Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition (PC, 2001)
Graphics-7/7.5* Sound-8.5 Control-7 Challenge-7 Story-8
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-7 Fun-7.5 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-7.5
*w/ mods
+
System Shock/Thief-like ARPG gameplay with multiple solutions to problems and some MV elements (hacking (computers, ATMs, security consoles - security including cameras can also be disabled with consumable items), lockpicking, combat (melee, mid range or sniping), involved stealth (sneaking, leaning around corners (System Shock), silent takedowns with certain weapons+hiding of bodies, can throw or shoot objects to distract enemies and attack or run past them (Flashback), guards have to run and hit an alarm button to call for reinforcements), swimming, explosions, cameras can be avoided/disabled (directly with tools or via terminals with hacking)/destroyed, can hack turrets to make them shoot enemies - System Shock 2, can open locked doors and chests with explosives - Outcast; augmentations/upgrades to 6 body parts (arms, legs, subdermal, torso, cranial/head, eyes; select between two of these at a time at canisters found throughout the game - similar to System Shock 2), some shops, various hidden items and you get bonus exp for finding hidden locations, weapon modifications with consumable items (reload speed, accuracy, clip size, accurate range increase for hitscan/insta-hit weapons, recoil reduction, laser pointer=perfect accuracy for hitscan weapons unless a scope mod is installed, scope=sniping but also an accuracy penalty when not using it, silencer, breakable doors and some other objects, can open some doors by luring enemies or making them escape through them, some revisiting of previous areas during new missions to open up new paths within them, alternate ammo types, can hack some enemy robots to make them fight for you)
Quest journal and message log features
Basic character creation with 11 skill categories (weapon skill affects reloading time+accuracy+damage+recoil, can spend gained skill points/exp at any point in-game but not downgrade a skill, a few pre-made appearances to choose from, no classes or char stats like str/def etc.)
Full control config
Optional and interactive tutorial (however some skills are barely covered at all and neither are augmentations)
Dialogue trees appear from time to time (generally 3 options are given, Denton will pretty often talk without your input though and have his own opinion on various things)
Fully voiced NPCs (some good VA, a bunch of exposition is done via found text messages though)
Some hidden shortcuts
Some object manipulation (can carry and place boxes as well as stack boxes to reach higher - Unreal?, can also placed explosive boxes on rolling carts)
Can skip dialogue on a per line basis
Customizable quick item inventory with 9 slots (full inventory in a separate menu)
Can 1 hit KO enemies with melee weapons if you hit the in the right spot (the lower spine) as well as with ranged by aiming at the head (sniper rifle or sawed-off shotgun) or back of the neck
Difficulty options (easy-realistic/very hard)
Can add your own notes to maps (System Shock), Can edit text notes in the menu and copy paste parts of notes like in notepad
Can listen in on enemy and other NPC conversations
Some good humour (some skill descriptions, women's bathroom incident, gunther and the slot machine, the exaggerated accents seem to be intentional, door girl in the club in hong kong, etc) as well as some unintentionally funny situations due to the deadpan voice acting and lacking facial expressions
Pretty impressive how the game reacts to you not following orders/protocol with your boss commenting on your actions in a pretty realistic manner
Ammo doesn't take up inventory slots (unlike in SS2)
Areas feel more like actual places than the average FPS level from the '90s (SS2)
Can choose to save or kill a few important NPCs - has a decent effect on the story. Can also choose who of your two allies from UNATCO joins you for Hong Kong in the mid-game which affects gameplay in some ways
Some interesting abilities/augmentations (cloaking (separate for people and robots), speed enhancement - move faster+jump higher and longer, spy drone - flying controllable EMP bomb, vision enhancement - nightvision at lvl 1+infravision at lvl 2+see through walls at levels 3-4 (lvl 4 increases the range), aggressive defense system - on max lvl it causes enemy explosive projectiles to detonate in their face)
Voiced radio assistance that doesn't pause gameplay and which generally happens outside of combat (Burning Rangers?)
Fight alongside allied NPCs in some missions
Skippable cutscenes besides a few minor ones
No reputation or morality sliders - the game judges your actions with NPC reactions and they tend to vary (some NPCs like a violent approach while others don't for example)
Some decent puzzles involving stackable boxes and exploding boxes
Can release some beasts at two points to make enemies fight amongst themselves and poison gas at one point to take out a room full of enemies
Good sense of vulnerability after helping Paul and when escaping from the MJ12 facility (while hacking the game also doesn't pause and it's done under a time limit which creates tension during those segments)
Some NPC schedules in Hong Kong (adds to immersion)
Some cool weapons (lock-on feature for the rocket launcher/GEP gun, flamethrower, grenades can also be placed on surfaces and used as proximity mines, riot prod, flare darts, laser sight mod)
Some interesting social and political commentary (plutocracy and industrial military complex observations, AI boosted surveillance replacing god)
Some scripted events (assaults in hell's kitchen, assassination of the NSF leader, getting captured - some issues here though, NPC events and the surprise attack in the club in hong kong+drug dealers attacking, escape segment at hell's kitchen, traitor gatekeeper near the crypt, the mechanic saboteur, etc.; somewhat fewer than in SS though which is probably due to the stealth aspect)
Some decent bosses (walton simons)
Pretty well made cyberpunk theme (only lacking a variant of cyberspace)
Three different endings depending on your choices - only your choices during the finale in area 51 really affect these though
+/-
Save anywhere (many slots, the game automatically enters current area+time taken+keeps track of the number of times you've saved), Energy recharge and healing robots (moving stations) here and there - these are sometimes OP in that you can keep using them over and over with just a 1m cooldown in-between charges
Mostly linear overarching structure? (mission-based however you can affect the story in various ways and take alternate paths to your goals, some side missions, cities are hubs that connect to certain locations and you can do some missions and side missions in any order but you have to visit each city in a set order, can start the game with exp points unspent if you want to save them for later, can also carry an augmentation canister with you for later, can't go back to the hell's kitchen area during mission 3, partially open-ended MJ12 facility area and Versalife area)
Some optional ability gating (GEP gun or using explosives for certain doors, can push heavy boxes if you get the microfibral muscles augment, speed augmentation also affects jump height and length letting you make some jumps you otherwise couldn't have)
Specialized builds are encouraged over a jack of all trades one (can only master 2 skills at most if you do the side missions?)
