Deus Ex is a series that needs no introduction to anyone within the PC gaming sphere however, for those who have either never looked into such a PC classic themselves or are only familiar with the later modern entries from 2011 onwards starting with Human Revolution, the first Deus Ex takes us into the near-future of 2052 that's set in a dark dystopian sci-fi world where we take control of one of gaming's arguably most legendary characters in video gaming history, J.C Denton,

To start off with a little personal history, I was well-aware of the original Deus Ex's legacy even before trying it out for the first time ever, having played Human Revolution when it first released on the PlayStation 3, except being a pure console gamer at the time I resorted to playing the inferior (if decent and perhaps technically impressive for such a limited console compared to the more specs-heavy PCs) 'Deus Ex: The Conspiracy' for the PS2. Though having only gotten about 2/3rd of the way into the game before dropping it entirely, it would take until a trip abroad in Vienna to have a good friend of mines introduce me to the vast world of PC gaming, both giving me a new insight into Deus Ex as well as Steam itself. (Surprisingly yes, it took me until 2019 to finally give the massive PC gaming platform a shot despite all my time on the Internet!)

Given how I've now been on Steam for a number of years, I figured it was about time to finally return to this gem of a video game and truly give it the attention it deserves from a more mature and analytical lens to see how well it's aged in the many years since!

Now getting into the nitty-gritty details here, Deus Ex is primarily a game that blends both first-person shooter and role-playing game mechanics together as the refined combat mechanics combined with the excellent narrative and game design that promotes player choice truly encapsulates what a FPS/RPG hybrid should all be about.

Obviously saying all of this without going into the details wouldn't make for a great review, so to start off with the FPS side of things, Deus Ex gives the player a wide arsenal of weapons to tackle each combat situation they can be thrown into as there exists a plethora of melee and ranged options for both lethal and non-lethal approaches, each of them aiding a particular kind of playstyle that the player may prefer as some weapons (mini-crossbow, sniper rifle, baton) favour a more stealthy and tactical approach whilst other firearms (assault rifle, sawn-off shotgun and the GEP gun) focus on a more 'loud' method that favours action above all else.

On the note of player agency, what makes Deus Ex truly stand out as an FPS game is how well it's RPG counterparts holds up (I could go on praising how compelling the whole story is, coupled with so many optional areas and 'quests' that both expand the lore of Deus Ex and give tangible benefits to the player, however I'll leave it unspoiled for any newcomers or Deus Ex fans who have yet to play the original) since there is a shockingly impressive amount of ways one can play this game as far as tackling each of the objectives goes!

For starters, simply ways of accomplishing each goal will almost ALWAYS have at least two paths for the player to take, typically an obvious but more dangerous and resource-intensive approach coupled with a more subtle and well-hidden method that will be more rewarding and/or quicker and easier on the player's limited resources should they take the time to find out said path, whether this take the form of careful platforming or gathering intel from documents to open up locked doors and the likes or even outright eliminating the need to take on certain objectives altogether! (Mind you, this isn't even taking into account any tactics unintended by the developers, which especially knowledgeable players will make full use of!)

This then extends into the RPG aspect of Deus Ex as players can not only upgrade many of their weapons using multiple mods to improve their performance (recoil mod for reduced 'kick' on shots, extended mag mod for improved ammo capacity, silencer mod for preventing firearms attracting attention when shot etc) but also a key part of this very series, that being the 'nano augmentations' that forces a player to choose one of two abilities for nine entirely separate pathways, each one of the 18 having four separate levels that using an upgrade capsule on will improve the efficiency of them even further as you progress further into the game, a serious commendation here as far as 'player choice' is concerned!

Of course, given that this game was developed way back in 2000 and how technology has (ironically) improved a lot over the past two and a half decades almost, it is then unfortunate to report that there is some issues to be had with getting this game to run smoothly without the use of mods.

For the record, I decided to stick to vanilla when playing through this game and, having had a bad time with using Direct3D Support for graphics due to the brightness being far too dark and seemingly not adjustable on the game's settings, I had to resort to using Software Rendering as an alternative (something the game determined to not be 'optimal' funnily enough) as at least the brightness there worked and made the game playable as intended.

However I came across several other issues during my time spent on Deus Ex, some of which can be attributed to using Software Rendering, which I shall list below as follows:

• Game framerate would suddenly take a considerable hit after roughly 50-60 minutes of gameplay, forcing a reboot to bring back stable performance
• Steam screenshots do not work unlike Direct3D, therefore unable to easily upload any in-game photos
• Certain objects would not display correctly as they would overlay on top of walls/floors and behind other objects
• Screen tearing can be seen occasionally, with NPCs sometimes having textures glitch in specific areas and dead bodies being partially cut off depending on position
• Early on in the game, Harley Filben offers you the code to get into the Brooklyn Bridge Station to progress, however the game would not let me pay him for it despite having well over the amount of credits required (unsure if there's another method for this, but it was one of two times I needed to refer to a walkthrough)

Whilst none of these are exactly game-breaking, it is unfortunate that these issues exist for a game as highly-revered as the original Deus Ex even now in 2024, however I am aware of various mods that help to improve the gameplay experience of this classic alongside various QOL updates and graphics/performance improvements, which Steam thankfully has several top-tier guides if you are interested in looking those up!

Though if you are looking for an easy guide to simply get the must-have mods installed and aren't looking to delve too far into the modding scene, then Francisè von Spitroast's guide here will provide all the necessary instructions to get Deus Ex to run smoothly and provide players with a gaming experience that matches the quality that such a PC gem deserves:

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2875911574
In short, Deus Ex is a fantastic game that stands the test of time, showcasing what the best in game design has to offer where player agency matters most in a FPS meets RPG hybrid that makes full use of it's sci-fi dystopia setting with what was a groundbreaking narrative driven by all manners of conspiracy theories brought to life in this wonderful game by Ion Storm and it is one that, if you somehow have never tried or even seen this game before, I would wholeheartedly recommend trying out for yourself to appreciate those that put the 'fun' in gameplay as a top priority first and foremost above all else!