Deus Ex

This article is about the original game, for the Deus Ex series of games see here

Deus Ex (pronounced 'DAY-us EHKS) is a cyberpunk-themed action role-playing video game developed by Ion Storm and published by Eidos Interactive in the year 2000, which combines gameplay elements of first-person shooters with those of role playing games. The game received near-universal critical and industry acclaim, including being named "Best PC Game of All Time" in PC Gamer's Top 100 PC Games and in a poll carried out by UK gaming magazine PC Zone. It was a frequent candidate for and winner of Game of the Year awards, drawing praise for its pioneering designs in player choice and multiple narrative paths. It has sold more than 1 million copies, as of April 23, 2009, since its release in 2000.

Set in a dystopian world during the 2050s, the central plot follows the story of JC Denton, an anti-terrorist agent employed by UNATCO, as he uncovers a deep and ancient conspiracy, encountering fictional recreations of organizations such as Majestic 12, the Illuminati, and the Hong Kong Triads throughout his journey.

First published for personal computers running Windows, Deus Ex was later ported to Macintosh systems, as well the PlayStation 2 game console, the latter under the title Deus Ex: The Conspiracy. Loki Games worked on a Linux version of the game, but the company went out of business before releasing it. A sequel to Deus Ex, titled Deus Ex: Invisible War, was released on December 2, 2003 for both Windows and the Xbox video game console. On November 26, 2007, it was confirmed that Eidos Montréal is developing a prequel, Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Hybrid
Deus Ex is roughly equal parts shooter and equal parts RPG. The role-playing parts extend not just to the character's skill customization, but also to the flow of the story. As JC Denton, the choices you make in dialogues, but more importantly in how you play the game, can alter events in the story. While the main path of the game is set in stone, within that path there is a lot of room for deviation in playing styles. Most any given situation can accommodate the sneaky type of player or the type that goes in guns blazing. For example, a building might be guarded by robots and you have to get in. You might sneak past the robots, lockpick the door and go in undetected. You could hack a nearby security console and set the turrets to shoot at the robots. You could blow the robots up with rockets or grenades. Or you could snoop around and find a completely different means of gaining entry. You can kill almost any non-critical character in the game, not just nameless non-player characters(NPC's). This may lead to unique dialogue or make the game more difficult, but it's possible. Deus Ex doesn't handle player choice like most modern games, in that it does not very often have a binary choice of doing A or doing B. There are choices to make that you may not even know existed because the game doesn't explicitly point them out. Because of this, Deus Ex is immensely replayable and rewards experimentation.

Improving your character
A large part of Deus Ex revolves around the ability to improve JC Denton's abilities. There are 3 notable ways to do this: Augmentation Canisters, Upgrade Canisters, and spending Skill Points.

Augmentation and Upgrade Canisters
For more info of the technology, see: Augmentation

Using canisters the player can improve Denton's abilities via bio-mechanical augmentation. Around the world, the player can find various types of Augmentation Canisters, which, when used with a medical bot, will allow implementation of said Canister. Denton has a number of augmentation "slots" in his body, and only one augmentation may be used per slot at any given time. Every Canister houses 2 augmentations, which are set in the game code, and not random. You will never find a canister that has a "head" augmentation and a "leg" augmentation. Canisters always house 2 augmentations for a single, specific slot, forcing the player to choose one augmentation over the other. The augmentation slots are as follows:


 * Head Augmentations
 * Eye Augmentations
 * Subdermal Augmentations
 * Torso Augmentations
 * Arm Augmentations
 * Leg Augmentations

Skill Points
For more info, see: Weapon Modifications, Weapon Skills At the start of each game, a player is allotted a set number of skill points, which they may immediately spend, or save, on various skills. Skill points can be spent to upgrade skills at any time during gameplay, though the most immediate improvements are seen by spending some at the very start of the game. The player usually gains more skill points by completing main and sub-objectives, though they can be gained by simply exploring the game world or performing certain actions. Every skill has 4 levels of training: Untrained, Trained, Advanced, and Master. The trainable skills are as follows:

Allows hacking and manipulation of security consoles and other computers. Reduces the number of Multitool required for any non-computer-skill-aided hack.
 * ComputerSkills-pc.jpg
 * Electronics

Allows the player to better survive poisonous areas, and make better use of equipment such as re-breathers, hazard suits and body armor. Reduces the number of lockpicks required when Lockpicking.
 * Environmental Training
 * Lock-picking


 * Medicine

Increases the amount of damage healed by your Medkit.

