So it turns out I actually found my copy of Deus Ex 2: Invisible War (see my Jedi Academy classic game review if you don’t get where this remark is coming from), and being completely willing to court controversy I’m going to take a look at it and see how it appeals to the modern gamer, as well as how it compares to its daddy.
Let’s get something out of the way first; Deus Ex 2: Invisible War is a great game…but no, it is not as good as the original Deus Ex. Ok, so maybe I won’t actually be courting any controversy with that comment, especially considering that the majority of fans and critics alike seem to agree with me in this regard.
Invisible War takes place twenty years after the events of the Evil Wombat’s Official Greatest Game of All Time (Deus Ex, keep up people!), and things have gotten rather post-apocalyptic. Due to the wonderful storytelling tool that is ‘retconning’, all three of Deus Ex’s possible endings occurred simultaneously, and the world is now up the proverbial creek as a result; nations have collapsed, disease is running rampant, various shadowy and nefarious organisations are being all shadowy and/or nefarious, and JC Denton (the protagonist and hero of the original game) is nowhere to be found.
The player steps into the unisex shoes of Alex D (gender can be chosen this time around), a student at the Tarsus Academy for gifted youngste…err, potential secret agents for hire. Soon enough the academy – oh, and the entire city of Chicago – is levelled by terrorists, and the player is thrust into a world of shady conspiracies and difficult questions of morality.
Deus Ex 2’s storyline and setting are pretty interesting, and the fact that the concepts of good and evil are left entirely up to the player to decide (unlike the original game, which had distinct “good guys” and “bad guys”, albeit not in the traditional sense) is very different to most games; none of the potential organisations that can be joined are remotely angels, but none of them are evil in the traditional sense either. This moral ambiguity is perhaps the most important single feature of the game, and is one that is pretty much timeless in terms of storytelling and gameplay due to just how thoroughly it is executed.
Timeless, however, does not necessarily mean awesome. While unravelling the real motives behind the various factions is definitely enthralling, the lack of any real moral compass prevents the story from being as emotionally satisfying as that of the original Deus Ex. The factions themselves are also a little clichéd; Greedy mega-corporation? Check; anti-technology religious nuts? Present and accounted for; genetically modified people that are no longer really human? They’re in there too. It’s a shame that, after the (relatively) original storyline of the original game, the developers felt the need to fall back on more traditional sci-fi concepts for the sequel; even worse, this rather more traditional sci-fi story also clocks in at being significantly shorter in length when compared to the original game.
Gameplay has been significantly “dumbed down” (I prefer “streamlined”) for Deus Ex 2, but this is not really that bad a thing; in fact the elegance of the new bio-mod interface (which is now the sole way to customise character abilities) and the removal of the more traditional RPG points-style interface of the original is a welcome step in making gameplay more seamless. Many fans probably disagree with my feelings on this, but to me the interface of IW is much more in line with more modern FPS hybrids (such as Bioshock), and the streamlining that has occurred places the focus firmly on the plot.
The gunplay, stealth mechanics, and other basic gameplay elements are also much improved from the original, and feel a great deal more realistic when compared to the stilted and often jarring combat of its predecessor. The simplification of the tile-based inventory system, as well as the use of a single, universal ammunition, however, has significantly removed much of the tactical consideration from combat; where once the player had to choose whether they would lug around the rocket launcher at the expense of various small arms, now it is possible to carry pretty much every gun in the game at the same time, which has the dual effect of reducing realism and making combat a tad easy.
It’s not all doom and gloom, however. In some good news for the modern day gamer, the once steep system requirements for Invisible War are now easily achievable on even a basic computer, and a quick download of the hi-res texture pack (Google it) will have the game looking surprisingly good for its age.
However, the (once) fancy graphics come with a bit of a price (or more specifically, IW’s simultaneous development on the RAM-limited Xbox); unlike the original, which often had huge, open, and sprawling levels, IW will have the dreaded loading times at what appear to be 30 second intervals. There are no buts about it, the areas of Invisible War are miniscule in size, and this really takes away from the sense of scale and freedom that the game needed to completely pull off the potential of its complex setting.
It’s a funny thing reviewing a game like Invisible War, even in a retrospective review like this one. On the one hand, it is the unfortunately inferior sequel to one of the most loved games of all time, and as such it is all too easy to point out flaws and nitpick until even Warren Spector would disown the game; on the other, it is definitely a brilliant game, and is definitely still worth a play despite being over five years old.
With graphics that have stood up well, a surprisingly relevant storyline (conspiracies, globalisation, and terrorists ahoy!), gameplay elements that are at once both simple and deep, and of course a rather superb price point, (I’ve seen it for under fifteen dollars) means that Deus Ex 2: Invisible War is a worthy purchase for those wanting to spend some time in a dark, amoral world, even with the numerous flaws; the fact that Deus Ex 3 is now on the way means that there is really no excuse not to get both games out and give em a good working over.
The Dentons will thank you for it, although the Illuminati might be a little pissed; it depends on which endings you choose really.
How I would have rated it on release: 8/10 (If this wasn’t the sequel to Deus Ex it would have merely been called a brilliant example of a hybrid FPS; as it is, this game is still terrific, albeit with some flaws that detract from the experience.)
How I would rate it now: 7/10 (While it may not look as hot graphically, the game has aged surprisingly well, and the conspiracy-laden storyline is even more relevant in these turbulent times; the tiny areas, aggravating flaws, and frequent load times, however, are even more annoying in this day and age.)
- Tim Sweeney
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