Wikipedia

Deus Ex

This article is about the video game series. For the first video game of the series, seeDeus Ex(video game).For the dramatic device from which its title is derived, seeDeus ex machina.

Deus Exis a series ofrole-playing video games,set during the mid 21st century. Focusing on the conflict between secretive factions who wish to control the world by proxy, and the effects of transhumanistic attitudes and technologies in adystopiannear-future setting, the series also includes references to real-world conspiracy theories, historical mythologies and philosophies, and provides a commentary oncapitalist valuesanddivision in society.The first two games in the series were developed byIon Storm,and subsequent entries were developed byEidos-Montréal,following Ion Storm's closure. The Ion Storm games were published byEidos Interactive,and all Eidos-Montréal media was published bySquare Enixuntil 2022, when ownership was sold toEmbracer Group.

Deus Ex
Logo for theDeus Ex Universe
Genre(s)Action role-playing,first-person shooter,stealth
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
Creator(s)Warren Spector
Writer(s)
Composer(s)
Platform(s)
First releaseDeus Ex
June 23, 2000
Latest releaseDeus Ex: Breach&Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – VR Experience
January 24, 2017

The series consists of six games:Deus Ex(2000),Deus Ex: Invisible War(2003),Deus Ex: Human Revolution(2011),Deus Ex: The Fall(2013),Deus Ex Go(2016) andDeus Ex: Mankind Divided(2016). The series has been generally well-received by critics and sold over 14 million units worldwide.

Series overview

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Main articles:Deus Ex (video game),Deus Ex: Invisible War,Deus Ex: Human Revolution,Deus Ex: The Fall,andDeus Ex: Mankind Divided

Note: given the freedom of choice found within each game, the section below only gives the general outline of the world and the individual plotlines.

While each game has a distinct story, they are all set within the same world: an Earth of the future which has evolved into a dystopiancyberpunksociety. In this setting, several organizations compete for overall control of the world.[1]Several of the societies mentioned or shown are inspired by real-world and inventedsecret societiesandconspiracy theories.The one constant through the series is theIlluminati,althoughFEMA,Majestic 12,and theKnights Templarare also featured. The main characters in the series possess artificially acquired superhuman abilities, referred to as "Augmentation."

Deus Extakes place during 2052,[2]while the world is facing a crisis caused by a mysterious nano-virus called the Gray Death. In the midst of the crisis, JC Denton, a nano-augmented rookie agent for the United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition (UNATCO), is sent to eliminate terrorist cells, but ends up drawn into the various schemes of rival factions and secret societies, who are responsible for the epidemic. Once he arrives inArea 51,Denton has the choice between neutralizing technology and plunging the world into a second dark age,[3]allying with the Illuminati,[4]or merging with an advanced AI so as to impose a benevolent dictatorship.[5]Invisible Wartakes place twenty years later, after a massive economic depression and period of war called the Collapse[6]that was indicated by Denton's actions and a combination of possible events from the first game.[7]The game's protagonist, Alex D, a clone of Denton, is drawn into a conflict between two seemingly opposing factions, and learns of conspiratorial factions which seek to drastically change the world, including JC Denton: Alex can perform missions for any of them, and eventually becomes able to choose which organization should rule the world.

Human Revolutionis set in 2027, twenty-five years before the first title, where corporations have extended their influence past the reach of global governments and the development of bio-mechanical augmentation by a few elite and powerful companies threatens to destabilize society. The game follows Adam Jensen, the security chief for bio-tech company Sarif Industries. After a devastating attack on Sarif's headquarters which leaves him near-death, Adam is forced to undergo radical augmentation surgery, and he becomes embroiled both in the search for the attackers and the political and ethical repercussions of augmentation technology.The Fallis a parallel story, set after the spin-off novelIcarus Effect.[8]It follows the story of Ben Saxon, an augmented former British SAS mercenary, who is on the run from his former employers, a group of augmented mercenaries that play a crucial part in the plot ofHuman Revolution.[9]Mankind Dividedis set in 2029, two years after the events ofHuman Revolutionin a world dealing with the consequences of the previous game's events. Regardless of the choice made by Adam at the end ofHuman Revolution,the Illuminati have twisted his message and augmented individuals are persecuted and feared. A disillusioned Adam works with an international taskforce (hinted to be a precursor to UNATCO inDeus Ex) designed to stop the rising wave of terrorism brought on by the disenfranchised and desperate augmented while working to uncover the perpetrators of the events that led to the current state of the world.

