Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC)

Warren Spector is truly one of the most inspiring and revolutionary people in the gaming industry. He wowed us with the incredible Deus Ex way back, combining traditional RPG elements with FPS gameplay. It was highly successful, and then everything went quiet until now

Deus Ex 2: Invisible War is the highly anticipated sequel, and it doesn't disappoint. It's set in a future full of terrorists and religious factions each with their own agenda. Your dropped in the middle of it and you have to choose who your going to trust, and who to kill.

It got great graphics (ragdoll effects, lighting), and the ability to make your own decisions through text-choices, thus choosing your own fate and adding more replayability.

It's everything a sci-fi fan would want and with a slew of other shooters out there, this is a refreshing alternative.

The original Deus Ex attracted hefty plaudits for its contribution to the gaming industry. Released on PC and PS2, it introduced a new and exciting genre to the mass market: the cerebral shooter. Combining a deep and involving storyline with fast paced action sequences, it sold well, and justifiably so. At its conclusion, the plot threads were left tantalisingly open for a sequel. Finally, said sequel has arrived, a console Xbox exclusive.

Invisible War can be loosely termed as the Matrix in a more believable setting. Based a generation after the events of the original incarnation (also set in the future), the world is recovering from the great 'collapse', where the fabric of society broke down following the fall of the ruling corporate elite.

Staged a generation after the collapse, Invisible War paints a picture of a world corrupted once again by corporate interests - an organisation known as the WTO (World Trade Organisation), which is responsible for Legislation, Policing, and generally forging the way forward for the new world.

You begin as Alex D, a trainee for Tarsus Academies, who specialise in producing technologically 'Nanite-enhanced' humans for large corporations. Trained from a young age, only a certain proportion of the population take to Nanite-enhancement, and Tarsus make their money by allowing large companies to sponsor the pupils' training and development. These Nanites allow for great improvements to physical and mental attributes, also enabling neural interaction with computers and AI controlled beings.

The opening cinematic sequence sees a hooded character emerge from the shadows in a futuristic city, then detonate a mysterious device. The resultant explosion decimates the entire city (Chicago), and in the process destroys the local Tarsus division, which we later discover is the sole intended target. However, some Tarsus staff and trainees escape to Seattle, and it is here you begin your journey as Alex D. Who was this hooded figure, and what was his motive? Why take such drastic measures to achieve this goal? This is just a prelude to the questions you will need to answer.

The opening passages plunge you into an entirely foreign world, with political standpoints and class systems polarised by the absence of real choice. The collapse spawned a number of distinct and radical factions, each with their own agendas and beliefs. The poor populate the 'old' world, which has degenerated into slums, while the rich enjoy a world literally elevated above the wreckage, living in sterile, climate-controlled communes.

I can't really provide an overview of the storyline, such is its complexity, however, here is a brief overview of the main protagonists-

The WTO: As mentioned, the WTO is the official world government. The head of this organisation, Chairman Dumier, has a visible presence in almost every area of the globe, transmitted by public holographic transmitters.

The Order: A religious group hell-bent on the preservation of more traditional ethics. Apparently against Nanite enhancement and corporate domination, its members vow to overthrow the WTO and restore a new, pious environment in which to rebuild society. They are always shrouded, and speak in ominous religious rhetoric.

Knights Templar: - A splinter group of The Order. More radical in its methods, the Templars are comprised of ex-Order members, frustrated with its perceived lacklustre strategy of the The Order. Highest on its list of priorities is seeing an outright ban on human enhancement; a "Return to Purity".

The Omar: - Essentially a black market arms dealer. An uber-enhanced race of people, their members are so heavily infused with Nanites that their appearance has been altered beyond recognition. Subsequently, they wear strange apparatus to hide and compliment this. Due to their massive reliance on technology, their members also possess a shared consciousness, in order to pass information on customers instantly.

Essentially, the game is based on with whom you decide to pledge your allegiance. Throughout the game, you will be contacted by each group, keen to utilise your exceptional powers to their own advantage. Each party is as persuasive as the other, often leaving you in a state of confusion.

Whether it's earning a bounty, infiltrating a secure area for information, or simply wreaking havoc, you will always be presented with a dilemma. It is your decisions which affect the outcome and ultimately the destiny of the human race. In addition, new groups and previously unthinkable coalitions will emerge throughout, which you will need to digest and act upon constantly. Quite a toughie then!

In comparison to the original, the graphics have evolved well. Obviously, the decision to move the game to an Xbox exclusive was made with a real focus on what could be achieved. This decision was a wise one. Invisible War utilises a more advanced physics engine, and benefits greatly from it. Almost every object in the game can be interacted with, whether it be a humble coke can or the body of a stricken victim.

The new physics create a much more realistic edge to the game; throw a corpse down a flight of stairs and it will bounce and spin until it reaches a suitable resting place - the 'rag doll' effect. Walk into a stool or chair, and it will slide and jolt out of the way accordingly. Small touches maybe, but in a game so intent on gritty realism, they really make the difference. You will often find yourself experimenting with this feature; it really is good fun and grabs the attention.

In general, the locations are solid, with good realisations of light and shadow. However, many areas are positively cloaked in darkness; I actually had to adjust the brightness on my T.V. to get a satisfactory view on occasions.

The audio is also acceptably polished. Voice acting is passable, although occasionally wooden; however, you can invariably expect this from a video game. The music is complimentary to the dark theme of the story; however, I feel it could have done more to raise tensions during pivotal sections. Overall though, a solid yet forgettable audio contribution.

