character makes use of biomods, internal augmentations in his/her body that
allow them to have certain special abilities throughout the game. A few
examples are increased leg power for running and jumping, stealth abilities that
render you near invisible and night vision are all abilities to be gained
through picking up biomods. These mods and how you use them will greatly affect
your gameplay experience and how you approach situations within the game.
The
graphics in Deus Ex: Invisible War are pretty incredible, sure to drop a lot of
jaws. The overall mood is very dark and urban, kind of like Bladerunner or any
number of moody futuristic sci-fi films. The lighting effects are nothing short
of amazing, the use of shadow and bump mapping makes the environmental textures
stand out fantastically. The player models also look great, showcasing an awful
lot of detail. Overall, the graphical style was very dark and desolate, perfect
for this game’s atmosphere.
The
sound effects are excellent as well. Although most were crisp, some of the
voices sounded tinny and compressed, something that could be cleaned up before
the game goes gold. The music has a nice ambient techno quality, setting the
mood nicely.
Deus
Ex: Invisible War builds on the great gameplay formula of its predecessor with a
new storyline and setting and jaw-dropping graphics, making it possibly the
biggest title at the end of the year.
Look
for it in early December.