Can attack and kill NPCs (they'll fight back) - can affect the story
Some automatic unsteadiness when using a sniping scope before mastering its skill (you also get slower movement when using heavy weapons before training that skill)
No speech or charisma/persuasion skill
Can find passwords for all terminals on liberty island - makes some parts a bit too easy if you just explore?
Ranged attack accuracy is dependent on waiting for the crosshair to shrink while aiming at something until you master your skill with a certain ranged weapon - makes a guns blazing approach less viable unless you really focus your points on one skill?
Can't grab and climb ledges (System Shock)
The way aiming works makes the crossbow less useful for stealth takedowns even if your skill with it is mastered (they can still run for a bit before going unconscious though if you're patient you can generally avoid being spotted by others) - seems you can hit enemies in the back of the neck to make it 100% reliable but that's usually very tricky to pull off without a scope which is also expensive to buy. You can also use it for distractions and then use a melee attack or sneak past the enemy/ies instead
The game is rather forgiving about how far the sound of a gunshot or explosion travels and enemy sight range isn't that great either. Enemies also tend to forget about having spotted you unless there's an alarm switch nearby and the alarms themselves don't seem to ever reach an entire building or sub area
Missions are not timed - can explore an area after completing your main goal to collect items and get exploration bonuses
Easy to disarm gas grenades and explosives set as traps and use them yourself
Fall damage - can be reduced with the speed augmentation and its upgrades
Some resource management (ammo/tools/energy; limited inventory and no stash+can't fully explore every area, lockpicks are kind of rare in mission 2 and in hong kong, paths generally require using more than one kind of skill to get through),
Gain an overpowered sword about halfway into the game (makes focusing on melee/low-tech skill not really worth it). Aggressive Defense System and Targeting are OP on higher levels. The flamethrower is pretty OP as well though it does destroy enemy items and isn't stealthy
No mini-games tied to lockpicking or hacking - you just wait while a bar or number goes down
No mini-map
Enemies can't move crates (actually possible to keep them away from alarms as well as jump on them until they die by abusing this) nor climb ladders - would make sense for at least the spiderbots to be able to climb either ladders or walls
Get hurt as soon as you touch barrels with fire in them from the side
Can't play as a female agent
Can't buy or find a camera in-game (for taking a photo of info found when hacking computers since you're on a timer - one one hand it's kind of exciting to have to quickly look for important things and your employer might not want agents being able to photograph things but on the other it would make sense to be able to do it without their knowledge and you can just keep hacking a computer and logging off before the timer runs out without penalty anyway) - can take screenshots though
Compass feature
Damage thresholds on doors and cameras can be surpassed by increasing a weapon's damage output sufficiently with skills and augmentations but before that you do 0 damage with the weapon (see the "strength: x" info when examining them, not explained properly in-game)
6 body parts can take damage (leg health affects movement speed (so does torso health to a very slight degree), arms your accuracy and so does your head to some degree)
Can't increase inventory space based on strength here (SS2)
No skill points gained from taking out tougher enemies or being stealthy around enemies while you do gain them from various seemingly arbitrary exploration achievements
Need to upgrade vision enhancement to lvl 4 for seeing through walls to be practically useful as the range is very short at lvl 3
No alternate ammo for the sniper rifle (can take out cameras and some doors on Master level though)
Getting master in low-tech doesn't add OHKO vs stronger enemies (which you can already do from behind with the baton or prod) or being able to take down stronger doors?
Gunther is a lot easier when you face him as a boss than when he captures you
Can't lock doors to keep enemies away (can use metal crates but only in like 2-3 places it seems)
Your employers don't comment much on your mission performance after switching sides (one exception is Lucius but there's no gameplay consequence)
No manually controllable turrets/robots/vehicles besides the spy drone (there's a mini-sub in the ocean lab but it just triggers a cutscene as you go from one area to the other and back)
The last section of the game requires a straightforward combat approach to an extent (ambushes and respawning enemies parts) though you also fight alongside some robots here
No enemy respawning besides in the final area where you can also turn it off by finding certain switches
-
No maps at all for some areas and maps are generally just 2D satellite images - they don't show your location or found points of interest (mission 2 besides the warehouse rooftops, fairly easy to miss some objects in the environment including safes containing augmentation canisters - these are also missable however most of them can be found again later on, a few times it's fairly easy to miss even the required path forward, also doesn't make sense to not have it in a cyberpunk world when we had GPS in the real world around the same time - could've at least been something you found by exploring or added via augmentations if done for challenge reasons, can also lead to taking alternate paths that lead to somewhere that you've already been if you try to explore everywhere - happened several times for me in mission 2 for example; one exception to the satellite images is the floor plan-style map for the MJ12 facility and the ship)
Some interface/control issues (no longer relevant text notes aren't removed automatically, overly sensitive mouse movement in menus, can't move slow backwards or forwards while retaining the same aiming accuracy (it lowers quickly when doing it), skill mastery descriptions are a bit vague in-game, can't respec your augmentations or skills, can clear the message log completely but not individual messages, having to put away what you're holding to pick up a box gets a bit annoying, can't gently place items where you picked them up - only throw them a set distance, can't deactivate an activated piece of armor/hazmat suit/rebreather and they disappear after losing all energy, a bit too easy to get semi-stuck on obstacles when moving around and leaning is a bit too sensitive to if you're touching a wall or not, sometimes sloppy hit detection (rare), going down ladders is a bit too finicky - breaks flow, power recirculator (decreased energy consumption for all augmentations) could've been passive and so could synthetic heart, can't change the "put away weapon" mapping to the right mouse button, no jump height control - gets higher and higher as you upgrade your speed enhancement upgrade, sometimes better to turn off speed enhancement before jumping since you immediately fall down when touching a ceiling, overly small hit boxes on some interactive objects (especially annoying when combined with having to jump and quickly grab items from high ledges, sometimes unforgiving hit detection when jumping into narrow spaces, some delay before you can go out of scope view after firing the sniper rifle, fairly easy to accidentally skip the ending cutscenes since they use in-game graphics - elsewhere you can skip on a per line basis in these (a yes/no prompt would've solved this))
