Gaming has hit a bit of a lull recently, in general. With next to no titles worth mentioning being released I’ve found myself replaying older games. Classics, if you will. It is with this in mind that I have decided to start a new weekly feature called, “Krelith’s Klassics.”

Each week I’m going to pick an older game I consider to be worthy of playing today just as much as it was when it was released. I’ll be discussing my opinions on the game in question, and leave you guys and gals – the outstanding SG community members – to discuss it yourselves in the comments.

This week we begin with one of my favourite games of all time, Deus Ex. Reminisce with me, after the jump!

Deus Ex – in my opinion – was the first of its kind. A shooter that integrated RPG gameplay elements flawlessly into a deeply immersive story. It was essentially the defining game of a genre that has since spawned the likes of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, and the awe-inspiring BioShock.

This game got so many things right, which is saying a lot since it really had no predecessor to work from. The weapons are well balanced and are entirely upgradable, and we’re not talking damage/accuracy increase here. Each weapon in the game, be it melee or ranged, is associated with a skill. Using experience points you can upgrade your rifles, or your pistols, explosives skill… whatever you fancy increasing, it’s there. That gives you an increased ability to handle said weapon type. Then there are the weapons themselves, each one capable of being modded. Weapon Mods are available through weapons dealers and through looting bodies and safes, etc. These mods include things such as scopes, silencers, ammo alterations, it gets pretty diverse depending on the weapon type.

Then there’s the part of the game that truly defined the genre, BioMods. BioMods are the plasmids of the Deus Ex universe, except these were Extreme. Why did use a capital letter there? Because they’re That Damn Impressive! That’s why! One BioMod can alter your strength, potentially increasing it to the point of throwing large crates and dealing lethal damage when using melee weapons. Another BM can alter your jump ability to the point that you can clear buildings in a single leap. Another uses the nano-machines inside your body (I mentioned you play a nano-tech super soldier, right?), to remote detonate any explosives that come anywhere near you prior to reaching an area where they can do harm. That’s just a few of the BMs. On one save I created I took out an entire task force whilst moving at super speed, using super strength, wielding an overly impressive sword, and oh yeah, I was invisible. BioMods are fun, and anyone who disagrees is a mongoose.

The story behind Deus Ex is utterly awe-inspiring. It’s quite frankly the best conspiracy-ridden plot ever written into a video game. At the beginning of the game you are JC Denton, the second person ever to receive nano-augmentation. You work for the United Nations Anti-Terrorist Organisation (U.N.A.T.C.O.), as does your brother Paul. Paul was the first test subject to receive the nano-augmentations, but yours are the more refined, enhanced models (that’s the perk of going second). Liberty Island has been captured by a terrorist group known as the NSF, and you’ve been sent in – with minimal backup of course – to show the big dawgs what their new investment is capable of. I won’t go further into the story arcs, so as to prevent any spoilers for anyone who missed this game (although I truly don’t know how you could have!), but it does take you around the world, to many different environments, involving a lot of factions and a crap load of plot twists.

The graphics are obviously the one part of this game that doesn’t hold up. In fairness to it though, it IS 9 years old now. But in 2000, this game presented RPG elements in a shooter, it allowed the player to hack security consoles and pick locks, it had multiple entry points in virtually every room and it allowed the player an almost unlimited number of different ways to play through the campaign. Multiple endings were new at this point in time as well. None of these gameplay elements are new to players of BioShock, of course, but this game pretty much single-handedly paved the way for BioShock’s creation, as well as many other similar games.

I implore anyone out there who has somehow missed this game over the years, put aside your expectations for a certain graphical standard and give this game a chance! It is available on PS2 and PC, and the sequel – Deus Ex: Invisible War – is available on PC and the original Xbox. I suggest you look into the PC version, however, since Steam offers both games for £5.99 each (UK price). That’s one hell of a deal for a game that lives on timelessly in the hearts of a great many gamers all over the world. And with Deus Ex 3 currently in development, this would be a good opportunity to catch up on the story, or relive it if you’ve been through it before.

Are you a fan of Deus Ex? Or did you play it back in the day and consider it unworthy of this article? I’d love to hear what this community has to say about it, in the comments.

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