Increases the length of time you can swim without breathing, and increases your swimming speed.
 * Swimming


 * Weapons: Demolition (Grenades, etc.)

Increases weapon damage, accuracy, and makes mines more forgiving during disarming.


 * Weapons: Heavy (Rocket launchers, etc.)

Increases weapon damage, accuracy, and reduces reloading time.


 * Weapons: Low-Tech (Swords, knives etc.)

Increases weapon damage, accuracy, and reduces reloading time.

Increases weapon damage, accuracy, and reduces reloading time.
 * Weapons: Pistol (Handguns, etc.)


 * Weapons: Rifle (Sniper rifles, machine guns etc.)

Increases weapon damage, accuracy, and reduces reloading time. Also, a master-level sniper shot can destroy a camera in a single hit.

Multiplayer
Deus Ex was designed as a single player game, and the initial releases of the Windows and Macintosh versions of the game did not include multiplayer functionality. Support for multiplayer modes was later incorporated through patches. The component includes three game modes: deathmatch, basic team deathmatch, and advanced team deathmatch. Only five maps, based on levels from the single-player portion of the game, were included with the original multiplayer patch, but many user-created maps now exist. The PlayStation 2 release of Deus Ex does not offer a multiplayer mode.

Plot
Note: The gameplay of Deus Ex ''offers many subplots which the player may or may not encounter, depending on their actions within the game. This synopsis concentrates on the game's main plot thread.''

The year is 2052. At the start of the game, the player assumes the identity of JC Denton, a nano-augmented ('nano-aug') UNATCO agent. An optional training course explains the basic game mechanics, but the game-proper begins on the docks outside UNATCO HQ on Liberty Island where the NSF has stolen a shipment of the rare Ambrosia vaccine, he is informed by Alex Jacobson (via infolink) and Paul. Agent Denton is ordered to capture their leader, Colonel Leo Gold. Gold, found hiding within the statue, surrenders immediately. Interrogation reveals that the Ambrosia is no longer on Liberty Island, but has been moved via boat to Battery Park. UNATCO troops arrive to collect Gold, and JC returns to UNATCO Headquarters.

After a debriefing by UNATCO Director Joseph Manderley, JC is paired with Agent Anna Navarre (a 'mech' or 'mech aug,' meaning mechanical augmentation, the previous, invasively surgical iteration of cyborg) and instructed to continue his search for the Ambrosia. His brother Paul is dispatched to handle NSF operations in Hell's Kitchen. Manderley suggests the NSF have moved the Ambrosia to nearby Castle Clinton, where JC secures the vaccine.

Agent Denton then assists his brother in Hell's Kitchen. He discovers the NSF fortress and destroys the EMP generator protecting it, then rendezvouses with Agent Gunther Hermann, another 'mech aug'. A black helicopter (piloted by a friend of Paul's named Jock) meets the two agents, and flies Agent Denton back to UNATCO Headquarters. JC meets with Director Manderley again, but Manderley is busy with a mysterious visitor, later revealed as FEMA Director Walton Simons. After Simons leaves, the Director orders JC to locate a NSF plane being prepared to ship more Ambrosia. Denton's investigation leads him to wealthy NSF sympathizer Juan Lebedev. The plane is hidden at his private terminal at LaGuardia Airport.

