The Skills range from Electronics to Handling of Close combat weapons, the skills are upgraded via Skill points which are obtained when you complete objectives (Completion bonus), get to places you need to get to (Area location bonus) or just generally explore (exploration bonus). Augmentations are a different, these are technological enhancements to JC Denton, most advanced and more focused on certain things then skills. Augmentations are contained in canisters which can be found through out the game and found in secret areas which can only be found through exploration, once you get a augmentation canister you have to find a Medical bot to install it for you: once it is installed you can use it but it can be upgraded further to increase it's efficiency by Augmentation upgrades. In the game there are variety of upgrades, electro-magnetic shield, bullet proof skin, invisibility, healing, anti-radiation, silent movement and more: but these all suck out your Bioelectrical energy which is quite limited and higher usages like invisibility will use it up at a blistering pace.

The game is very balanced to see that everything does not backstab you depending on which choices you made, say if you upgrade all your hacking skill but not your weapons skills, you will still be able to get past areas, which are full of guards without getting yourself killed.

But there are some quirks and problems with Deus Ex; the AI is sometimes very weak. Say if you shoot an enemy, which stands next to someone else, the other guard will be alerted, but all that other does is run around and then stop while his comrade is dead on the ground and utters "oh! It must have been nothing" Please. Another issue is the huge save files of Deus Ex, most of them are 8MB at later levels this reaches 21 MB and for anybody who likes to be cautious and saves every other minute this is a problem as the saves eat away at hard drive space.

Conclusion

In terms of Single player enjoyment Deus Ex is unbeatable; the plot is rock solid and just as interesting to solve, X-Files fans would love it even more for it's futuristic setting and conspiracy theory plot. Ion Storm has done a exceptional job at a enjoyable singe player experience at times where most companies are making online only products like Quake 3: Arena and Unreal Tournament. A must buy for anyone who enjoyed System Shock 2 and who can overcome Deus Ex's few glitches, Single player games are alive and well.

by Fred 'Doomie' Agza

Graphics - 7.0 Sound - 9.0 Gameplay - 9.0 Originality - 9.0
Overall - 9.0/10

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