`Deus Ex' (pronounced `day-us ex') is a brilliant SF adventure/RPG/first person shooter hybrid. Set in the not-too-distant future, you get to play J.C. Denton, a nano-technology-enhanced agent of Unatco, an anti-terrorist division of the United Nations (that actually exists in real life!).
The game has a great atmosphere, with a feeling of urban decay & desolation reminiscent of movies like `Escape from New York'. It has lots of cyberpunk elements, evoking works like William Gibson's `Neuromancer'.
The game has an elaborate plot, with Denton uncovering conspiracy upon conspiracy, and discovering that things are rarely as they seem. Alliances shift, and everyone has his own agenda. There is no black & white; there are only shades of grey. At several points in the times, you, J.C. Denton, are required to do questionable things, and it will be up to you how to make moral decisions every now and then. As the game contains lots of dialogue, gamers who are expecting a mindless Quake clone might be disappointed. But it's worth it. Trust me.
This brings us to game play. While the game itself is fairly linear (after all, it has to follow the main story), the game basically consists of series of missions, which usually involve infiltration on enemy bases, rescue missions, sabotage, etc. How you achieve your goals at each of these missions is entirely up to you; you can sneak past guards, or you stun them with a riot prod, or shoot them with a variety of weapons (from mini-crossbows over pistols to rocket launchers). You don't have to kill anyone; if you can just sneak past the guards, way to go. You can sneak around behind bushes, or inside air ducts. You also have to avoid security systems, or you can deal with them in a variety of ways:you can shoot the cameras with a sniper gun, disable them or hack into their controls and turn them off, or even use them against the enemy. You'll also have to break into locked areas from time to time, which will require you to pick the lock, find a pass or security code (or sometimes you can just blow up the door) etc. Bottom line: there is never just one way to solve a situation; there are always alternatives. This is what makes Deus Ex so enjoyable, and almost endlessly replayable.
You can find weapons and/or ammo by buying them from certain people, from crates, closets, etc. that you encounter, or loot them off bodies of enemies you have taken out.
As a matter of fact, sneaking around is an important part of the game, as going in with guns blazing, Quake style, will only get you killed. The game is quite hard in that respect, BTW, but there are lots of built-in cheats available to experiment with; these might actually make the game more enjoyable, instead of just spoil it, but I guess that is a matter of personal taste.
You start out with minimal experience in various skills, but, like in an RPG, you gain experience points (called `skill points' in this game) which you can use to upgrade your various skills. These skills have an enormous impact on how the game play in Deus Ex. E.g. you need a certain level to be able to shoot cameras with the sniper gun; a higher swim skill level will make you swim faster, etc.
I could spend hours more writing about this game. It's a classic. The only thing that comes close is the brilliant `System Shock' game series. If you want something more than just mindless blasting, get Deus Ex.
