Big Expectations

Deus Ex. Easily one of the greatest FPS titles ever conceived, developed, and released unto the gaming community. While its graphics were a little sub-par, Ion Storm showed off what the Unreal engine was truly capable of. With an engaging storyline, a level of depth, immersion, and interaction seen very rarely in games for that era, a beautiful music score, and a huge number of NPCs (both friendly and hostile) to interact with throughout the game, Deus Ex took the FPS market, flipped it upside down, and held its head inside the toilet bowl whilst flushing repeatedly. When news that a sequel was in development hit the presses, I was both ecstatic and somewhat skeptical. The prospect of a sequel was cause for jubilation, but how exactly do you improve upon near perfection? Would the developers be able to design a game capable of living up to the vast expectations created by the original, while still providing a unique and interesting gaming experience? Let's dive into the world of Deus Ex: Invisible War (DXIW) and find out.

The game opens up about twenty years following the events from Deus Ex. Now, the immediate question springing to everyone's mind is," how the ending to the original game is being handled?" To not put too much of a spoiler-iffic point on it, the original game had three possible endings (four with a little console fiddling), each with entirely different consequences for humanity. One obviously couldn't just dismiss all three endings and take a completely different route in an easy fashion, so the only real practical option was to simply assume a certain path was taken and stick with it. In this case, Deus Ex: Invisible War follows up in the wake of a massive economic collapse, following the destruction of Area 51 by J.C. Denton – the augmented super-spy from the original game, controlled by the player. Humanity is struggling to rebuild in the wake of the disaster that resulted in the loss of global communication, resulting in the rise and fall of many different factions and corporations. Caught in the middle of this mess is Alex D, member of an elite training program for nano-augmented antiterrorist agents, located in Chicago. In the tense opening intro movie, Alex and the other trainees are being evacuated from the training facility after a surprise terrorist attack devastates the facility, as well as most of Chicago itself ("nanite detonators", as they're called, have a nasty habit of making everything fall apart). After being rudely awakened and transferred to Seattle in a hurry, Alex ends up caught in another attack. But, as always, there's more to the conflict than meets the eye and Alex will have to make some hard decisions before venturing forth into the desolated world.


Be Your Own Super Spy

Getting started in the game, I immediately noticed both extreme similarities and extreme differences from the original Deus Ex. The intro cutscene is now a full (beautifully) pre-rendered dealie, as opposed to being engine-powered. Following this movie, the player is given the opportunity to personalize his character by selecting from 6 different appearance types (two genders and three skin tones – that's right, Alex D can be a male or female this time around), a HUD color scheme, and, finally, an option of four difficulty levels. That's all there is to it. Gone is the involved creation process from the original game determining the player's initial skill investment, due to the different approach taken in DXIW for character development. No longer is the player's ability to shoot a pistol or perform a heart bypass with household implements determined by how many points have been sunk into those relevant abilities (points which were gained through exploration and certain events in Deus Ex) – those skills are all determined by the capabilities of the actual player now. If you miss with that sniper rifle, it's going to be because you're a drunken homeless guy who couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with a nuclear warhead, not because your shot randomly flew off the crosshairs because your skill level was so low and you didn't take the extra time to aim carefully.

Instead, Deus Ex: Invisible War focuses on both inventory and "bio-mods" for character customization. As fans of the original may recall, one of the neat gimmicks of Deus Ex were the variety of augmentations available to the player. As he progressed through the game, the player was given access to more and more augmentation canisters, which could be installed at a medical bot to give him new functionality. Separate "upgrade" canisters could be used at any time to enhance pre-installed augmentations in a variety of ways. DXIW has modified the concept extensively for the new age by combining the functionality of standard augmentation and upgrade canisters into one package, and removing the need for medical bots to install them. "Bio-mods" are simple to apply – just pick up a standard canister, open up the augmentation screen, select a relevant slot for installation (there are six, one for each part of the body, with each unlocking different functionality), and apply the upgrade. DXIW carries on the same tradition of its predecessor by requiring the player to make permanent choices about his upgrade path – if you apply the vision enhancement augmentation to your eye slot, for example, you won't be able to give yourself the regeneration bio-mod down the road because the slot it installs to would already be occupied. Gone are the standardized "X augmentation canister installs to X slot, but not Y" days – bio-mod canisters are universal, and can be installed to any slot, not just the ones they're built for. As I said, the upgrade and standard functionality have now also been combined; forcing players to either make the choice of upgrading an existing augmentation with their flashy new bio-mod canister, or using it to add a new augmentation. This is a surprising change on the old system that actually works very well in practice.