Denton locates the plane, but his brother is waiting for him in the hangar. Paul reveals he has been working with the NSF, that the Gray Death is a man-made virus, and that UNATCO is conspiring to control the supply of Ambrosia for the benefit of a secret group of elitists. He tells JC to speak with Lebedev for more information. Agent Navarre arrives as JC boards the plane, and orders him to kill Lebedev. JC may choose to kill Lebedev, to speak to Lebedev (Navarre will kill Lebedev to silence him before he reveals too much, unless JC first kills Navarre herself), or to simply refuse to execute Lebedev and walk away. The Ambrosia is recovered, and JC returns to UNATCO headquarters. He learns that both he and Paul have been fitted with an emergency nanotech "killswitch" capable of destroying them within twenty-four hours, and that Paul's has been activated. JC is ordered to head to Hong Kong to kill Paul's contact, a man named Tracer Tong. Jock was contacted by Paul, however, and takes JC to Paul's apartment in Hell's Kitchen. Paul further explains his defection from UNATCO, and asks JC to help his allies by sending a distress signal from their base nearby. Walton Simons discovers JC's defection, activates his killswitch, and orders UNATCO troops to apprehend him. JC attempts to escape the city with the help of Jock, another UNATCO defector, but is captured.

JC awakens in a prison cell in an unknown bunker. A mysterious entity calling itself Daedalus contacts JC through the HUD system, and attributes the facility to a secret and malevolent organization called Majestic-12. With Daedalus' help, JC locates his brother and escapes the facility. On leaving it is revealed that the secret base is actually located within the lower levels of UNATCO's Headquarters, and is known as an off-limits area, even to UNATCO agents. This is the final piece of evidence to justify the Denton's defection and subsequent assault on former colleagues. Escaping the facility, he kills Agent Navarre in the process, and bid farewell to friendly colleagues who are devoted to the cause of justice before boarding Jock's helicopter, and fleeing to Hong Kong.

Upon their arrival in Hong Kong, Majestic 12 takes control of the helicopter, forcing it to land at a secret hangar above the VersaLife Corporation (a MJ-12 front) building. JC captures the lightly guarded facility and releases the remote override commands placed on the helicopter's engines and weapons. He searches the city for Tracer Tong, Paul's friend and member of The Luminous Path Triad. He meets Gordon Quick, head of the Luminous Path Triad. Quick tells JC that before the Triad will assist him, JC must perform a favor and retrieve the experimental Dragon's Tooth energy sword from Majestic-12 agent Maggie Chow. Denton does, ending a feud with the rival Red Arrow Triad.

With the feud resolved, JC is allowed to meet with Tong who deactivates his killswitch. While infiltrating the Versalife building for Tong, JC discovers that VersaLife is manufacturing the Gray Death, which is caused by a nanovirus. JC retrieves plans for the virus, and destroys the Universal Constructor used to produce it.

Analysis of the virus reveals that it was developed in-part by the Illuminati. JC travels to New York to meetStanton Dowd, a member of the Illuminati. Dowd gives JC more information about the Gray Death, Majestic 12, and its leader, trillionaire businessman and philanthropist Bob Page. Denton is sent to destroy a ship transporting the virus to New York, which he finds in port. It is revealed that Dowd is the former owner the freighter in question, the PRCS Wall Cloud. After the vessel is scuttled, Dowd tells JC that the virus had originally been developed for augmentations. Majestic 12 stole the plans and converted it into a weapon. Dowd also provides information about Parisian Illuminati leader Morgan Everett. After avoiding a Majestic 12 ambush, JC flies to Paris.

In Paris, JC Denton contacts Silhouette members hiding in the catacombs below the city. They help him locate Nicolette DuClare, daughter of late Illuminatus Beth DuClare. Denton contacts the Illuminati leader Everett from the DuClare Chateau. He is asked to retrieve more information about the Gray Death from a Knights Templar cathedral that has been taken over by Majestic 12. While attempting to upload the information, JC is confronted by Agent Hermann. He defeats the mechanically-augmented agent and completes the upload. Everett gives JC instructions to meet his assistant, Toby Atanwe, who transports JC to the Illuminatus' residence.

Everett sends JC to Vandenberg Air Force Base to meet with members of X-51, a group of former Majestic 12 researchers and U.S.Army personnel once based at Area 51. Denton arrives to find the base under siege by Majestic 12, but successfully eliminates their forces. He meets with X-51 leader Gary Savage, who needs help activating an X-51 universal constructor. They attempt to retaliate against Majestic 12 by giving Daedalus access to the restricted military network. This backfires, and Page neutralizes Daedalus by fusing it with his own AI Icarus. Page tells Dr. Savage that Majestic 12 is holding his daughter Tiffany in hostage. Page demands parts from X-51's constructor in-exchange for Tiffany's life. The lead researcher asks JC to rescue his daughter.

