Is Deus Ex the best game ever? pro vs. contra

Since I played DX1 at the first time (in the second half of 2011), I spent literally 3 months to explore and finish it, and even explored several other things in it later.

During this time, I fell in love with this game. This stuff is so perfect - yes, enemies are dumb; yes, graphics is a bit old today; yes, levels are plain, you can notice it after 5-10 visits (EDIT: THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! only after a lot of visits! the first impression of levels is perfect!); yes, engine is not optimized well; yes, it has bugs and glitches...

But somehow, the atmosphere, the story, the music, the wide range of decisions, and everything else makes this game so realistic for me. I can feel literally that I'm walking on the streets of New York like JC Denton.

Even though I haven't played much games yet, I haven't even heard about something that can be better than Deus Ex.

Share your opinions and experiences here!

It's up there that's for sure. I'm a little more fond of system shock 2 though.

Also:

No, it isn't. I'd agree it's one of the best PC RPGs to date, but not more than that.

Now, maybe if we had a Deus Ex-style game entirely taking place in China...that's always been the part I loved the most (Hong Kong in Deus Ex 1 and Hengsha in Human Revolution). The more sinister vibe of claustrophobic cities packed full of people works so much better than the slightly more desolate and open New York and Detroit do.

I have a hard time separating my intense love of this game from critical analysis of the same, since I grew up with it. But it is really fucking good; more impressive when it first came out, but still good today.

I loved it so much that I actually deleted my save when I was at the final 'confrontation' with the you-know-what, because I didn't want the game to end. Every few years I reinstall it, and play up to, or near, that point again.

It's a very good game which I enjoyed a lot, but I'd put Ultima Underworld II and Morrowind above it.

Also, you know, Doom.

No.

Also, am I going to be ostracized if I say that I preferred DX:HR to DX?

DoomUK said:

No.

Also, am I going to be ostracized if I say that I preferred DX:HR to DX?

No, I am in the same boat. While I really appreciated the innovations the first game brought, it had a very bland art direction and for me the aesthetics of a game matter a lot.I really like the use of color in HR especially the use of orange instead of brown/gray. Not only that but Human Revolution is a very faithful remake of the original.

DX:HR was a good game. It had its flaws, but ironically they were almost the same as in the original game. Flat feeling 'open-world' segments; uncharacteristically combat-heavy boss fights; endings come down to a final choice. It's the sequel we deserved, not the one we wanted.

DoomUK said:

Also, am I going to be ostracized if I say that I preferred DX:HR to DX?

As long as you didn't prefer DX:IW to DX, you may be forgiven.

schwerpunk said:

uncharacteristically combat-heavy boss fights

.

@ Vaporizer: Preaching to the choir, here. I prefer DX1 in almost every respect. Just pointing out that both games' weak points were very similar.
@ Gez: I don't know what was supposed to load below my quote, but I'm going to guess it's a reference to "Flatlander Woman." :P

EDIT: Oh, it's the Namir fight. Incidentally, it's the same ending if you shoot him (video jumps to end).

I've never been able to really get into Deus Ex for one main reason. This reason may sound stupid to some, but it bugs the heck out of me. There's no autosave feature. I'm sorry, but in a game with such epic, sprawling environments, it's friggin' annoying to die 90% through a mission and have to start all over with nothing. Sure, I could save on my own, but you don't tend to think of that when you're doing well, and dammit, it pisses me off when I'm on a good streak, when I've done everything perfectly, and then I have to restart the entire mission simply because I made a stupid mistake near the end. I know many people see autosave as a cheat, but I see it as a way of avoiding having to repeat sections that I got through flawlessly.

In a way, autosave reminds me of my brilliant Calculus teacher in high school. With every test, he'd let you take it home and rework any problems you got wrong for half-credit. Thus, you could fail a test, and bring it back corrected for a C. The point was so that you'd learn from your mistakes, and it worked very well. That's how I see autosave - instead of punishing you for screwing up, it allows you to learn from your mistakes so you won't make them in the future.

Katamori said:

yes, enemies are dumb; yes, graphics is a bit old today; yes, levels are plain, you can notice it after 5-10 visits; yes, engine is not optimized well; yes, it has bugs and glitches...

Exactly like with Thief, and Thief is one of my all-time favorite games. Only Doom and Quake (multiplayer) are above.

geekmarine said:

I've never been able to really get into Deus Ex for one main reason. This reason may sound stupid to some, but it bugs the heck out of me. There's no autosave feature. I'm sorry, but in a game with such epic, sprawling environments, it's friggin' annoying to die 90% through a mission and have to start all over with nothing. Sure, I could save on my own, but you don't tend to think of that when you're doing well, and dammit, it pisses me off when I'm on a good streak, when I've done everything perfectly, and then I have to restart the entire mission simply because I made a stupid mistake near the end. I know many people see autosave as a cheat, but I see it as a way of avoiding having to repeat sections that I got through flawlessly.

