The time is somewhere in the not-too-distant future (hey, there are no spaceships yet). You are wearing sunglasses and an overcoat that seem borrowed from The Matrix. You are a being that looks human but has implants (nano-augmentations, they call them) that allow you to perform special functions. And you do not know whom to trust – your brother, your friends, your employers or even your government.

Well, if that scenario rings a bell, it’s a fair chance that you have already played Deus Ex.

Eidos’ futuristic first person RPG marries Doom’s first-person shooting interface with the lurk-and-search approach of Thief. Top that off with a plot that seems right out of the X-Files and you have a potent gaming cocktail. It is this ability to blend the features of many genres that makes Deus Ex so special. So while the interface looks like a first-person shooter, one has to wander around in search of special areas in the best adventuring tradition, and allot points gained from completing missions among different skills to develop one’s character - the classic RPG scenario.

Perhaps the most outstanding feature of Deus Ex is its storyline. The game revolves around JC Denton, a special nano-augmented agent working for UNATCO, an anti-terrorist organisation under the aegis of the United Nations. As the world struggles to come to grips with a mysterious disease called the Gray Death, Denton is called in to combat a group of terrorists who have hijacked a consignment of the vaccine, appropriately named Ambrosia, which can fight the disease. Briefing him on his first mission is his brother, Paul, another nano-augmented agent who also works for UNATCO.

It is while tracking down the consignment that Denton discovers that all is not well with UNATCO and indeed, the US government itself. In fact, there are rumours that the government is spreading Gray Death. As he goes after the so-called terrorists, Denton gets sucked into a devious conspiracy that sees him switching loyalties, dodging one trap after another and combating a whole host of enemies in a variety of territories as he attempts to save the world from the Gray Death.

For such a complex plot, the gameplay is refreshingly simple. One does need both the keyboard as well as the mouse to make the most of it, though, and getting the two in sync takes a bit of time. But once that is sorted out, the experience is pure magic. The basic interface is very much like the classic first person shooters like Doom and Quake, with a few innovative touches, such as a health bar which shows the hammering taken by different parts of your body and a datavault that stores important messages and mission goals. And potential storekeepers can rejoice, there’s an impressive inventory to manage as well. Amazing how much one of those huge overcoats can hold – at one stage I had a pistol, a rocket launcher, a sniper rifle, a sword and numerous other odds and ends tucked away in its recesses.

Speaking of the inventory, although Denton can wield a whole assortment of weapons and tools, his ability in using them depends on the points you allot to different skills. So if you decide to upgrade his low-tech weapon skills, he will be deadly with throwing knives. Mind you, it is very difficult to upgrade the many skills at his disposal (there are eleven in all), so one has to be judicious in allotting upgrades. In most cases, the allotment of points boils down to one’s approach. Those looking to blast their way through will try to upgrade combat skills while those seeking to be a tad less obtrusive will opt for improving skills like lock picking and computers.

For, mark you my words, there is more than one way to succeed in Deus Ex. You can either go in with all guns blazing, like your run-of- the-mill shooter or stealthily move into key areas by hacking computers, picking locks, disabling guns and alarms, and even exploring the odd hidden passage, sewer or air conditioning duct. The choice is entirely yours. In either case, the game provides you with more than enough hardware to pack a decent wallop with an assortment of weapons and other tools. What’s more, Denton can also add augmentations that give him special abilities for a period of time. Once again, the player has to choose between options that vary from adding physical strength to protecting Denton from radiation. Let’s face it, one is spoilt for choice by this game.

While Denton gets clear-cut instructions on his receiver from time to time in the game, he does have a license to wander. So he can go just about wherever he wants and sometimes even ends up picking additional missions. In fact, the game even rewards players who sally forth into uncharted areas, awarding area location bonuses and also helping them stumble across the odd goody. Talking of goodies, there are lots lying around for those wishing to smash up crates with a crowbar!

Then there are the bad guys. As with most games, these vary from the routine to the difficult. The easiest to deal with are the human agents and troopers while the mechanical robots and augmented agents are a different matter altogether, and often take some stopping. Most areas are also littered with poison gas barrels and TNT-laden boxes, making for literally explosive battlefields. And while the temptation to use heavy artillery is always there, killing innocent civilians often results in a tongue lashing, so one has to watch one’s steps.

While Deus Ex is a terrific experience, it does come with its share of bloopers. Perhaps the most glaring is the fact that the enemy seems to behave in a rather irrational manner. Many is the time that I have shot down a soldier only for his companion to continue walking past whistling. In fact, if you are crouched, it is a fair chance that you will escape detection even if you walk within a few feet of the enemy. Then there is the rather irritating habit of getting messages when one is in the thick of action. Sure, they get stored and can be read later but it is rather annoying to have someone telling you that you are near an enemy camp when you are busy exchanging fire with some bloodthirsty folks!

The game’s graphics are also a bit of a disappointment. The indistinct and fuzzy faces might be popular with the Unreal community, but look out of place in today’s era of slick graphics. That the game still managed to tax my PC (a 128 MB, Athlon XP machine) quite severely did not improve matters. Worst of all, Deus Ex is buggy. Let’s face it, the game does have a tendency to crash when you least expect it.

But all these are mere niggles when one gets down to playing the game. Ever since I started playing it, many is the time when I have paused in front of my front door and wondered whether it would be best to open it with a nano key, use a lockpick or just send a rocket through it. And my wife is still puzzled as to why I call the TV remote a multitool!

Final Score: 80%

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