After rescuing Tiffany, Denton goes to a Majestic 12 off-shore research base to retrieve blueprints needed by X-51 to complete their constructor. The laboratory is in shambles and genetic experiments are roaming loose due to sabotage by an Illuminati double-agent. Denton locates the schematics and uploads them to the X-51 computers, only to find that Page has intercepted the communication. Page sends Walton Simons to kill him before he can escape the facility. Simons fails, allowing JC to meet Jock and Dr. Savage at the helicopter. Savage tells JC that Majestic 12 is preparing to launch a nuclear missile at the Vandenberg Air Force Base labs. Jock flies JC to the missile silo, where he reprograms the targeting data, aiming the missile at Majestic 12's secret base at Area 51. Soon after the missile detonates, JC leaves for Area 51, intent on putting the final nail in Majestic 12's coffin.

Page's goal is finally revealed in Area 51. The Gray Death allowed him to expand government authority while field testing the constructor. Forcing the integration of Icarus with Daedalus created Helios, an entity capable of dominating the global communications network. All that remains is for Page to integrate himself with Helios, giving him near-total control over nanotechnology, and through it, the world.

JC is contacted by Tong, Everett, and the Helios AI. All three factions ask for his help in defeating Page's while furthering their objectives, and JC is forced to choose between them. Tong seeks to plunge the world into a second Dark Age by destroying the global communications hub and preventing any one individual or group from taking control of the world. Everett offers Denton the chance to bring the Illuminati back to power by defeating Bob Page and using the technology of Area 51 to rule the world with an invisible hand. Helios wishes to merge with Denton and rule the world as a benevolent dictator with infinite knowledge and reason. The player's decision determines the course of the future, and brings the game to a close.

Development history
The initial idea of Deus Ex was originated by Warren Spector in 1994 while he worked for Origin Systems. His original conception of what would become Deus Ex was entitled Troubleshooter. After finishing development of System Shock, Spector had tired of straight fantasy and science fiction and he "got obsessed with this sort of millennial weirdness" leading to the conspiracy focused storyline for the game. He stated in April 2007 to PC Zone magazine: I was a huge believer in the 'immersive simulation' game style, exemplified by games like Ultima Underworld, and I wanted to push the limits of that sort of game further. But I could never get the project off the ground at Origin or, later, at Looking Glass. (I think it was lack of interest at Origin/EA and it was mostly a lack of money at LG!) But then John Romero and Ion Storm came along and said, 'Make the game of your dreams. No limits.' It took me about two nanoseconds to say 'Yes!'

Game versions
The Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition release contains the latest game updates and a software development kit, a separate soundtrack CD, and a page from a fictional newspaper featured prominently in Deus Ex titled The Midnight Sun, which recounts recent events in the game's world. However, later releases of said version do not include the soundtrack CD, and contain a PDF version of the newspaper on the game's disc. Although the Game of the Year Edition is advertised as being up-to-date with the most recent patch, it includes three maps which still contain bugs that were addressed by the v1112 patches.

The Macintosh version of the game, released shortly after the PC version, was shipped with the same capabilities and can also be patched to enable multiplayer support. However, publisher Aspyr Media did not release any subsequent editions of the game or any additional patches. As such, the game is only supported in Mac OS 9 and the "Classic" environment in Mac OS X, neither of which are compatible with Intel-based Macs. The PC version will run on Intel-based Macs using Crossover, Boot Camp or other software to enable a compatible version of Microsoft Windows to run on a Mac.

Publisher Activision's "Value" imprint released a cut-down version of the game in 2002. Titled Deus Ex: Special Limited Edition, the game only contains the first 5 missions of the full Deus Ex, at the conclusion of which the game displays a screen advertising the full version of the game. Despite being an inferior product, Special Limited Edition was sold by major retailers for as much or more than the full game, sometimes on the same shelf. This version was very negatively received, as the similar price and misleading name lead many to unwittingly purchase what turned out to be an "extended demo" or "trialware".

