Is Deus Ex: Invisible War any good?

[Ancalagon]

So.... I'm going through Steam, looking for something to help me waste time, and I see Deus Ex: Invisible War, which I've never played before. I played the hell out of the first game, loved it, but when I heard bad things about the second, I didnt buy it for fear of ruining my memories of the game.

Is the game any good? Am I likely to have nightmares over what they did to Deus Ex to make invisible war?

[total]

So.... I'm going through Steam, looking for something to help me waste time, and I see Deus Ex: Invisible War, which I've never played before. I played the hell out of the first game, loved it, but when I heard bad things about the second, I didnt buy it for fear of ruining my memories of the game.

Is the game any good? Am I likely to have nightmares over what they did to Deus Ex to make invisible war?


It's a console game that was ported to PC. And you can tell. A lot.

[Ludoc]

So.... I'm going through Steam, looking for something to help me waste time, and I see Deus Ex: Invisible War, which I've never played before. I played the hell out of the first game, loved it, but when I heard bad things about the second, I didnt buy it for fear of ruining my memories of the game.

Is the game any good? Am I likely to have nightmares over what they did to Deus Ex to make invisible war?

It's a good game, not a great game but worth a play through or two.

Just realize the game is titled Dues Ex: Invisible War not Dues Ex 2. The game isn't a sequel of the original, just a game set in the same universe. If you're looking for a game that continues the story and mimics the game play of the first this isn't the game for you. However, if you are looking for a decent last gen shooter you should really give it a shot.

The game would not have received half the criticism it did if it had not contained Dues Ex in the title.

[Spectre-7]

The preponderance of opinions about IW are still negative. I personally enjoyed the heck out of it, but I was playing long after it was initially released, and was never really hung up on the original Deus Ex to begin with.

The RPG elements are nearly non-existent; you have no stats, and the inventory management has been (excessively) simplified. Instead, all character customization is done through choosing and upgrading biomods. The interaction with NPCs is pretty decent, though, and I had a ton of fun with the combat. I played through most of the game with super-speed and strength, and managed to deal with >80% of my fights by sprinting around my opponents and knocking them out with a nightstick... I'm not sure why that fills me with so much glee.

Unfortunately, most of the better aspects fall apart in the endgame. In the last section, you're squared off against power-armored opponents with rocket launchers and rail guns who are immune to all of the cool abilities you've built up throughout the rest of the adventure. It turns into a slugging match, but even then, it's still a good ride.

If you're looking for another Deus Ex, you'll probably be disappointed. On the other hand, if you go into it just expecting a fun, atmospheric cyberpunk game, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[President Fred]

I am not going to repeat all the points already raised. Just going to say that it's an ok game not a great one. If you liked the first and adjust your expectations you should have some fun with it.

[mesh]

It's not a great game, but it's close enough to the original to be enjoyable. Many critics say it's a crap console port due to comparing it with what they remember the original to be. I've compared both side by side. The console port shows a bit, but not overwhelmingly and it is a good game.

[axion]

It's a good fun game in its own respect, but doesn't compare with the first. I really enjoyed it.

[Johan]

Never played the original, but I just ordered the GotY edition for like $8. Looking forward to it.

[maharahaj]

It's a good fun game in its own respect, but doesn't compare with the first. I really enjoyed it.

Axion took the words right out of my mouth.

[Deadend]

The game becomes more fun after you open the .ini file and from there you can adjust some of the stats... and notice that there is a section labeled "Xbox". It's not that great of a game, but it's not horrible. However, it is a terrible sequel.

[JayK47]

Like Deadend said, you basically need to edit .ini files. I could not stand default settings. I think one of the defaults was mouse look lag or some crap like that. I could not play the game without an .ini adjustment. And I do believe this is a sequel. Later in the game, it ties into the original based on an assumption that your character makes a certain choice in the first game. I won't say any more since it may be considered a spoiler. But to me, this was a half-assed sequel. I did have some fun with it, but I felt the levels were too small and claustrophobic. All because the Xbox could not handle decent level sizes supposedly. So yeah, between the mouse lag and the small levels, the week RPG elements, this game stinks of console to PC port. If you can pick it up for less than $10, you almost can't be disappointed;)

[H.Bogard]

Buy Project: Snowblind (aka Deus Ex: Clan Wars) instead.

[DangerousDaze]

It tries to reach the heights of the first but fails in almost every department. Having said that, the first was so groundbreaking for its time that IW still delivers an enjoyable experience.

[Karak]

Good fun game.

[Ancalagon]

Hmmm, I think I'll give it a skip. to be honest I want something to scratch that sci fi/RPG/FPS itch. Why dont more people make games like this? BioShock was good, but now its over, and now I need to wait for Fallout 3 and Dead Space to come out in the UK.

[axion]

It seemed to me that almost everyone in here gave it a thumbs up, so why the skip?

[Ancalagon]

It seemed to me that almost everyone in here gave it a thumbs up, so why the skip?

Well, a few of the posts werent so positive.

I dont know really, perhaps I'm not sure I want to buy the game when it seems to be a poor console port. Maybe I'm just focusing on the negative instead of the positive.

Perhaps I'm worried it will sully my good memories of the first game?

[itchyeyes]

Well, a few of the posts werent so positive.

I dont know really, perhaps I'm not sure I want to buy the game when it seems to be a poor console port. Maybe I'm just focusing on the negative instead of the positive.