One final thing I should mention is the topic of "black market" bio-mods, which are a little more rare and harder to find than the standard issue canisters, but provide different, more aggressive functionality. The man in black standing behind me has asked me to remove the mention of a few examples – sorry – you'll have to wait for the final review. Black market bio-mods definitely add a neat twist to the standard array of augmentation possibilities, and put another question forward when determining where to progress – upgrade now, or hold out for a black-market canister to get different functionality? Only you can decide.


Inventory is another personalization tool I mentioned above. The player gets 12 inventory slots, and no more. Sounds like a lot, until considerations for medical kits, energy cells (for recharging the bio-energy augmentations rely upon), grenades, assorted weapons, and other implements are taken into effect. Being the pack mule I am, my inventory was maxed out almost as soon as I stepped out of the Tarsus training facility – and I hadn't even found my first shotgun! The "jigsaw puzzle" inventory management system from the original game is now gone, so no spending 15 minutes shuffling things around just so one more item can be crammed into your overflowing pockets. 12 items are the most you can hold, with the exception of "stackables", such as fire extinguishers, grenades, food (all food stacks together, regardless of if its soda or a pack of noodles), and other items. Given how limited inventory space can become, the player is almost forced to make as hard decisions at times as he is with the bio-mod system.

Despite having barely played very far into the game, I commonly found myself grappling with the decision of dropping my stunning prod in favor of an SMG, or swapping my precious collection of fire extinguishers (hey, they have their uses!) for an EMP grenade. Between the vast combination of bio-mods and inventory items available, almost any kind of player will find a satisfactory configuration to suit his or her style, be it a gun-toting psychopath who runs around shooting everything in the head with an SMG burst, or a futuristic ninja who sneaks up behind his opponents, zaps them unconscious with the riot prod, and then assembles their flopping bodies into a big pile so they can be lit ablaze through careful deployment of a flamethrower. Not that I've tested this concept first-hand or anything, of course. *Ahem*

There's even more to the inventory aspect than just shuffling around items, however. Certain weapons have installable slots for modifications. These can range from simple damage/range upgrades and silencers to elaborate changes that give the weapon a small EMP effect or the ability to "quietly" destroy a glass window without triggering any alarms they may be connected to – always useful for the casual break-n-enter. While I haven't gotten far enough to explore these modifications in-depth yet, it appears that there are a maximum of two modifications available per weapon, uninstallable once loaded, of course. Quite the change from the original game where it was possible to create an uber-pistol with a laser sight, scope, silencer, and enough modifications for it to have absolutely no recoil, the range of a sniper rifle, and enough accuracy to plant a headshot from fifty feet away while running.

One final subject I want to touch on in relation to inventory is probably one of the most noticeable differences from DXIW's predecessor of all – unified ammo. Every ammo type has now been condensed into a single unit. No matter what kind of clip is picked up (I've actually only encountered one kind to date), every little scrap of ammo retrieved ends up going into a single centralized source, which each and every weapon in the game draws from, including even the lowly riot prod. This is definitely a most curious and even controversial change (some accuse this of being one of Ion's "dumbing down" decisions) that has both its ups and downs. While it does mean that everyone's going to have about an equal chance ammo-wise no matter what their approach to a situation is, it also means that it can be really easy to unexpectedly run out of ammo because you favored an automatic weapon in one situation and didn't have enough built up in reserve to deploy something more casual later on. This change has also abolished the entire concept of "reloading", and I found that my automatic weapons actually had a bottomless clip, allowing me to just run around leaning on the trigger until the ammo counter dropped to zero with no stops whatsoever. This is definitely something I consider a massive change to the gameplay, and I'm going to have to log more time before I can fully grasp the impact it has.


Making A Difference – In More Ways Than One

Immersion. One of the biggest key factors to Deus Ex, and something considered critical for success in the sequel. With the sheer amount of detail put into the back-story (even through literature, news reports, hackable computers, etc), it was really easy to get swept away by the story and think you were playing an actual part in how the game unfolded (and to some extent you were, since it was possible on many occasions to change how events played out by differing your approach to a situation). From what I've seen so far, I'm proud to report that Deus Ex: Invisible War manages to live up to expectations thus far.

Updates on the global situation can be found in nearly every nook and cranny of the game world, ranging from news terminals to interface with, books and data-cubes left lying around, and even NPC conversations. Indeed, there are many places to get a glimpse at what's going on behind the scenes, and the attention to detail is definitely still there. The game itself is very open-ended as well, not only due to the multitude of possibilities for approaching a single tactical situation, but because of the multi-faction system that is in place.

