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Few games are able to effectively blend two or more genres into one.
Often they end up unbalanced, leaning too much in one direction or they combine
the wrong aspects. Still, a few games have succeeded over the years, the
prime examples being the System Shock series and now Deus Ex.
Powered by the Unreal engine, Deus Ex is what you get when you take the best
aspects from games such as System Shock, Thief, and Half-Life. This
combination of role playing, sneaking, and first person action merge to form an
excellent game with great play, even if the graphics are a little dated in
appearance.
The story is fairly linear like that of a shooter, but the path to the end is
pretty flexible. Along the way you will have people to interact with and
plenty of secondary objectives, the way to handle them will affect how you play
the game. This flexibility is the greatest feature of Deus Ex, in just
about any given situation you will have more than a few ways to play it
out. An example of this would be a locked door with two sentries and an automated
gun turret that are blocking your path. If you approach a security camera
will spot you and alert them as well. You may or may not have the key to
the door. Depending on your playing style and how you developed your
character, you could:
- Grab some armor and charge at them guns a blazin'. Then use your key
on the door.
- Find a nearby computer terminal to hack into, deactivate the security
camera and reprogram the turret to attack the sentries, then unlock the
door.
- Take the guards out with a sniper rifle, sneak through a blind spot to
avoid the camera and pick the lock on the door.
- Try to find a way to get up onto the roof and enter the building through a
ventilation duct.
This degree of flexibility allows you to play the game the way you want to
play it. Whether you want to be like a cautious hacker, a stealthy ninja,
or a marine with a death wish, Deus Ex will let you do it.
Why are you still reading this when you should be playing? Get in there
and kick some ass!
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