14 DAY TRIAL // The first Deus Ex was one of the videogames that left its mark on my gamer soul. It had a deep story, when compared with the narrative of most videogames, which involved worldwide conspiracies, secret organizations, extended surveillance and rogue agents. It had interesting endings, which showed how one man's action could impact the destiny of an entire world. It had beautiful modeled backgrounds, from the mean streets of New York to the high tech Asian buildings. And it had a strong combat element, where you could choose to go stealthy and take down adversaries using non lethal means, or you could choose to go in guns blazing, taking out all those who opposed you. And, of course, there was the nano augmentation system, which offered almost endless possibilities and allowed for the player to customize his characters to his playing style.
All things considered, the original Deus Ex was a complete gaming experience, even though some would criticize its acting, the quality of some characters and some of the combat mechanics. Even more criticism could be leveled at the sequel, Deus Ex: Invisible War, especially given the fact that the storyline made another sequel hard to create.
Now, Eidos Montrel is developing Deus Ex 3, which is a prequel focusing on a period before the original game. Biomechanical augmentations are planned to be introduced, an auto heal system and cover mechanics will be added to the series, and a complex plot is promised.
My problem? That the game is a prequel. Which means that no augmentations will be based on nanobots, but rather on mechanical devices. Also, the universe is likely to feature some of the same organizations that appeared in the first game, reducing the originality of the title. And, more importantly, the developers will need to create a story that leads to the events of the first Deus Ex, which means that they will have limited possibilities to innovate.
I can only hope that, after the prequel, Eidos will turn to the more important matter of creating a true sequel to Deus Ex: Invisible War, one to continue the story of the universe in a satisfying way.