Deus Ex: Invisible War

[thatmariolover]

One of the best games of all time has a sequal due very soon (for both PC and XBox). Deus Ex 2 promises to be everything the first game was and lots more.

Ion Storm Austin knew they were on to something big with Deus Ex. The RPG action/hybrid was a commercial hit and went on to win a slew of Game of the Year awards. Warren Spector and crew have been slaving away on Deus Ex : Invisible War (AKA DX2) for the better part of almost three years. But since the original game had multiple endings depending on your performance, it will be difficult to find out how the sequel will continue the story. We know that it's set several years after the first game, and we also know you will not be playing J.C. Denton, the hero (or anti-hero) of the original.

For RPG elements, the first game offered "nanobots" that would enhance various combat and movement abilities. The player was free to enhance and mix as they saw fit, using a limited number of slots and points. In DX2, the nanobots are replaced with "biomods" that essentially do the same thing. But now there are more of them to juggle and adjust for your style of play. Taking a queue from System Shock 2, you will also be able to hack security computers, take over robots, and even control your own.

One very cool feature was a spider 'bot that you could deploy and steer through a level (for a limited time) from spider's-eye view. Imagine a level where there are laser detection beams blocking your path. You could shoot out the power system controlling the beams, hack the power system controlling the beams, send out a spider (or other creature) to go under the beams to locate and disable the power source, or just find a different route. Choices like this are around almost every turn in DX2 and it truly accommodates a wide array of playing styles.

Speaking of choices, the game world is full of NPC that will react to you dynamically. The decisions you make with one will affect the responses you receive from others. If NPC X says do this and you'll make A happy, otherwise B will be unhappy, your choice here will effect how both A and B react to you in the future. Although keeping everyone happy is a bit of a high-wire act, your positive reputation will precede you and make future contacts more successful. This allow for multiple pathways through the game. In fact, Harvey Smith of Ion Storm that each puzzle-like environment has at least three ways to be solved.

With the original Deus Ex, everyone seemed to get to the end through a slightly different path. While we had a few similar experiences at major plot points, the vast majority of us had completely unique methods of play. More importanly, however, we all had fun. It was one of those experiences that sticks with you. Unlike some games where you can sit down and know exactly what you're supposed to do (or you bash your head against the wall trying to figure out how the developer wanted you to play), Deus Ex was so open-ended that it took us a while to realize just how well-crafted the game really was.

DX2 is no different. The game has been shortened a little bit (the original took at least 40 hours), but if anything, it's more open. The same highly intelligent AI is back, and now they talk even more, and will even do so according to context. And yes, there are still multiple endings.

As you may have heard, DX2 is being developed simultaneously for Xbox and PC. The Xbox version is already gold, and the PC version should be extremely close to that by the time you read this. The December 2nd release date is still considered tentative, although if it's missed, there's a "Ninety-nine percent chance it will be within a week before Christmas," according to Harvey Smith.

Preview from IGN (today): http://pc.ign.com/articles/456/456275p1.html

You can get a trailer and more information here: http://www.deusexinvisiblewar.com/