Favourite Video Games #2 - Deus Ex

Every time somebody mentions Deus Ex, someone somewhere is re-installing it. This cyberpunk espionage game mixes first-person action with RPG elements to create a fantastic adventure that's been re-playable for seventeen years now. Seventeen years of wearing a trench coat and fighting conspiracies.

Taking place in a dystopian future, the world is being ravaged by a virus called The Grey Death. There's a vaccine, but it's in short supply and reserved for governments and corporations. With the collapse of social order, the United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition (UNATCO) is formed to deal with the rise of terrorist groups around the world. You assume the role of JC Denton, a UNATCO agent who has been given superhuman abilities through nanotechnology. His missions soon get him entangled in a conspiracy which has him questioning his loyalties.

While Deus Ex has a linear story, the gameplay allows you to complete your objectives through any means necessary, whether through stealth, open combat, or a mix. As stated above, there are strong RPG elements too, in which you can invest points into improving skills. For example, a higher level Computer skill allows you to hack computers and even reprogram security systems - shutting down cameras and ordering the automated gun turrets to attack your enemies rather than you.

I think Deus Ex may have been the first game I played which features moral choices as a core element. For example, you confront a terrorist ringleader, whom you have been ordered to eliminate. However, he surrenders and offers to share some important information when your ruthless partner shows up, leaving four choices:

1. Proceed with your objective.
2. Try to hear the leader out, at which point your partner kills him.
3. Leave, again prompting the partner to kill him.
4. Kill your partner, in order to listen to what the leader has to say.

I used this example to minimise spoilers. Some of the early decisions can impact the late-game, but I'll leave you to guess those.

I recommend the Steam version, as that one runs a lot more smoothly on newer computers. They even released a re-skin for the game's 15th anniversary.

Well, we're almost at the end now. And if you've discovered this blog at some point in the past year, you can probably guess what the top pick will be.