The world of DXIW is filled with a variety of different groups and corporations that all want to step on each other's toes to be on top, and it's up to the player to determine which one is best to benefit from his services. For a limited time, it's possible to play it both ways and help out either group for nice cash bonuses (never mind the insane assortment of side quests that are available), but eventually the player will reach a point where his actions will permanently alienate himself from an opposing group, closing that particular door permanently. With so many different possibilities available in the game, the immersion factor shoots through the roof once it is realized exactly how non-linear the approach to a linear situation can be. Truly some great magic at work and it's this sort of thing that ensures Deus Ex: Invisible War will be a winner.

Fancy New Looks

Another big aspect to Deus Ex: Invisible War is the game engine. Based on a heavily modified version of the latest Unreal tech, DXIW presents a graphical experience that impressed the hell out of me right from the get-go. The presentation of the game world is lush with advanced shader and lighting effects, and the shadows absolutely must be seen to be believed. The first time I opened a door and saw the shadows gradually shrink away as light spilled into the hallway left me astonished beyond belief. That's right, Deus Ex: Invisible War has managed to pull off fully dynamic lighting and shadows on a level not expected to be seen until the (distant) release of Doom 3.

And thanks to the game's advanced physics systems, it's actually possible to use the entire environment to your advantage. Got a flaming barrel casting light into a room and spoiling your stealth approach? No problem, kick it over and shove it into a corner to leave the room in darkness – just pray nobody hears and comes running. It's even possible to pick up world objects and throw them at people to inflict damage – there's actually an augmentation available that unlocks this capability and allows the player to pick up larger objects with ease. The slummy areas of Seattle quickly learned to fear my broomstick-of-death after the first three bums succumbed to me slinging it at their skulls repeatedly. Granted, the original Deus Ex also featured this functionality to an extent, but now it's all handled by Havok physics modeling, enabling for some truly great hilarity to be witnessed as large, unwieldy objects are flung at each other at a high velocity. The game makes some great use of this tech throughout the levels, and it's great to see the effect of objects interacting with each other in a variety of ways.

NPCs even seem to know how to interact with the environments, as I occasionally witnessed enemies kicking around barrels and boxes that I had thrown into their path during my occasionally desperate attempts to get away. Whether this was due to a physics quirk or an actual conscious AI decision, I'm unsure , but it was neat to see nonetheless.

But let's talk about the graphics a little more. While the lighting and shadows are all very well done, the rest of the game's graphical quality seems to vary wildly. While some of the world geometry looks absolutely stunning, a lot of other aspects felt a little fuzzy and strangely pixilated. I was unsure if this was due to some form of graphical error (the build I played suffers from numerous issues with the latest ATI cards – issues which have since been resolved) or just had something to do with the way the game handled these aspects. In any case, I found the game's varying graphical quality to be a little confusing, and I'm doubtful this is anything that will be changed between now and the game's release date for early December. We all know that the Deus Ex series is about more than just graphics, but I was hoping for a little more somehow. Even the weapon graphics feel a little shoddy – more so than even Deus Ex. This was something I noticed less and less the more I played, but fans can expect to find the erratic detail a little jarring the first time they play.

There was also some weird routine that caused the brightness in a room to be jacked up to a crazy level every time I entered into a two-way dialogue with another NPC, but, again, this was probably just a side effect of the build I was playing.


Conclusion: Excellence

The sheer vastness of Deus Ex: Invisible War left me quivering in my boots and begging for more. Despite the massive design changes the title has undergone since the original shipped a number of years ago (as well as the controversial "dumbing down" of some aspects, which Warren Spector, God amongst gamers insists wasn't done just because the game is coming out for Xbox as well), it still manages to carry the torch of being a beautiful, highly immersive and incredibly addictive game that any fan would be stupid to overlook.

Kids, it's not about the ammo being unified, or the multitool and lockpick being combined into one. It's not about computer hacking being simplified or the inability to manually dial into keypads anymore. It's about being immersed into a beautiful storyline with gameplay that doesn't make you work to carry out the most simple of tasks, and having a variety of characters with their own agendas to interact with. It's about rigging your bet at the Greasel fights by sneaking into an opponent's house and murdering his precious animal to improve your odds. And it's about burying an annoying spider-bot in crates and traffic cones to get it out of your way because your weapons lack enough punch to take it out without blowing through a bunch of ammo. Warren Spector's next baby is coming, and boy is it a doozy.

Deus Ex: Invisible War is expected to ship December 3rd. Expect a more final, opinionated article from yours truly around that time. Until then, be sure to feast your eyes on the sexy screenshots we've whipped up.

Related Links
More Deus Ex: Invisible War Content (game factsheet)
Deus Ex: Invisible War (official site)
Eidos Interactive (publisher)
Ion Storm (developer)