In the gaming world at least, evolution is the word.
From the glory days of arcade games to the modern world of ultra-realism, developers survive through innovations in game engine, graphics, dialogue, story-telling and gameplay.
A great example of this progression is the Deus Ex series.
The original Deus Ex was released in 2000 – the player is placed in the role of J.C. Denton, a nano-augmented agent under the employ of UNATCO (United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition).
As the game advances, Denton is drawn deep into an intricate conspiracy.
While Deus Ex can play out as a first-person shooter alone, players are rewarded for finding alternative routes, exploration and thinking outside the box.
Most notably is the game’s upgrade or augmentation system.
Through the gain of experience points, players upgrade their skills, while augmentation provides superhuman abilities such as cloaking, boosted strength, increased speed and enhanced vision.
As a result, different skills cause the game to play out in varied ways.
Ion Storm, the developer of Deus Ex and its sequel, Deus Ex: Invisible War closed its doors in 2005 and it wasn’t until 2011 gamers saw more of the series.
This time, Eidos Montreal stepped in to revive the series.
In addition to a mobile title and a puzzle game based on the series, publisher Square Enix bulked out the Deus Ex series with Human Revolution and Mankind Divided.
Both titles were a welcome return to consequence-based, intuitive gameplay.
Continuing the path laid out by the first title, Human Revolution and Mankind Divided allowed for varied and branching gameplay, thanks to augmentations ranging from camouflage and silent movement to a sub-dermal projectile launcher.
With great gameplay and immersive story, this series has shown the importance of freedom in play style, and given another reason to love branching upgrade systems.
Will the future play out this way?
We don’t know yet, but it’s certain the Deus Ex series is always worth returning to, whether it’s old- or new-school.