Some trial & error (point of no return on the way to the warehouse in mission 2 - makes the sewer side mission here missable (not a big deal but lowers some prices for one trader NPC and you can find some useful items+info about an organization, can visit the sewers later but it's partially blocked off and Smuggler's forgotten about the mission), another point of no return at the champs elysées area (not much to go back to here though besides a trader) and after the chateau area (nothing to go back to here), touching enemies while sneaking doesn't alert them, some mechanics like how far enemies can see and hear and how long it takes for traps to go off, stealth is better early on, only the first laser trap can be bypassed with crates and crouching - later ones trigger when you try this, finding the records of the bribes manderley has been taking after mission 3 which Paul refers to - his directions are a bit wrong and you actually have to look upwards and check the top of a server to find the datacube, not worth it to use 3 lockpicks at some points such as the freezer room in the lucky money club, fairly easy to miss the outdoors map at the hong kong market (newspaper stand), have to talk to the man at "old china hand" who'd been in contact with Paul in hong kong several times to make him sell things to you, no directions to Jock's apartment in hong kong? - I think you just found the nanokey ring though it is possible to jump to the balcony from Chow's apartment instead of taking the front door with the keyring found elsewhere, the electrical trap on the "merge with the AI" route in the finale - can be skipped though)
Some tedious aspects (starts off kinda slow with basically having to use stealth in the first mission, no item stash at the UNATCO HQ or Tong's base - the former map updates in-between missions, dead space, cameras move rather slowly but as in System Shock 2 there's some leeway after detection before they sound an alarm, if your legs take 100% damage you can only crawl slowly forward and this happens quickly from explosives (in the tutorial you can end up having to do the last couple of parts in this state due to not being able to heal nor die), some backtracking for locked boxes and doors with lockpicks found later in an area, kind of annoying how a lockpick or multitool is fully wasted even if you only had a few percentage points left on a lock or electronic lock/camera/turret/alarm switch - there could've been a percentage slider for each lockpick and multitool item at the top of a stack of them as well, no elevator in the UNATCO HQ or in Tong's base, having to find the key to Lebedev's quarters in the airplane when he's expecting you already, too many enemies drop knives - you automatically pick them up when searching their bodies, have to equip and use the key item on a locked door to use a nanokey ring on it, kinda slow ocean lab part besides the ambush at the end, backtracking to the lab area in area 51 for the Tong/dark age ending or to the AI - no sense of urgency or enemy attacks during these)
Can't sell or trade items to trader NPCs (they only take money; the Versalife building map is too expensive, Smuggler's prices when revisiting hell's kitchen are too high)
Some skills kinda suck (Swimming: not required for progression+kind of underused+can use rebreather items and aqualung instead, not enough parts where you have to swim) though one point can be useful when you reach Hong Kong; Environmental is also not that useful for similar reasons and because some hazards can just be waited out) and some are less useful than others (grenades and disarming traps works well enough without points in Demolition, the Regen augmentation makes leveling up medicine not that useful though it does take about half the game to get, can still use the GEP gun and LAW for their most useful purposes without any points in them)
Some augmentations are relatively bad (aqualung and environmental resistance - might still be worth getting one of them since you don't gain another torso canister (regen/energy shield) until the final mission, run silent? - crouching while speed enhanced produces similar results, spy drone? - slow and needs upgrades to do good damage) and some are more situational (EMP shield compared to ballistic protection, cloak unless you upgrade it and/or power recirculator because of how much energy it drains, radar transparency since you can use emp grenades or explosives or hacking to deal with most bots)
Sometimes stupid enemy AI and sometimes their "detection range" is inconsistent for a bit after distracting them with crossbow darts for example meaning they can either be facing you without reacting or only one enemy in a group reacts to a distraction when all of them should've reacted. Enemies generally also don't strafe around corners
Various scripting issues (your allies in mission 2 automatically start attacking the enemy as you get sort of close to where they stand and if you don't help out in the second fight they'll lose - can't communicate to coordinate your attacks better, in the "nsf thugs" side quest behind the wooden fence in hell's kitchen you can take out one of them with a melee weapon without the other one reacting, can't buy the code to the subway base entrance early on in mission 3 - Denton automatically says he's not interested even if you have enough money, inconsistent how the bathroom door in the mole people hideout and the chopper at the hidden nsf base can't be blown up, spoken enemy lines for when they start to spot you tend to keep playing until completion even if they start firing or you get really close to them, it's not clear how you save Paul after mission 3 - what you're supposed to do is get out via the front door of the hotel without him dying during the fighting, if you go talk to gordon quick/the bouncer outside of the luminous path's HQ after finding out that Chow is a villain but before going to confront her then the game acts as if you still don't know, no reaction from Denton or your allies when finding aliens in the lab in hong kong, one of the NPCs in the upper part of the luminous path base keeps mentioning the celebration between the two clans even after you've been to it, nothing seems to happen when pressing the switch that requires 4 multitools to bypass in the magnetic chamber in the VersaLife lab, the game is sometimes inconsistent about how much you can interact with computers/security/locks without alerting nearby NPCs, oftentimes you can stand right next to a couple of strangers having an important conversation without interrupting it, no actual time limit when escaping the ship, nicolette doesn't open the chateau crypt for you nor mention having the key to it if you go there before going into the chateau, automatically start talking to Tiffany (gas station hostage) before the enemies are taken out even if they are right next to you as you enter her cell)
Some pop-in when using a flashlight in dark rooms
Some plot oddities (the game forgets the difference between dead and unconscious when Denton is ordered to assassinate a terrorist leader – even if he stuns him everyone around Denton will act as if he was killed, kind of annoying how people act like you screwed up part of mission 2 if some NPC allies died in shootouts since they were mostly beyond your control, Chow just stands there "talking" to someone in the Versalife lab as you wreak havoc on the room connected to the corridor she's in - also kinda weird how none of the people deeper into the versalife building know who you are and how you can do anything but lockpick certain cabinets in front of people without them going hostile)
