Deus Ex earned about as much praise as a game is capable of receiving. The moody cyberpunk blend of FPS and RPG was lauded for the agency it gave players in approaching its levels and shaping its protagonist, counterterrorist agent JC Denton. Its story about Denton’s attempt to unravel a global conspiracy in the bleak future of 2052 offers far more depth than the “Shoot all the Nazis” or “Shoot all the dinosaurs” narratives of its contemporaries, especially once dialogue choices begin changing the world. Even your morality is relevant: make Denton a tank who shoots everything that moves and characters will react differently than if he’s a sneaky pacifist.
