Deus Ex

Ah, Deus Ex, the game many consider the best FPS ever made. I tried this a month or two ago and stopped quickly because I wasn't very impressed at all and had other games to play. I'm trying it again now thanks to GameTap and I have to say, after playing all the way through the first mission this time, it's growing on me. I wouldn't call it great, I wouldn't even call it good. I'm prepared to say it's an OK game, for a couple of reasons.

First, the control feels really bad. The aim seems to slide a little when you move the mouse in a way that feels inaccurate. Deus Ex used the Unreal engine so there's really no excuse for that. Second, the guns are weak-feeling and inaccurate. I once was sneaking up on a guard and literally had the crosshair right on his head. He wasn't moving at all. I fired, and the bullet landed on the wall next to him. He panicked and set off the alarm. Now maybe one of the skills or augmentations your character receives will make your aim a little better, but it shouldn't be THAT bad, when you're completely stationary, shooting at a guard who isn't that far away. Speaking of weapons, your character takes way too little damage before dying. I'm all for realism, but at least make it fair. I have rarely heard this game called a stealth shooter specifically, but if you basically die if you attempt to fight a guard - because all your shots miss because of the horrible aim and control while all their shots are apparently dead on - then it's a stealth shooter. I'm not very fond of stealth shooters. Stealth is ok in moderation, but give me a fighting chance if I choose to run-and-gun, please! Finally, the guns in this game feel horrible. The pistol does this muted little "pop" when you shoot, and a tiny little impact mark shows where it hits. No, I'm not using a silencer either. There's hardly any muzzle flash and very little appearance of impact at all. As I will frequently say, I don't care about graphics at all which is why I will not talk about it at all in any review. However, gun effects are quite easy to implement that are completely independent of graphics and go a long way toward making the game more visceral-feeling and intense.

The story of this game is touted as some amazing piece of literary genius. I don't know about that, but it seems pretty good as far as games go so far. I personally don't usually play an action game like an FPS for the story, but since this game is obviously more heavy on the RPG and stealth elements than the "Shooter" element, I'm treating it as such and going along with it. With that attitude, it's definitely not a bad game, and I'll continue to play it to see if it gets better.