1 skill level in Computers is enough to be able to hack any computer in the game. Hacking also makes finding notes with people's bank account info redundant
The PS20 weapon is pretty much useless (single use, low damage, can only carry one at a time)
Cartoonishly evil villain
Keep finding consumable items that you already have a full stock of such as ammo or medkits as well as passwords that you've already gained elsewhere (the game could've checked for this and switched some of these out for money or other items, repeated augmentation canisters could've been replaced either by upgrade canisters or given you a skill point boost if the body slot they went into was full)
Can't steal anything from knocked out traders
Mostly so-so and sometimes bad VA (sometimes unintentionally funny though and a bit similar in tone to Shenmue or Outcast)
The assault rifle wastes more ammo than it looks and sounds like it should when using it (still becomes OP when mastered+modded though)
Can't knock down items from heights with shots here (SS2) and there's some inconsistency in which objects can be broken - can't break wooden furniture if it can't already be pushed for example,
No reward for guiding Miguel (NSF soldier) out of the MJ12 facility and the UNATCO HQ
You don't fully regain your inventory after being captured (pepper spray and all but one item from your grenade stacks are lost)
Can't haggle with traders
Bland joe greene (the journalist) assassination side mission - can't even talk to him
Funny how maggie chow thinks she can take you on without any backup when you meet her in the versalife lab
Some transmissions happen during combat (last hong kong segment) though you can always check what was said afterwards
Gunther is unkillable after switching sides and encountering him back at battery park and even if you manage to escape past him and his troops you still can't get picked up by Jock
Can't take out lights to help with stealth
The game stops caring about you taking a non-lethal approach after the first few missions
Can't save Lucius from his cryo pod prison (only leave him there or euthanize him) and there's no change to the story regardless of what you do
Sometimes odd camera work during cutscenes
Repetitive water squelch sfx
A bit repetitive in that few new enemy types are introduced after mission 6 or so
The "reign in hell" quote doesn't fit the illuminati ending
The endings are rather brief and don't show what happened to the world at all
Bugs:
-Due to what appears to be an oversight, the pistol skill will automatically be set to trained even if initially downgraded to untrained. By downgrading the pistol skill to untrained, the first upgrade for the pistol skill is obtainable for 0 skill points.
-Sneaking around certain corners is a bit glitchy - can make you quickly slide sideways and get detected by nearby enemies
-The game sometimes interprets kneeling in a shallow pool of water as you being underwater - prevents you from using weapons
-Your NPC allies in mission 2 can end up getting you stuck for a while inside one of the smaller buildings if you're unlucky - they eventually move away but it would've been better if you could just move up against them to make them move out of the way like all other NPCs
-If you try to side with UNATCO after mission 3 the game won't proceed
-Sometimes you can't drop an item from within the inventory menu for seemingly no reason
-Bugs where Paul disappears during your escape from the hotel and another one where the NSF soldier disappears after asking him to follow you (in the latter case you find his dead body later on)
-Glitchy reaction AI in the MJ12 facility (guards don't react to flare darts and when you open the cage to the larger beasts they don't do anything unless you lead the guards near it into the cage) - happens at one point in hong kong as well and at one point in the graveyard+one point during the vandenberg mission (some pairs of enemies also don't react to their buddy get sniped here making it a pretty easy mission)
-Encountered a bug where the military police guard at the ATM in Hong Kong market would go hostile despite me not being detected when taking out other guards in the area (can't take him out without alerting the whole place) - Can be temporarily fixed by exiting the sub area but it can happen again (seems to happen if entering the police station and/or opening a door of the building next to the police station via the security system there)
-Bug where Chow's maid will turn hostile if you went and used the security computer in her apartment (doing anything else like killing the cat doesn't alert her)
-The VersaLife people in the inner part of their lab in hong kong don't become hostile when releasing people and beasts from the cells but then the people outside of there do when they see the escaped prisoner (also can't tell him to wait)
-Some items glow in the dark
-Sometimes two items can end up in the same inventory slot
-A few surfaces don't sound right (dirt sounding like metal at one point)
-A coupe invisible walls and floors (the former appears when encountering Gunther after switching sides if you attack him and his troops instead of walking up to him)
-The cameras next to the ship in the shipyard don't work properly (the one inside the building next to it with a wooden table you can crawl under does however)
-The helicopter takeoff jingle was replaced by the "take out the prod" sfx at two points
-In the shipyard area the game once acted as if I had used the valve after reloading to before doing so (triggered the poisonous barrels in the sewer)
-One enemy only drops a weapon mod item if knocked out rather than killed (mari hela in bunker 3)
Notes:
-Original game is from 2000
-For the regained items below UNATCO, you do get your same items back EXCEPT that the mods won't transfer if you have a generic weapon in your inventory when you grab your old stuff. So be sure to drop any new weapons you found on your way to the armory before picking up for old stuff
Comment:
A surprisingly good FPS/ARPG/Stealth hybrid with systemic and MV elements, not quite what you can call an actual MV as it is level-based but there is plenty of optional ability gating with an interesting augmentation system, and some backtracking to previous areas to explore new parts of them. For example, when encountering a laser alarm trap you can either stack some heavy crates and hop over it if you have that ability, try to jump over the whole thing if you have that ability, hack a nearby security box to disable it if you can find it and have the tools for it, blow up the trap with explosives, or simply walk through it and face the consequences head on. Besides the freedom in how you tackle each part of each level, the story is partially open ended and sometimes eerily prophetic, but also quite entertaining with a bunch of then popular and pretty wild conspiracy theories featured, as well as some hilarious voice acting. This is one of those games where you can choose to kill or save major NPCs at certain points and it has a decent effect on the story, which I always appreciate, though at times you just end up dead if you try getting hostile before that key point. Unlike other games your reputation is handled dynamically with NPC reations rather than sliders or ranking systems judging your overall morality or rep. Since you can save anywhere without penalty, experimentation with things like this is also encouraged.
The game is well worth playing today and there are various interesting mods for it as well, of which I'd recommend at least checking out the bug fix one as there are some serious ones in here still.