Gameplay

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A unifying element across the series is the combination of gameplay styles from several differentgenres,includingaction role-playing,first-person shooterandstealth.[10][11][12]Role-playing elements are mostly linked to augmenting the character in a specific way, spending skill points to create characters that can be focused either on stealth or combat, or a balance of the two.[13]Player choice is a key feature of the series, with the actions of the player character affecting both the world around them and the waynon-player characters(NPCs) react to the character: depending on which faction they belong to, NPCs might praise and be helpful, chastise, ignore, or even attack them.[10]This emphasis on player choice is most evident inInvisible War,where players can choose the gender and skin color of the main character before starting, and have the option of running quests for and allying with four possible factions within the game.[14]

Development history

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Release timeline
2000Deus Ex
2001–2002
2003Deus Ex: Invisible War
2004–2010
2011Deus Ex: Human Revolution
2012
2013Deus Ex: The Fall
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut
2014–2015
2016Deus Ex Go
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
2017Deus Ex: Breach
Further information:Development of Deus Ex

The originalDeus Exwas conceived byWarren Spectorin 1994 under the working titleTroubleshooter.[15]The main drive behindDeus Exwas Spector's growing dislike for straight fantasy or science fiction video games, and the want to create something new and different.[16]In an interview, he stated that he wanted to emulate the immersive playing styles of games likeUltima Underworld.Eventually, after being rejected by bothOrigin Systems(the company he was working with at the time) andLooking Glass Studios,Spector's project was picked up by Ion Storm. According to Spector, they asked him to "make the game of [his] dreams".[17]The titleDeus Exwas meant to both represent aspects of the plot in the game and to poke fun at the design techniques that were prevalent in the majority of games at the time.[18]The game's influences includedSuikoden,[19]Half-LifeandGoldenEye 007.[20]

The second game in the series,Invisible War,was unveiled at E3 2002.[21]The designers chose to allow the players to choose which gender their player character would be, an idea conceived for the original game.[22][23]After the release ofInvisible War,Ion Storm started pre-production for aDeus Exprequel twice but neither came to fruition.[24]This period saw bothHarvey Smith,the main designer forDeus Ex,and Spector leaving Ion Storm in 2004, with the former citing health problems[25]and the latter saying he wished to pursue his own projects.[26]Later, because of restructuring at Eidos Interactive, Ion Storm was closed down the following year.[27]A multiplayer-focused third game titledDeus Ex: Clan Warswas originally being made at Crystal Dynamics, but because of the commercial underperformance ofInvisible War,it was distanced from theDeus Exseries and renamedProject Snowblind.[28]

Human Revolutionwas announced in 2007 under the working titleDeus Ex 3.[29]The game's creation was handled by Eidos-Montréal and the developer's parent company Square Enix, whose Visual Works department created the CG movies for the game.[30]The game became the first entry in the series to receive downloadable content in the form ofThe Missing Link,an extra episode designed to fill a narrative gap in the game.[31]

The Fallwas announced in 2013, for iPhone and iPad. Set withinHuman Revolution's timeframe, the game was created by the previous game's core team and a team from mobile phone developer N-Fusion.[9]

Mankind Dividedwas announced in 2013 (untitled at the time) when Eidos-Montréal announced that they were working on a new title in the series for PC and next-gen platforms, and that it would be the first part of a larger, transmedia project calledDeus Ex: Universe.[32][33]It would be revealed in 2015 with its official name accompanied by an announcement trailer.[34]

Future

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In January 2017, it was reported that a planned sequel toMankind Dividedwas cancelled.[35]

In November 2022,Jason SchreierofBloomberg Newsreported that Eidos-Montréal was in the "very very early" development stages of a newDeus Exgame.[36]In January 2024, he reported thatEmbracer Grouphad cancelled this game, which had been in development for two years.[37]