Invisible Wars' interface is initially intimidating, but easily mastered. The menu is split into two, one half handling equipable items and weapons, the other Nanite enhancements. As you progress through the game, you will acquire new skills, graded in three levels. Each area of enhancement is sub-divided into three options. For example, in the leg attribute, you can choose to jump higher and run faster, or walk silently to avoid detection. You can only have one enhancement in each category installed at a time, and this dictates the way you approach combat scenarios. It's a fine way to increase reply value.

It's this combination of selecting physical upgrades and allegiance which set Invisible War apart from the competition. Once you decide with which faction you will side before undertaking a task, you can also dictate how you achieve the goal. Do you wade in with a shotgun and create mayhem, or slide into a ventilation shaft, and snipe the opposition from a distance? It's entirely the players' choice.

Better still is that the game is never a closed shop. Your allegiances can fluctuate like the wind until the final throes of the game, which means playing through for a second time can be an entirely separate experience. Couple this with the myriad ways of achieving your chosen goals and you have a sizeable toy box at your disposal. However, there are a few flaws to be observed, as Invisible War isn't quite as clever as it would have you believe.

Primarily, the locations, whilst being varied and global, are not populated to a believable extent. There are more members of the warring factions wandering around than citizens, and this decreases the feeling of being a small entity in an independently functioning world. Whether you are wandering the slums or enjoying the sanctuary of the communes, you get the feeling that you as the player are the centre of the universe, and everything else is provided for your benefit. This detracts from the realism somewhat.

Although this aspect is not great, the developers have tried to compensate for this by including scattered literature and incidental oral passages, designed to fill in plot threads from the original game, and supplement the new storyline. This serves to paper over the problems mentioned, and succeeds to a minor extent. Despite this, there is also some aesthetic trickery employed to pull the wool over the untrained eye.

For a start, each of the warring factions dons some sort of cloak/disguise as a uniform. I can only conclude that this has been done to avoid repetition of facial models. Only pivotal characters are given the luxury of their own identity, and I found that made the whole experience a bit impersonal. Secondly, while it is possible to choose a strategic method of achieving a target, 90% of the time this involves deciding whether to blast your way in, or looking for a concealed ventilation shaft.

Finally, the choice-driven storyline, while open-ended, is ultimately a sham. Essentially, the entire outcome is dictated by the final level, and as such it is possible to see each of the multiple endings by creating an auxiliary save point just prior to the end, and starting from there each time. I didn't bother with it, as once I discovered this, I rapidly lost interest in the storyline.

That said, Invisible War is immensely enjoyable. Who cares if a majority of the perceived ingenuity is merely pretence; it had me hooked for a good week or two. At least there has been a discernable and ultimately successful attempt to elevate this experience above the norm, something which makes Invisible War worthy of your time and your money.

I loved the first game. Deus Ex had perhaps the most interesting plot and useable interface I have come across. The graphics were admittedly mediocre and animation was laughable, but that hardly mattered. The worlds were huge and well textured, with a good mixture of stealth and shootout as well as an interesting balance of current and future technology.

So what went wrong? Well, to be fair, Invisible War has much improved animation, along with some stunning lighting and good use of the antialiasing feature. However, one of the first things to notice is the use of bright, garish colours in an unrecognisably futuristic world supposed to be just twenty years after the first. More annoyingly, though, the interface is almost unuseable and gets in the way of everything on the screen. Furthermore, who's bright idea was it to standardise all amunition and replace cross-hairs with a circle for targeting?

The two most important problems, however, are still to be mentioned. Firstly, the game is far too short. Secondly, you need a RIDICULOUSLY fast system to run it. Using an AthlonXP 2000+ with 512MB RAM and a 128MB GeForceFX 5200 graphics card, the game was almost unplayable, except on the very lowest settings.

The appeal of this game is completely different to that of the Deus Ex, so if you liked the first one, don't bother with Invisible War. In short, DON'T EXPECT ANOTHER DEUS EX.

Ii played the first game, and it is my best game of all time, and this second one, Deus Ex: Invisible War comes dam near to it. It has more freedom then any other fps ever, its a strange hybrid between fps and rpg, it is superb.

the biomods incorporated add a whole new level to the gameplay and seriously effect how you will play the game, shall I get the regeneration mod?? Or should I go for the vision enhancement which will allow me to see through walls??, Will I get the cloaking field, or the attack drone??, Its things like this that make the game so engrossing, it allows the player to play the game exactly how he like, if you like shooting things up, then by all means get the attack drone, strength enhancement or whatever else you want, if stealth is your thing, no problem just get yourself the cloaking field and the neural interface so you can hack computers, its totally up to you.

This game is as addictive as hell and has massive repaly value, I played it through twice in a row, and probably will again.. soon. I love this game, I couldnt get enough of it, just buy this game, you won't regret it.

Haven't played the original Deux Ex but I would imagine the storyline in Invisible War to be a little more clear if I had played the original first.

Confusing as hell is what the storyline is ... you are thrown into this huge global conspiracy with nothing but seemingly random people telling you to do stuff that's contradictory to each other.

No matter what you do, different groups will always offer you assignments even if it is obvious you are against them. I myself wacked every Templar I see but the group continues to try to get me to do things for them.

Individual assignments are suppose to gel the whole big picture together but never really did so. I had a good time trying to find new and inventive ways to kill or disable or bypass something or someone but the storyline lacked coherency so the end sequence left me with a sense of disappointment.

Everything else about the game is topnotch but fancy widgets, graphics and special effects can only get you so far with a bad storyline.