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-7 Fun-7.5 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-7.5
*w/ mods
+
System Shock/Thief-like ARPG gameplay with multiple solutions to problems and some MV elements (hacking (computers, ATMs, security consoles - security including cameras can also be disabled with consumable items), lockpicking, combat (melee, mid range or sniping), involved stealth (sneaking, leaning around corners (System Shock), silent takedowns with certain weapons+hiding of bodies, can throw or shoot objects to distract enemies and attack or run past them (Flashback), guards have to run and hit an alarm button to call for reinforcements), swimming, explosions, cameras can be avoided/disabled (directly with tools or via terminals with hacking)/destroyed, can hack turrets to make them shoot enemies - System Shock 2, can open locked doors and chests with explosives - Outcast; augmentations/upgrades to 6 body parts (arms, legs, subdermal, torso, cranial/head, eyes; select between two of these at a time at canisters found throughout the game - similar to System Shock 2), some shops, various hidden items and you get bonus exp for finding hidden locations, weapon modifications with consumable items (reload speed, accuracy, clip size, accurate range increase for hitscan/insta-hit weapons, recoil reduction, laser pointer=perfect accuracy for hitscan weapons unless a scope mod is installed, scope=sniping but also an accuracy penalty when not using it, silencer, breakable doors and some other objects, can open some doors by luring enemies or making them escape through them, some revisiting of previous areas during new missions to open up new paths within them, alternate ammo types, can hack some enemy robots to make them fight for you)
Quest journal and message log features
Basic character creation with 11 skill categories (weapon skill affects reloading time+accuracy+damage+recoil, can spend gained skill points/exp at any point in-game but not downgrade a skill, a few pre-made appearances to choose from, no classes or char stats like str/def etc.)
Full control config
Optional and interactive tutorial (however some skills are barely covered at all and neither are augmentations)
Dialogue trees appear from time to time (generally 3 options are given, Denton will pretty often talk without your input though and have his own opinion on various things)
Fully voiced NPCs (some good VA, a bunch of exposition is done via found text messages though)
Some hidden shortcuts
Some object manipulation (can carry and place boxes as well as stack boxes to reach higher - Unreal?, can also placed explosive boxes on rolling carts)
Can skip dialogue on a per line basis
Customizable quick item inventory with 9 slots (full inventory in a separate menu)
Can 1 hit KO enemies with melee weapons if you hit the in the right spot (the lower spine) as well as with ranged by aiming at the head (sniper rifle or sawed-off shotgun) or back of the neck
Difficulty options (easy-realistic/very hard)
Can add your own notes to maps (System Shock), Can edit text notes in the menu and copy paste parts of notes like in notepad
Can listen in on enemy and other NPC conversations
Some good humour (some skill descriptions, women's bathroom incident, gunther and the slot machine, the exaggerated accents seem to be intentional, door girl in the club in hong kong, etc) as well as some unintentionally funny situations due to the deadpan voice acting and lacking facial expressions
Pretty impressive how the game reacts to you not following orders/protocol with your boss commenting on your actions in a pretty realistic manner
Ammo doesn't take up inventory slots (unlike in SS2)
Areas feel more like actual places than the average FPS level from the '90s (SS2)
Can choose to save or kill a few important NPCs - has a decent effect on the story. Can also choose who of your two allies from UNATCO joins you for Hong Kong in the mid-game which affects gameplay in some ways
Some interesting abilities/augmentations (cloaking (separate for people and robots), speed enhancement - move faster+jump higher and longer, spy drone - flying controllable EMP bomb, vision enhancement - nightvision at lvl 1+infravision at lvl 2+see through walls at levels 3-4 (lvl 4 increases the range), aggressive defense system - on max lvl it causes enemy explosive projectiles to detonate in their face)
Voiced radio assistance that doesn't pause gameplay and which generally happens outside of combat (Burning Rangers?)
Fight alongside allied NPCs in some missions
Skippable cutscenes besides a few minor ones
No reputation or morality sliders - the game judges your actions with NPC reactions and they tend to vary (some NPCs like a violent approach while others don't for example)
Some decent puzzles involving stackable boxes and exploding boxes
Can release some beasts at two points to make enemies fight amongst themselves and poison gas at one point to take out a room full of enemies
Good sense of vulnerability after helping Paul and when escaping from the MJ12 facility (while hacking the game also doesn't pause and it's done under a time limit which creates tension during those segments)
Some NPC schedules in Hong Kong (adds to immersion)
Some cool weapons (lock-on feature for the rocket launcher/GEP gun, flamethrower, grenades can also be placed on surfaces and used as proximity mines, riot prod, flare darts, laser sight mod)
Some interesting social and political commentary (plutocracy and industrial military complex observations, AI boosted surveillance replacing god)
Some scripted events (assaults in hell's kitchen, assassination of the NSF leader, getting captured - some issues here though, NPC events and the surprise attack in the club in hong kong+drug dealers attacking, escape segment at hell's kitchen, traitor gatekeeper near the crypt, the mechanic saboteur, etc.; somewhat fewer than in SS though which is probably due to the stealth aspect)
Some decent bosses (walton simons)
Pretty well made cyberpunk theme (only lacking a variant of cyberspace)
Three different endings depending on your choices - only your choices during the finale in area 51 really affect these though
+/-
Save anywhere (many slots, the game automatically enters current area+time taken+keeps track of the number of times you've saved), Energy recharge and healing robots (moving stations) here and there - these are sometimes OP in that you can keep using them over and over with just a 1m cooldown in-between charges
Mostly linear overarching structure? (mission-based however you can affect the story in various ways and take alternate paths to your goals, some side missions, cities are hubs that connect to certain locations and you can do some missions and side missions in any order but you have to visit each city in a set order, can start the game with exp points unspent if you want to save them for later, can also carry an augmentation canister with you for later, can't go back to the hell's kitchen area during mission 3, partially open-ended MJ12 facility area and Versalife area)
Some optional ability gating (GEP gun or using explosives for certain doors, can push heavy boxes if you get the microfibral muscles augment, speed augmentation also affects jump height and length letting you make some jumps you otherwise couldn't have)
Specialized builds are encouraged over a jack of all trades one (can only master 2 skills at most if you do the side missions?)
