Two quotes,“If there wasn’t organized oppression, there wouldn’t be organized resistance and what you call ‘terrorism’ wouldn't exist” & “You can imprison me, but you can’t imprison the truth.” These two meaningful in-game quotes are the basis if not the backbone of the incredible story of Deus Ex(2000), and if you like multi-layered conspiracy theories, you’ll love Deus Ex.  

Made by Ion Storm, Deus Ex is a role-playing, First-person-shooter, and stealth game. Deus Ex is the predecessor of incredible titles such as Thief and or System Shock 2 and it shares the graphics.  Deus Ex you step into the boots of JC Denton a nano-augmented agent for UNATCO an anti-terrorist organization. In the first level of the game, you are tasked with recapturing the shipment of Ambrosia, the only way to treat the people who suffer the “Gray Death.” In order to capture this shipment you must traverse Liberty Island, which holds the remains of the Statue of Liberty that was recently part of a terrorist attack involving the NSF; the organization that also captured the Ambrosia. Because the story of Deus Ex is one of its main selling points, I won't say anything more because the story is fundamental to the experience.

Deus Ex is part of a small genre of games known as “Immersive Sims,” that means In Deus Ex you are not bound by any singular playstyle; as the game allows you to play as you see it, may it be lethal or nonlethal. As you start the game you are given a set amount of points to allocate to specific talents such as pistols, snipers, explosives, hacking, locking, swimming, & others; Because of this intricate system, YOU play Deus Ex the way you want to play it. 

Similar to System Shock, Deus Ex has an augmentation system. Around each level, there are “Aug Canisters” scattered around. Collecting these canisters allows the player to install augments to themselves. Each aug correlates to a specific playstyle. If you happen to play aggressively, then maybe “Ballistic Protection” an aug that reduces damage is for you; Or if you play stealthy then “Cloak” an aug that makes the player invisible may suit your needs. Each augmentation is permanent, so you must consider if this augmentation is useful to you in the long run.

Each level of Deus Ex has many ways of tackling its challenges. There are multiple vents you can crawl your way through; or places where you can stack boxes and climb to. Since the community of Deus Ex adores the game, Deus Ex has a modding community. Such mods made by the community upgrade the base game, including new talents such as sneaking and features such as mantling to edges; Lay D Denton(created by Lay D. Dev) a mod that changes the model, voice, and pronouns of JC into a female version voiced by Karen Rohan, and many more!

In conclusion, Deus Ex’s brilliant design and phenomenal story make Deus Ex one of my favorite games. Those of you looking for a complex, unique experience will find it in Deus Ex. Although its visuals and animations may not be appealing to some, I believe that the story and gameplay make up for it. Deus Ex is one of the most fulfilling single-player games I've played. I only hope we see this attention to detail and design in future iterations of the series.