Review: Deus Ex: Invisible War

Deus Ex: Invisible War 

Title: Deus Ex: Invisible War
Platform: Xbox
Developer: Ion Storm
Publisher: Eidos
Players: 1

Every first person shooter I play is compared to Halo and end up explaining why it isn’t as good. Halo set the bar pretty high and not many games have matched it. Deus Ex: Invisible War, however, comes damn close. The graphics are above and beyond Halo. The lighting and physics in Deus Ex rivals Splinter Cell. The story keeps the player interested and the action isn’t overwhelming but constant enough to keep Alex D (the main character) moving. Players can work for good or evil. Alex D is a cybernetically enhanced special agent (players can pick up biomods for everything from stealth and strength to the ability to hack computers and gun turrets using their mind) trying to stop a global terrorist from flattening the world. The opening of the game shows Chicago reduced to rubble in a matter of minutes. Each level serves as a sci-fi futuristic hub that Alex can explore and take missions from different characters. Different missions have different results. The storyline weaves through so many different people that it is hard to trust anything anyone says during the entire game. From Seattle to Europe to Egypt, everyone Alex meets seems to have a hidden agenda.

A major downfall in the game is the AI. At least in Halo the Elites could see you coming and would react or the grunts would run if you chased them. In Deus Ex, Alex can steal things from someone’s desk while that person is sitting there and carry unconcealed guns in public. The moral path Alex takes ultimately decides the ending of the game. No spoilers here, but try to see all of them. It’s worth it to see what one move can do to the future of mankind. Behind door one is a pony ride for all, behind door two is slavery, only problem is Alex gets one choice and that’s it. Good thing there’s a save button. So while it may not be over the bar that Halo set, Deus Ex is definitely in the running.