Can attack and kill NPCs (they'll fight back) - can affect the story
Some automatic unsteadiness when using a sniping scope before mastering its skill (you also get slower movement when using heavy weapons before training that skill)
No speech or charisma/persuasion skill
Can find passwords for all terminals on liberty island - makes some parts a bit too easy if you just explore?
Ranged attack accuracy is dependent on waiting for the crosshair to shrink while aiming at something until you master your skill with a certain ranged weapon - makes a guns blazing approach less viable unless you really focus your points on one skill?
Can't grab and climb ledges (System Shock)
The way aiming works makes the crossbow less useful for stealth takedowns even if your skill with it is mastered (they can still run for a bit before going unconscious though if you're patient you can generally avoid being spotted by others) - seems you can hit enemies in the back of the neck to make it 100% reliable but that's usually very tricky to pull off without a scope which is also expensive to buy. You can also use it for distractions and then use a melee attack or sneak past the enemy/ies instead
The game is rather forgiving about how far the sound of a gunshot or explosion travels and enemy sight range isn't that great either. Enemies also tend to forget about having spotted you unless there's an alarm switch nearby and the alarms themselves don't seem to ever reach an entire building or sub area
Missions are not timed - can explore an area after completing your main goal to collect items and get exploration bonuses
Easy to disarm gas grenades and explosives set as traps and use them yourself
Fall damage - can be reduced with the speed augmentation and its upgrades
Some resource management (ammo/tools/energy; limited inventory and no stash+can't fully explore every area, lockpicks are kind of rare in mission 2 and in hong kong, paths generally require using more than one kind of skill to get through),
Gain an overpowered sword about halfway into the game (makes focusing on melee/low-tech skill not really worth it). Aggressive Defense System and Targeting are OP on higher levels. The flamethrower is pretty OP as well though it does destroy enemy items and isn't stealthy
No mini-games tied to lockpicking or hacking - you just wait while a bar or number goes down
No mini-map
Enemies can't move crates (actually possible to keep them away from alarms as well as jump on them until they die by abusing this) nor climb ladders - would make sense for at least the spiderbots to be able to climb either ladders or walls
Get hurt as soon as you touch barrels with fire in them from the side
Can't play as a female agent
Can't buy or find a camera in-game (for taking a photo of info found when hacking computers since you're on a timer - one one hand it's kind of exciting to have to quickly look for important things and your employer might not want agents being able to photograph things but on the other it would make sense to be able to do it without their knowledge and you can just keep hacking a computer and logging off before the timer runs out without penalty anyway) - can take screenshots though
Compass feature
Damage thresholds on doors and cameras can be surpassed by increasing a weapon's damage output sufficiently with skills and augmentations but before that you do 0 damage with the weapon (see the "strength: x" info when examining them, not explained properly in-game)
6 body parts can take damage (leg health affects movement speed (so does torso health to a very slight degree), arms your accuracy and so does your head to some degree)
Can't increase inventory space based on strength here (SS2)
No skill points gained from taking out tougher enemies or being stealthy around enemies while you do gain them from various seemingly arbitrary exploration achievements
Need to upgrade vision enhancement to lvl 4 for seeing through walls to be practically useful as the range is very short at lvl 3
No alternate ammo for the sniper rifle (can take out cameras and some doors on Master level though)
Getting master in low-tech doesn't add OHKO vs stronger enemies (which you can already do from behind with the baton or prod) or being able to take down stronger doors?
Gunther is a lot easier when you face him as a boss than when he captures you
Can't lock doors to keep enemies away (can use metal crates but only in like 2-3 places it seems)
Your employers don't comment much on your mission performance after switching sides (one exception is Lucius but there's no gameplay consequence)
No manually controllable turrets/robots/vehicles besides the spy drone (there's a mini-sub in the ocean lab but it just triggers a cutscene as you go from one area to the other and back)
The last section of the game requires a straightforward combat approach to an extent (ambushes and respawning enemies parts) though you also fight alongside some robots here
No enemy respawning besides in the final area where you can also turn it off by finding certain switches
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No maps at all for some areas and maps are generally just 2D satellite images - they don't show your location or found points of interest (mission 2 besides the warehouse rooftops, fairly easy to miss some objects in the environment including safes containing augmentation canisters - these are also missable however most of them can be found again later on, a few times it's fairly easy to miss even the required path forward, also doesn't make sense to not have it in a cyberpunk world when we had GPS in the real world around the same time - could've at least been something you found by exploring or added via augmentations if done for challenge reasons, can also lead to taking alternate paths that lead to somewhere that you've already been if you try to explore everywhere - happened several times for me in mission 2 for example; one exception to the satellite images is the floor plan-style map for the MJ12 facility and the ship)
Some interface/control issues (no longer relevant text notes aren't removed automatically, overly sensitive mouse movement in menus, can't move slow backwards or forwards while retaining the same aiming accuracy (it lowers quickly when doing it), skill mastery descriptions are a bit vague in-game, can't respec your augmentations or skills, can clear the message log completely but not individual messages, having to put away what you're holding to pick up a box gets a bit annoying, can't gently place items where you picked them up - only throw them a set distance, can't deactivate an activated piece of armor/hazmat suit/rebreather and they disappear after losing all energy, a bit too easy to get semi-stuck on obstacles when moving around and leaning is a bit too sensitive to if you're touching a wall or not, sometimes sloppy hit detection (rare), going down ladders is a bit too finicky - breaks flow, power recirculator (decreased energy consumption for all augmentations) could've been passive and so could synthetic heart, can't change the "put away weapon" mapping to the right mouse button, no jump height control - gets higher and higher as you upgrade your speed enhancement upgrade, sometimes better to turn off speed enhancement before jumping since you immediately fall down when touching a ceiling, overly small hit boxes on some interactive objects (especially annoying when combined with having to jump and quickly grab items from high ledges, sometimes unforgiving hit detection when jumping into narrow spaces, some delay before you can go out of scope view after firing the sniper rifle, fairly easy to accidentally skip the ending cutscenes since they use in-game graphics - elsewhere you can skip on a per line basis in these (a yes/no prompt would've solved this))
