Deus Ex was a highly popular First Person Shooter hybrid for the PC back in 2000; which seems like a lifetime ago now, but I can actually remember people I know making a big fuss about the game. There was even a sequel named Deus Ex: Invisible War which was hardly as well received as the first game. Now Eidos Montreal and Square Enix are bringing the series back, and from what I witnessed at E3 2010 it is going to be a triple A experience.
Everyone at The Koalition has their own theory on what was the Game of E3 2010, I am sure if you ask all the members you will get a majority of different answers. I am proud to say that after attending a behind closed doors appointment to see Deus Ex that it is my Game of E3 without so much as a thought, I say I am proud because I am sure it won’t be the choice of many when choosing their Game of E3 2010.
Deus Ex can be considered a prequel, so if many of you have yet to play a Deus Ex title you do not need to worry yourself over playing catch up. The game will take place in the year 2027 and you take on the role of Adam Jenson, a private specialist hired to carry out the objectives of a bio-tech corporation. In the world of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, people are beginning to attach mechanical augmentations to themselves to enhance combat, this creates an issue of trans-humanism which causes a civil unrest as people swarm the streets in protest. Your character Adam Jenson was augmented himself to save his life, after suffering life threatening injuries. This is where the RPG elements come in, as throughout the game you will be able to upgrade Adam’s various techniques.
Deus Ex in my opinion is very similar to Mass Effect, as character interactions play a huge part in the outcome of the story. During one of the sequences Edios/Square Enix showed us, Adam’s aim was to find a hacker who was involved in an attack on the United States. Upon seeing the game, many of us witnessing the demo were impressed by the visuals, as the game looked very sharp for an early build. Edios/Square emphasized the fact that every character you come across in this game will respond to your actions; for example if you draw out your weapon on an innocent bystander then they will react accordingly, in this demo they put their hands up and looked very frightened. These kinds of character interactions will come into play a lot; as there are multiple ways you can complete an objective, without even having to spill any blood. To try and track down the hacker Adam had to gain entry to a club. What makes this game interesting is the fact that there are multiple ways to solve a problem. Eidos/Square detailed these different options, putting them into categories of stealth, combat, technological know-how, and social interactions. So if you love to engage in combat you could simply beat the living crap out of the Bartender outside and walk right in. In the demo however they opted to engage in a social interaction, finally bribing the guard to get inside.
The next mission we were shown involved a lot of stealth and combat. The combat performs just as you would expect from a first person shooter game, but with a third person view when in cover. The whole view swap reminded me a lot of Rainbow Six, you can see how well you are covered as well as return fire while in cover. All weapons featured in Deus Ex will be customizable, as expected from a shooter RPG. Stealth attacks are also shown from a third person perspective; in the demonstration we saw Adam sneak up behind a guard and shove his blade (attached to his arm) right through the poor bugger’s chest. This take down looked almost like a cut-scene even though it was all in game, the transition between first and third person creates a thrilling experience no matter how you choose to play. The demo ended with a beautiful explosion, and a tough as nails boss making himself apparent.
Deus Ex is a first person shooter experience that prides itself on being all about player choices. With multiple ways to tackle certain problems, and dozens of combat options, this game has much to offer. If you like a challenge you can go through the whole game using stealth, Eidos even told us you can go through it without killing anyone if you are that good. If you don’t believe me when I say this game has triple A written all over it then make sure you give it a try when it releases in early 2011 for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.