In a way, autosave reminds me of my brilliant Calculus teacher in high school. With every test, he'd let you take it home and rework any problems you got wrong for half-credit. Thus, you could fail a test, and bring it back corrected for a C. The point was so that you'd learn from your mistakes, and it worked very well. That's how I see autosave - instead of punishing you for screwing up, it allows you to learn from your mistakes so you won't make them in the future.

Just bind quicksave to a comfortable key and compulsively use it. You just have to be careful not to use it right before you're about to die.

Katamori said:

....yes, enemies are dumb; yes, graphics is a bit old today; yes, levels are plain, you can notice it after 5-10 visits; yes, engine is not optimized well; yes, it has bugs and glitches...

These are all very good reasons why Deus Ex is not the best game ever. If it were, then it would have none of these flaws. Even then, it still wouldn't be a PERFECT game - someone out there would dislike it simply because of its genre, or that it's violent, or they didn't like the soundtrack, or whatever the hell. It's all relative.

Put me down in the prefers Human Revolution camp. It wasn't perfect, but it fixed nearly every issue I had with the original game and I loved the art direction and music. I felt the story in the original was better, though. HR's story wasn't bad at first, but it just gets stupid in the last area.

The best game ever is Saints Row The Third And A Half. So, no, Deus Ex can't be it. It's up there, I'll give you that.

This discussion is meaningless, and here is why.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/7161-Perfect-Pasta-Sauce

^^ Great, a british kim dot com

I've never said that Deus Ex would be perfect, because it obviously isn't. There is no perfect game.

I just told that the "overall layout" is better than everything I've seen before and I'm gonna see in the future.

Sorry, but even better than Doom.

(I can feel the banhammer already)

However, Doom is the game of my life. DX1 is "just" my absolute fav.

Yeah, DX1 doesn't have the infinite expandability that Doom does, but for a more singular, narrative experience, it's probably of higher quality. /imho obv

It's like... Doom is a monthly hobby magazine that you never get tired of, and DX1 is this superb book that just rocks your world. Both have their place, but in a non-overlapping way (as I see it).

Deus Ex is a sum of many different parts that comes together greater than they would be individually, really. I mean, for instance, the shooting in the game is total garbage, really - having to stand still in order to get an accurate aim on anything, at least before leveling up the relevant weapon category, kinda ruins any flow it would have as an FPS proper. Which is probably why I played the game whacking people's spines with a police baton instead... Works okay as a stealth game.

Shadow Hog said:

Deus Ex is a sum of many different parts that comes together greater than they would be individually, really. I mean, for instance, the shooting in the game is total garbage, really - having to stand still in order to get an accurate aim on anything, at least before leveling up the relevant weapon category, kinda ruins any flow it would have as an FPS proper. Which is probably why I played the game whacking people's spines with a police baton instead... Works okay as a stealth game.

Yeah... as much as it sells itself as a game where every approach is valid -- which is true -- it's much more satisfying as a sneaking game. Kind of like the Metal Gear Solid games. Sure, you can go in guns blazing, but it's pretty much a failstate in both of these franchises. Even if you can play the whole game this way, there isn't much point, as there are already better straight-up shooters out there.

Was DX ever intended to be played as a regular FPS - or rather, like a less realistic FPS? It seems you're asking an apple to taste more like an orange.

I can only assume they intended for it to be a legitimate playstyle, considering how much ammunition they throw at you.

DoomUK said:

Was DX ever intended to be played as a regular FPS - or rather, like a less realistic FPS? It seems you're asking an apple to taste more like an orange.

Logistically, perhaps the game would have been poorer if they'd attempted to make the brute force approach as smooth as the sneaking approach, simply because the devs had a limited amount of time to make their game. But I don't think the game would have suffered if they'd spent a few extra months tweaking the violence. DX:HR proved to me that satisfying shooting mechanics can coexist alongside solid sneaking mechanics.

I'd say it is, as people have said some of the individual elements of the game are pretty weak but taken as a whole it can't be beat in my opinion (And i prefer it over the 3rd one , story is better along with the openess of the maps/soundtrack/more complexity in general)
As for people saying saints row 3, i wouldn't even call it the best saints row game as i think the 2nd one is so much better even if the crappy PC port lets it down.

As for people saying saints row 3, i wouldn't even call it the best saints row game as i think the 2nd one is so much better even if the crappy PC port lets it down.

I hear that opinion a lot. The only logical conclusion is you people hate fun.

In all seriousness, any discussion about the best game ever can't be serious. Previous comment was regarding the fourth game that is yet to be released, by the way. Plenty of people throwing a tantrum about it using the same engine and assets. Because using new technology is the most determining factor in making good video games!

I played it and quite enjoyed it but I have enjoyed other games more. It's good but not the best. I'm not even sure that it is possible to be the best game ever given the range of experiences that fall under the term "game".