Some trial & error (point of no return on the way to the warehouse in mission 2 - makes the sewer side mission here missable (not a big deal but lowers some prices for one trader NPC and you can find some useful items+info about an organization, can visit the sewers later but it's partially blocked off and Smuggler's forgotten about the mission), another point of no return at the champs elysées area (not much to go back to here though besides a trader) and after the chateau area (nothing to go back to here), touching enemies while sneaking doesn't alert them, some mechanics like how far enemies can see and hear and how long it takes for traps to go off, stealth is better early on, only the first laser trap can be bypassed with crates and crouching - later ones trigger when you try this, finding the records of the bribes manderley has been taking after mission 3 which Paul refers to - his directions are a bit wrong and you actually have to look upwards and check the top of a server to find the datacube, not worth it to use 3 lockpicks at some points such as the freezer room in the lucky money club, fairly easy to miss the outdoors map at the hong kong market (newspaper stand), have to talk to the man at "old china hand" who'd been in contact with Paul in hong kong several times to make him sell things to you, no directions to Jock's apartment in hong kong? - I think you just found the nanokey ring though it is possible to jump to the balcony from Chow's apartment instead of taking the front door with the keyring found elsewhere, the electrical trap on the "merge with the AI" route in the finale - can be skipped though)
Some tedious aspects (starts off kinda slow with basically having to use stealth in the first mission, no item stash at the UNATCO HQ or Tong's base - the former map updates in-between missions, dead space, cameras move rather slowly but as in System Shock 2 there's some leeway after detection before they sound an alarm, if your legs take 100% damage you can only crawl slowly forward and this happens quickly from explosives (in the tutorial you can end up having to do the last couple of parts in this state due to not being able to heal nor die), some backtracking for locked boxes and doors with lockpicks found later in an area, kind of annoying how a lockpick or multitool is fully wasted even if you only had a few percentage points left on a lock or electronic lock/camera/turret/alarm switch - there could've been a percentage slider for each lockpick and multitool item at the top of a stack of them as well, no elevator in the UNATCO HQ or in Tong's base, having to find the key to Lebedev's quarters in the airplane when he's expecting you already, too many enemies drop knives - you automatically pick them up when searching their bodies, have to equip and use the key item on a locked door to use a nanokey ring on it, kinda slow ocean lab part besides the ambush at the end, backtracking to the lab area in area 51 for the Tong/dark age ending or to the AI - no sense of urgency or enemy attacks during these)
Can't sell or trade items to trader NPCs (they only take money; the Versalife building map is too expensive, Smuggler's prices when revisiting hell's kitchen are too high)
Some skills kinda suck (Swimming: not required for progression+kind of underused+can use rebreather items and aqualung instead, not enough parts where you have to swim) though one point can be useful when you reach Hong Kong; Environmental is also not that useful for similar reasons and because some hazards can just be waited out) and some are less useful than others (grenades and disarming traps works well enough without points in Demolition, the Regen augmentation makes leveling up medicine not that useful though it does take about half the game to get, can still use the GEP gun and LAW for their most useful purposes without any points in them)
Some augmentations are relatively bad (aqualung and environmental resistance - might still be worth getting one of them since you don't gain another torso canister (regen/energy shield) until the final mission, run silent? - crouching while speed enhanced produces similar results, spy drone? - slow and needs upgrades to do good damage) and some are more situational (EMP shield compared to ballistic protection, cloak unless you upgrade it and/or power recirculator because of how much energy it drains, radar transparency since you can use emp grenades or explosives or hacking to deal with most bots)
Sometimes stupid enemy AI and sometimes their "detection range" is inconsistent for a bit after distracting them with crossbow darts for example meaning they can either be facing you without reacting or only one enemy in a group reacts to a distraction when all of them should've reacted. Enemies generally also don't strafe around corners
Various scripting issues (your allies in mission 2 automatically start attacking the enemy as you get sort of close to where they stand and if you don't help out in the second fight they'll lose - can't communicate to coordinate your attacks better, in the "nsf thugs" side quest behind the wooden fence in hell's kitchen you can take out one of them with a melee weapon without the other one reacting, can't buy the code to the subway base entrance early on in mission 3 - Denton automatically says he's not interested even if you have enough money, inconsistent how the bathroom door in the mole people hideout and the chopper at the hidden nsf base can't be blown up, spoken enemy lines for when they start to spot you tend to keep playing until completion even if they start firing or you get really close to them, it's not clear how you save Paul after mission 3 - what you're supposed to do is get out via the front door of the hotel without him dying during the fighting, if you go talk to gordon quick/the bouncer outside of the luminous path's HQ after finding out that Chow is a villain but before going to confront her then the game acts as if you still don't know, no reaction from Denton or your allies when finding aliens in the lab in hong kong, one of the NPCs in the upper part of the luminous path base keeps mentioning the celebration between the two clans even after you've been to it, nothing seems to happen when pressing the switch that requires 4 multitools to bypass in the magnetic chamber in the VersaLife lab, the game is sometimes inconsistent about how much you can interact with computers/security/locks without alerting nearby NPCs, oftentimes you can stand right next to a couple of strangers having an important conversation without interrupting it, no actual time limit when escaping the ship, nicolette doesn't open the chateau crypt for you nor mention having the key to it if you go there before going into the chateau, automatically start talking to Tiffany (gas station hostage) before the enemies are taken out even if they are right next to you as you enter her cell)
Some pop-in when using a flashlight in dark rooms
Some plot oddities (the game forgets the difference between dead and unconscious when Denton is ordered to assassinate a terrorist leader – even if he stuns him everyone around Denton will act as if he was killed, kind of annoying how people act like you screwed up part of mission 2 if some NPC allies died in shootouts since they were mostly beyond your control, Chow just stands there "talking" to someone in the Versalife lab as you wreak havoc on the room connected to the corridor she's in - also kinda weird how none of the people deeper into the versalife building know who you are and how you can do anything but lockpick certain cabinets in front of people without them going hostile)
