G'len on 8/3/2004 at 10:10

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Graphics: 8. nice, but could have easily been better. While downright graphics glitches are rare, there are several annoying and/or disturbing features - especially characher teeth and eyes (sorry for nitpicking), which, while the eyes are cute, they are not very realistic, and the teeth/mouth motions haven't changed enough from the original. Texture work is usually outstanding, though (I run it on 640x480 but with top texture detail settings).

Sound: 9. I'd give it a "10" if it wasn't for the voice acting, which, especially with respect to foreign accents, isn't always good. Music is great (do you know a way to extract it to MP3/wav/CD tracks? it rocks!) and I like the way they processed the Omar speech. Sound propagation is also good.

Physics: 9. Generally great, though in some cases it malfunctions. Sometimes items act as if they're lighter than what they're supposed to be (for example, tables falling over from you just gently pushing into them), and occasionally corpses show certain glitches.

Story: 8. Not as good as the original, but is still well done. The main problem I have is with the Order and the WTO being controlled by the Illuminati, which IMHO cheapens the experience - and we had enough of the Illuminati in the original. Also, while the Templars are "evil", they lack the "villian's appeal" of MJ12. They feel too much like a new (though well-financed) incranation of KKK (Kux Klus Klan)-style hate-mongering militias rather than the big-time fascist takeover that MJ12 was. I liked the collapse and the way it effected society (and in fact I liked the way they made the Templars - I just didn't like them as the main villian), and the entire "Grey" conspiracy-within-conspiracy (Aliens invented by VersaLife to cover for transgenic experiments :ebil:). Also you could effect the story (and the news as well!) with your descisions quite alot, which is a great thing to see in a game.

Acting: Do you mean voice acting or motion acting? motion acting would get it a straight 10, since it's near perfect, voice acting is covered under "sound".

GUI/Interface: 7. I liked the "world" interface, but the databank/inventory/implant screens were far less user-friendly than in the original. I liked the old grid inventory, the ability to choose images to view from a list (rather than scrolling though all of them to get to one) of the original, which were absent in Invisible War.

Weapons/gadgets: 8. The ones that were included were well done, but they were somewhat limited. I'd like to see an assualt rifle and/or a silenceable SMG (most SMGs could mount a silencer IRL), and maybe more types of pistols. Also, I didn't like the fact that you had only 1 ammo type for your entire weapon selection (though it makes sense when thinking of a nanotech world) and that each weapon had only one ammo type.

Augs: 7. Far more streamlined than in the original, but somewhat limiting as you had to choose one out of 3 implants rather than one out of two. I liked the inclusion of more "passive" upgrades and the ability to "override" old upgrades with new ones. What brings the score down to 7 is the lack of skills.

Architecture: 6. Adaquate, but in most cases not breathtaking. The great textures and excellent particle effects and lighting cover for this in most cases, though. What really annoys me are the very small maps - the original had alot more places to explore in each city.

Lighting: 10. Great. Simply great. Even with Shadows turned to Low, it's still great. Lighting works well and even adds to the atmosphere. Shading and dynamic lighting does it's job nearly flawlessly.

Combat: 9. Great for an action/adventure/RPG game, though if you want pure, perfect combat, play Max Payne 2, but DX2 does it's job well in this aspect and the AI is quite good (and notices corpses, unlike the original. Overall, the AI is like a vastly improved version of the Thief AI).

Stealth: 7. Thief this isn't - but it still works. Sneaking isn't very easy to accomplish and certain situations (too many of them!) just call for a firefight, but where you could sneak - or atleast snipe - it works pretty OK. I'd also like a blackjack/electroprod that works as in Thief - though the baton fills this niche quite well.

Replayability: 10. This is where the Deus Ex series really shine - you have alot of plot choices to make, and alot of conflicting objectives. Each time you play you could have a different experience, work for different factions or solve problems in a different way. Also, while the main "framework" is linear, the subplots usually aren't - you could do each city's subplots in almost any order you want.

Overall: 8.3 - Good, but I've expected more from the creators of the original Deus Ex. Also, the console-bound interface simplifications were annoying.