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Dom Robinson reviews
Eidos Interactive Limited
- Price: £29.99
- Players: 1
System Requirements (recommended) :
- Windows 95/98
- Pentium II 300 Mhz
- 64Mb RAM (128Mb)
- 8-speed CD-ROM Drive
- 150Mb HD space (750Mb)
- DirectX 7.0a (included on CD)
- Fully DirectX 7.0 compatible sound card and video card
- 4Mb VRAM 3D graphics card (16Mb VRAM)
You are J.C. Denton, a “nanotechnology-augmented” agent for the United Nations Anti-TerroristCoalition, or in plain English, you have the strength of Robocop and look like Big Brother’s NastyNick in designer shades, if the front cover is anything to go by.
The game was programmed by Jon “Doom/Quake” Romero’s id’-offshoot Ion Storm, which havepublished one other game to date – the four-years-late Summer 2000 time-tripping bore-fest that wasDaikatanaand if ever a game was to reek then that one came broadcasting in 3D-smell-o-vision.
The year is 2052. As the billing states: Civilisation is near collapse, the world economy is in chaos,deadly viruses ravage the earth and terrorism runs rampant. Yes, we’re fifty-two years into the futureand New Labour still isn’t working (!)
After going through a lengthy training programme which introduces you to the weaponry and stealthtactics, you begin the mission-based game proper. First up, while the X-Men do battle atop the Statueof Liberty, you must attempt to rescue a colleague from the terrorists inside. We’re told that this gamecontains character interaction and problem solving, but all I can see is an incredibly watered-downversion of a true classic Eidos game I’ve been playing for the last few months, Thief 2.
In that one we were treated to smooth animation, classy locations, clever AI from the enemies andatmosphere so intense it was the first game to scare the hell out of me since 1997’s original ResidentEvil. I was led to believe Deus Ex would eclipse that nirvana and provide me with an audio-visualexperience that would stop me from ever washing my eyes again. I was led well and truly up thegarden path.
The main technical difference is that you are bio-mechanoid-type individual with special abilities suchas implementing night vision and regenerating lost strength from “medbots” dotted around the place.So, not much difference then. You could have been a human wearing a pair of goggles and findingpower-ups all over the place (which you can anyway).
The graphics move in a jerky fashion, the sound is fairly dull – nothing we’ve not heard before and theonly distinction comes from the sound of your character who has a voice like that of Don La Fontaine -he who does all those gravel-voiced film adverts. As for playability, the game was completely lackingin atmosphere and for no reason at all I had a dodgy left leg causing me to walk fine but constantlysettle down at an angle every time I stopped. I’m damned if I can explain that one,particularly because it was there even when I started a new game!
Deus Ex is a perfect example of how to take existing elements from another game, ruin it to a degreeand then re-release it under a new moniker.
SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC
PLAYABILITY
ENJOYMENT
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.