A port of the game, entitled Deus Ex: The Conspiracy (although titled simply as Deus Ex in Europe), was also released for the PlayStation 2, on March 25, 2002. Along with pre-rendered introductory and ending cinematics that replaced the original versions, it features a streamlined interface with auto aim, improved graphics, and motion captured character models. Some levels were changed and chopped down into smaller areas separated by load-screens, due to the memory limitations of the PlayStation 2.

On March 29, 2007, Valve announced Deus Ex and its sequel would be available for purchase from their Steam service. Among the games announced are several other Eidos franchise titles, including Thief: Deadly Shadows and Tomb Raider. Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition was subsequently made available for purchase on the Steam store.

Legacy
A sequel to the game, entitled Deus Ex: Invisible War, was released in the United States on December 2, 2003, and then in Europe in early 2004 for both the PC and the Xbox game console. A second sequel, entitled Deus Ex: Clan Wars, was originally conceived as a multiplayer-focused third game for the series. After the commercial performance and public reception of Deus Ex: Invisible War failed to meet expectations, the decision was made to set the game in its own universe, and it was eventually published under the title Project: Snowblind.

Eidos Montreal is now working on a prequel to Deus Ex, named Deus Ex: Human Revolution (for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360), to be released on the 23rd August 2011 in North America and on the 26th August in Europe.

Music
The music in Deus Ex is a mixture of jazz, techno, and classical influenced ambient tracks, each of which provides a great enhancement to the mysterious and gritty atmosphere of the game. The game also features a dynamic music system. Whenever a player enters combat, the music will shift from slow paced to fast paced and adrenaline pumping. The music will also change whenever a player enters a conversation with another person and after level transitions. The implementation of this transitional style of music creates yet another layer to this already immensely deep game.

Deus Ex Track List:
 * 1) 1. Main Title - 02:24
 * 2) Intro Sequence - 02:23
 * 3) Liberty Island - 05:26
 * 4) UNATCO - 05:12
 * 5) Battery Park - 04:42
 * 6) NYC Streets - 04:15
 * 7) Lebedev's Airfield - 03:14
 * 8) Airfield Action - 01:10
 * 9) Enemy Within - 01:48
 * 10) Desolation (Hong Kong Canal) - 02:26
 * 11) The Synapse (Hong Kong Streets) - 04:37
 * 12) Hong Kong Action - 00:59
 * 13) Majestic 12 Labs - 01:50
 * 14) Versalife - 03:48
 * 15) Naval Base - 04:59
 * 16) Paris Streets - 01:18
 * 17) DuClare Château - 06:42
 * 18) Paris Action - 01:24
 * 19) Return to NYC - 01:34
 * 20) Ocean Lab - 01:35
 * 21) Ocean Action - 01:24
 * 22) Ocean Lab Complex - 01:48
 * 23) Vandenberg - 03:46
 * 24) Begin the End (Bunker) - 01:41
 * 25) Area 51 - 02:22
 * 26) Ending 1 - 01:15
 * 27) Ending 2 - 01:18
 * 28) Ending 3 - 01:50
 * 29) The Illuminati - 02:38
 * 30) DX Club Mix - 03:00
 * 31) Training Room - 02:03
 * 32) NYC Bar - 05:10
 * 33) Hong Kong Helipad - 03:30
 * 34) Hong Kong Club 1 - 04:56
 * 35) Hong Kong Club 2 - 02:57
 * 36) The Nothing - 03:17
 * 37) Paris Club 1 - 02:49
 * 38) Paris Club 2 - 04:31
 * 39) Paris Cathedral - 03:36
 * 40) Conspiravision - 05:38
 * 41) Paris Cathedral Conversation - 00:54

PC Requirements

 * Windows 95/98/Me/XP
 * Pentium 300 (Min.), Pentium 450 (Rec.)
 * 4x CD-ROM drive
 * 64 MB RAM (Min.), 128 MB (Rec.)
 * 8MB DirectX 7.0a compatible 3D graphics card (Min.)
 * DirectX 7.0a compatible sound card
 * 150 MB hard drive space (Min.)

Trivia

 * Whenever the New York City skyline is visible in the background, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center are conspicuously absent. This was due to texture memory limitations that arose during the game's development, but the in-universe explanation for the missing towers is that they were destroyed in a terrorist attack. A year after the game's initial release, the real Twin Towers were destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Deus Ex