1 skill level in Computers is enough to be able to hack any computer in the game. Hacking also makes finding notes with people's bank account info redundant
The PS20 weapon is pretty much useless (single use, low damage, can only carry one at a time)
Cartoonishly evil villain
Keep finding consumable items that you already have a full stock of such as ammo or medkits as well as passwords that you've already gained elsewhere (the game could've checked for this and switched some of these out for money or other items, repeated augmentation canisters could've been replaced either by upgrade canisters or given you a skill point boost if the body slot they went into was full)
Can't steal anything from knocked out traders
Mostly so-so and sometimes bad VA (sometimes unintentionally funny though and a bit similar in tone to Shenmue or Outcast)
The assault rifle wastes more ammo than it looks and sounds like it should when using it (still becomes OP when mastered+modded though)
Can't knock down items from heights with shots here (SS2) and there's some inconsistency in which objects can be broken - can't break wooden furniture if it can't already be pushed for example,
No reward for guiding Miguel (NSF soldier) out of the MJ12 facility and the UNATCO HQ
You don't fully regain your inventory after being captured (pepper spray and all but one item from your grenade stacks are lost)
Can't haggle with traders
Bland joe greene (the journalist) assassination side mission - can't even talk to him
Funny how maggie chow thinks she can take you on without any backup when you meet her in the versalife lab
Some transmissions happen during combat (last hong kong segment) though you can always check what was said afterwards
Gunther is unkillable after switching sides and encountering him back at battery park and even if you manage to escape past him and his troops you still can't get picked up by Jock
Can't take out lights to help with stealth
The game stops caring about you taking a non-lethal approach after the first few missions
Can't save Lucius from his cryo pod prison (only leave him there or euthanize him) and there's no change to the story regardless of what you do
Sometimes odd camera work during cutscenes
Repetitive water squelch sfx
A bit repetitive in that few new enemy types are introduced after mission 6 or so
The "reign in hell" quote doesn't fit the illuminati ending
The endings are rather brief and don't show what happened to the world at all
Bugs:
-Due to what appears to be an oversight, the pistol skill will automatically be set to trained even if initially downgraded to untrained. By downgrading the pistol skill to untrained, the first upgrade for the pistol skill is obtainable for 0 skill points.
-Sneaking around certain corners is a bit glitchy - can make you quickly slide sideways and get detected by nearby enemies
-The game sometimes interprets kneeling in a shallow pool of water as you being underwater - prevents you from using weapons
-Your NPC allies in mission 2 can end up getting you stuck for a while inside one of the smaller buildings if you're unlucky - they eventually move away but it would've been better if you could just move up against them to make them move out of the way like all other NPCs
-If you try to side with UNATCO after mission 3 the game won't proceed
-Sometimes you can't drop an item from within the inventory menu for seemingly no reason
-Bugs where Paul disappears during your escape from the hotel and another one where the NSF soldier disappears after asking him to follow you (in the latter case you find his dead body later on)
-Glitchy reaction AI in the MJ12 facility (guards don't react to flare darts and when you open the cage to the larger beasts they don't do anything unless you lead the guards near it into the cage) - happens at one point in hong kong as well and at one point in the graveyard+one point during the vandenberg mission (some pairs of enemies also don't react to their buddy get sniped here making it a pretty easy mission)
-Encountered a bug where the military police guard at the ATM in Hong Kong market would go hostile despite me not being detected when taking out other guards in the area (can't take him out without alerting the whole place) - Can be temporarily fixed by exiting the sub area but it can happen again (seems to happen if entering the police station and/or opening a door of the building next to the police station via the security system there)
-Bug where Chow's maid will turn hostile if you went and used the security computer in her apartment (doing anything else like killing the cat doesn't alert her)
-The VersaLife people in the inner part of their lab in hong kong don't become hostile when releasing people and beasts from the cells but then the people outside of there do when they see the escaped prisoner (also can't tell him to wait)
-Some items glow in the dark
-Sometimes two items can end up in the same inventory slot
-A few surfaces don't sound right (dirt sounding like metal at one point)
-A coupe invisible walls and floors (the former appears when encountering Gunther after switching sides if you attack him and his troops instead of walking up to him)
-The cameras next to the ship in the shipyard don't work properly (the one inside the building next to it with a wooden table you can crawl under does however)
-The helicopter takeoff jingle was replaced by the "take out the prod" sfx at two points
-In the shipyard area the game once acted as if I had used the valve after reloading to before doing so (triggered the poisonous barrels in the sewer)
-One enemy only drops a weapon mod item if knocked out rather than killed (mari hela in bunker 3)
Notes:
-Original game is from 2000
-For the regained items below UNATCO, you do get your same items back EXCEPT that the mods won't transfer if you have a generic weapon in your inventory when you grab your old stuff. So be sure to drop any new weapons you found on your way to the armory before picking up for old stuff
Comment:
A surprisingly good FPS/ARPG/Stealth hybrid with systemic and MV elements, not quite what you can call an actual MV as it is level-based but there is plenty of optional ability gating with an interesting augmentation system, and some backtracking to previous areas to explore new parts of them. For example, when encountering a laser alarm trap you can either stack some heavy crates and hop over it if you have that ability, try to jump over the whole thing if you have that ability, hack a nearby security box to disable it if you can find it and have the tools for it, blow up the trap with explosives, or simply walk through it and face the consequences head on. Besides the freedom in how you tackle each part of each level, the story is partially open ended and sometimes eerily prophetic, but also quite entertaining with a bunch of then popular and pretty wild conspiracy theories featured, as well as some hilarious voice acting. This is one of those games where you can choose to kill or save major NPCs at certain points and it has a decent effect on the story, which I always appreciate, though at times you just end up dead if you try getting hostile before that key point. Unlike other games your reputation is handled dynamically with NPC reations rather than sliders or ranking systems judging your overall morality or rep. Since you can save anywhere without penalty, experimentation with things like this is also encouraged.
The game is well worth playing today and there are various interesting mods for it as well, of which I'd recommend at least checking out the bug fix one as there are some serious ones in here still.