Deus Ex: Invisible War

Format PC

Developer Ion Storm

Publisher Unknown

Genre First Person Shooter, Role Playing

It has 'sex' in the title (kind of), has a hardcore following, drooling over pics on the Net but it's not porn. We're talking Deus Ex: Invisible War, just about the most hotly-anticipated true sequel since MGS2, and it's looking fiendishly... sexy.

Set 15 years after the multiple endings of the cracking original, the world's economy has gone down the toilet and JC Denton's superhuman nano-technology is commonplace enough for a terrorist suicide-bomber to use it to destroy Chicago, kick-starting the storyline with one hell of a bang. It's a terrifying, topical opening scenario, and the beginning of a videogame journey intended to both entertain and challenge our perceptions on issues like terrorism.

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Whatever, so long as it's stuffed with more cool features than a Polar plastic surgery, has more conspiracy theories than Stop The War protesters have about Bush, Blair and Iraq, and looks a whole bunch better than the last game. The good news is that it is, it has and it makes the original look like it had visual halitosis.

DID I MISS ANYTHING?
For starters, DE1's overly complex skill and nano-augmentation system has been replaced with bio-modification slots that each require an initial technology choice (like spy droid or better vision) and later get upgrades with added functionality. All of which gives you a huge range of choices as to how to play and develop your character. Best of all, if you mess it up, you can (at a cost) swap mods.Nor does it matter if you missed DE1, though fans of the original will love the way the sequel develops the DE universe. From the big storyline stuff - not many details yet - to lesser matters like what happened when DE1 genetic freaks the Greasels escaped into the wild. Which you'll discover if you take time out to read the newspapers - just one of reams of interactive objects that make DE's world and its environments so rich.

Do you feel real?
However, sometimes nice but apparently insignificant detail like objects lying around levels and dynamic lighting are also much more than mere wallpaper. You'll need to look at what's around you and determine how best to exploit it using your bio-mods to progress through the levels, as there are usually multiple routes to complete objectives.

So you can set fire to boxes or flares to get through darkened rooms (complete with real-time shadows), duck for cover from the roving spot-lights of hunter-killer droids or blow up toxic barrels before tricking enemies into the choking fumes, safe in the knowledge your bio-mods will keep you safe. What's more, such challenges aren't even scripted, so the enemy AI promises to be something special to keep up with it all.

Then there's the plot. How you play the levels is of course also dependent on how you tackle the multi-branching storylines and the different factions - your relationships with one will affect how others treat you too. Phew! And we've barely scratched the surface. Excited yet? You should be.

CVG Staff