Back in the late 90's there was rush of 3-D First Person Shooter games. It started with the release of the original Quake, hit a crest at Half-Life and has stalled out since then. There are a few nuggets that pop up to occasionally break the monotony, but for the most part the genre is sort of static.
One of the games that did break the mold was Ion Storm's Deus Ex. At first glance, Deus Ex was just a cyber-punk FPS set in the near future, yet it was so much more than that. Deus Ex was the merger of FPS and RPG games. As you play through the game your character, JC Denton, he actually experiences stat growth that enables him to do certain tasks easier - such as pick locks, hack computers or survive in hazardous conditions. You'll gain experience points from completing mission tasks that you can apply to your specific skills. You'll also find bio-mod augmentation canisters that you can use to add useful abilities to JC's repertoire. Things like: move quieter, strength enhancement, weapon resistances, etc. - basically this game's version of better armor and spells. You can also upgrade your weapons with modifications that increase their range, damage, rate of fire, and ammo supply. You can also add laser sights and silencers. Once you start modifying your weapon you start to associate that weapon as being your weapon. You may find other sniper rifles, but this one is your sniper rifle. All of these elements combine to give you the feeling of actually leveling and advancing inside of an FPS environment, something that had not been done before.
Another nifty thing they did with Deus Ex was to give you a semi-open ended way of going through a level. You have options which basically equate to "Blasting your way in", "Sneak in through the back" or "Take over the computer system and turn off the cameras and security druids". Those three summarize the primary ways you can complete the missions. As you go along, you'll dabble a little in each path, but for the most part you're going to grow your character to be the best at one of the paths. This allows for adaptive gameplay that really lets you play how you want to play. This is a nice change from being forced into doing things a certain way.
As you start to explore the world, you're going to be a little disappointed with the visuals of the game. It's not particularly pretty. The textures are drab and tile a lot, and the environments lack a lot of flair. But, that's not the reason you're going to be drawn into the game. You're not playing this game because it looks pretty. However, if you are some one who needs gorgeous visuals for a game experience to be rewarding you maybe disappointed.
The AI is also something that needs some tweaking, although this could also be attributed to the age of the game. When you get into a firefight you'll notice that all the enemies are doing the same thing - bunching up together because they are all doing the same thing. And when you try to shoot at them, you'll notice your gun doesn't exactly shoot where you pointed it. As near as I can figure, they've incorporated your weapon stats as a modifier to the bullet spread. In layman's terms, that means if my gun skill is horrible and I try to shoot from two feet away, there is a good chance that not only will I miss you, I'll end up shooting myself in the process. That's an exaggeration, but it is an annoyance. I want to hit what I shoot at in a FPS game and not have stats come in and modify that. Combat is one of the least fun things you can do in this game. Which is one of the reasons that stealth is so useful.
Deus Ex was never a beautiful game, but it was a one with an involving plot and a unique spin on the FPS genre. I really like the combination of FPS and RPG elements, but for some one looking for a more visceral FPS experience, you may want to look for something a little more action packed. If you are person who loves story in games, you'll love this game. Its got one of the best stories I've ever seen on a PC game. And that's what the key selling point of the game is. It's not really an action FPS, it's a story FPS, and that scares some people off. However, if you get past that, you'll find what really is a modern classic of the genre.
And the TV says to me, "I will eat your children." I look back, and say, "Only if I get to play their games after you're done."