Perhaps I'm worried it will sully my good memories of the first game?
I think it's all a matter of perspective. If Invisible War had been released an an original IP, people would have remembered it as a somewhat flawed but still enjoyable game that most people should take a look at. Giving it the Deus Ex name though invites the inevitable comparisons to the original, which it never really had much of a chance of living up to.

Many of the criticisms against it aren't even for bad game design, but simply for differing too much from the original. For instance, were it an original IP you wouldn't see nearly as much talk about it being a "dumbed down console port". People would have just played it for what it was, and never noticed the differences. It's only the comparison to the original that casts it in that negative light.

[Young Al Capone]

I am sure it has been said but the short answer is: It is a good game, just not perfect like the first. If you can deal with that then it is definitely worth playing.

[Cit Phil Cit]

I would say no, it's not good. But maybe you can enjoy it in a piece-mail sort of way: parts of it are interesting or fun: but collectively I found it disappointing.

[jpublic]

I thought it was very fun. While it wasn't as brilliant overall as the original, it felt like a lot tighter and more streamlined experience.

As for the game showing the effects of being a console port, didn't the first PC patch fix that? I haven't played the game for a long while, but I distinctly remember after the first patch the defaults were changed to more closely reflect what a PC player would prefer.

[Ghostbear]

I didn't care for the game, I didn't think it was the worst thing ever, but I was glad I didnt spend any money on it. (it was a gift)

[Slack3r78]

Basically, forget that it has anything to do with Deus Ex and it's a marginally above average shooter. It's worth playing given most hardware today should be able to handle it with ease, which was a real issue when it was first released.

The single biggest problem as far as consolitis goes is the map size. The levels are designed around central hub areas and are relatively tiny, meaning traveling point to point can be a tedious series of load screens. This was done to work around the Xbox's comparatively small amount of RAM.

[Spectre-7]

The single biggest problem as far as consolitis goes is the map size. The levels are designed around central hub areas and are relatively tiny, meaning traveling point to point can be a tedious series of load screens. This was done to work around the Xbox's comparatively small amount of RAM.

That's true, although the load times weren't horrible when I played on my old system. I'm sort of curious whether they'd even be noticeable on my new rig. I may just have to reinstall and find out.

[Young Al Capone]

The load screens absolutely plague the game, but with my outdated rig the screens still last maybe a total of 5 seconds each.

[JayK47]

Woah. $15 from steam? As much as steam may be good for PC gaming, it doesn't help a whole lot when they sell old mediocre games for $15 when they should be more like $7.99. What is really sad though, is the game is that much at Amazon as well. And the Xbox version is $26. WTF? Hmmm. GoGamer has the Xbox version for $10 or less. That is to say you have an Xbox. Well to me, the game is not really worth $15 today. Maybe keep an eye out for a price drop or a sale. Perhaps $10 is more reasonable.

Honestly, Steam should be a lot cheaper. It it was, I would have a shit ton of Steam games, not just 1. I would go as far to say that I would do most of my PC game buying on Steam. But right now I can still get retail boxed games for less most of the time. And I get to open up the new game and get to breathe in that new game smell. Oh I love the smell of a new instruction booklet. Mmmm.

[Slack3r78]

Woah. $15 from steam? As much as steam may be good for PC gaming, it doesn't help a whole lot when they sell old mediocre games for $15 when they should be more like $7.99. What is really sad though, is the game is that much at Amazon as well. And the Xbox version is $26. WTF? Hmmm. GoGamer has the Xbox version for $10 or less. That is to say you have an Xbox. Well to me, the game is not really worth $15 today. Maybe keep an eye out for a price drop or a sale. Perhaps $10 is more reasonable.

Honestly, Steam should be a lot cheaper. It it was, I would have a shit ton of Steam games, not just 1. I would go as far to say that I would do most of my PC game buying on Steam. But right now I can still get retail boxed games for less most of the time. And I get to open up the new game and get to breathe in that new game smell. Oh I love the smell of a new instruction booklet. Mmmm.
I agree with you on this one being overpriced (as are a lot of titles. I can't justify CoD4 at $50 still, for example). That said, after going through the experience of moving twice in two months and having much of my physical media get either lost or damaged, I've decided to go as close to 100% digital distribution as I can manage, even if it costs a couple bucks more.

[Ancalagon]

Mwahahaha.

Theres a mod for UT2k4, called Deus Ex: Reborn. Its a port of Deus Ex to the UE2 engine, and includes higher resolution textures and better models. So it looks like I'm buying the original and best then. I just hope that the steam version will let me mod it. Or that I'll be able to port the steam version to the UE2 engine using this Deus Ex Reborn mod.

Linky (http://dxr.deusexgaming.com/)

[Young Al Capone]

Have fun waiting, I have been watching this and hdtp (http://offtopicproductions.com/hdtp/) for over three years now. They will work together if they ever see the light of day.

[Ancalagon]

Have fun waiting, I have been watching this and hdtp (http://offtopicproductions.com/hdtp/) for over three years now. They will work together if they ever see the light of day.

I thought you could already download the HDTP?

Also, there was an Alpha release of DXR. Hopefully they release a Beta soon? They did plan to release in September, so hopefully it wont be long.

Incidentally, I'm also waiting for another remake - Black Mesa. Hope both come out soon!

[Young Al Capone]

The HDTP download is a very small portion of the final mod, just to give a taste. What is there is good, but you have to keep an eye out or you will miss it all together. I played that Alpha of DXR more than a year ago.

I really would love to see them, but often times ambitious mods like these eventually just die out.