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Main article:List of Deus Ex media

CBS Filmshas acquired screen rights toDeus Ex,after Eidos was purchased by Square Enix.[38]An announcement was made for a film adaptation ofDeus Ex: Human Revolutionin July 2012.[39][40]

In 2015, Adrian Askarieh, producer of theHitmanfilms, stated that he hoped to oversee ashared universeofSquare Enixfilms withJust Cause,Hitman,Tomb Raider,Deus Ex,andThief,but admitted that he does not have the rights toTomb Raider.[41]In May 2017, the Game Central reporters atMetro UKsuggested that the shared universe was unlikely, pointing out that no progress had been made on anyJust Cause,Deus ExnorThieffilms.[42]

Human Revolutioninspired a tie-in comic book, a spin-off novel,[43]and action figures.[44]Alongside the announcement of a next-gen entry in the franchise, Eidos-Montréal announcedDeus Ex: Universe,a multimedial project involving video games across all platforms, books, graphic novels and other unspecified mediums.[32]

Deus Ex Gois a mobile game foriOSandAndroidsystems developed bySquare Enix Montréal,released in 2016. It is a puzzle-based game in the same fashion as Square Enix Montréal's previous mobile titles,Hitman GoandLara Croft Go.[45]

Reception

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Aggregate review scores
As of January 31, 2017.
Game Metacritic
Deus Ex (PC) 90[46]
(PS2) 81[47]
Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC) 80[48]
(Xbox) 84[49]
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PC) 90[50]
(PS3) 89[51]
(X360) 89[52]
(WIIU) 88[53]
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PC) 83[54]
(PS4) 84[55]
(XONE) 83[56]
Deus Ex: The Fall (iOS) 69[57]
(PC) 45[58]
Deus Ex Go (iOS) 81[59]

Overall, theDeus Exseries has been generally well-received by critics, with the games' storylines and freedom of choice being the main point of praise.

The first game won multiple awards from various video game publications,[60]and was lauded by critics at the time, although its graphics came in for some criticism.[61][62][63]

Invisible Warwas also well received, but did not enjoy the success of its predecessor, with many elements of its gameplay and story being targets for criticism, but many praising its branching gameplay and the high level of paths the player could take through the story.[64][65][66][67]

Human Revolutionreceived high critical praise, with many reviewers praising the open-ended nature of the game and the weight of social interaction on the outcome of events.[68][69][70]

The Fallwas more mixed to negative, with praise going to the game's attempt to bring theDeus Exuniverse to a portable platform, but many other aspects coming in for both praise and criticism. The PC version was criticized for being a bad mobile-to-computer port.[71][72][73][74]

Sales

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Sales as of September 2011:

As of May 2022,Deus Ex: Human Revolution,Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut,andDeus Ex: Mankind Dividedhave sold over 12 million units combined.[77]

References

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  1. ^Sheldon Pacotti, Lead Writer for Deus Ex Invisible War (November 6, 2003)."Deus Ex: Invisible War Developer Diary".IGN.RetrievedOctober 5,2013.
  2. ^The Deus Ex Team."DX1 Continuity Bible: Part I".Gamespy.Archived fromthe originalon April 14, 2012.RetrievedAugust 25,2012.
  3. ^JC Denton:If we destroy the Aquinas Hub, we'll take down the global network. /Tracer Tong:Exactly. They dug their own grave, JC. We're going to eliminate global communications altogether. /JC:I don't know... sounds like overkill. /Tong:As long as technology has a global reach, someone will have the world in the palm of his hand. If not Bob Page, then Everett, Dowd... /JC:Another Stone Age would hardly be an improvement. /Tong:Not so drastic. A dark age, an age of city-states, craftsmen, government on a scale comprehensible to its citizens.Ion Storm (March 25, 2002).Deus Ex(PlayStation 2). Eidos Interactive.
  4. ^Everett:No, JC. Spare the facility. Spare Helios, the power station. They can be made to serve us. /JC:Us? /Everett:You and me, JC. We'll rule the world in secret, with an invisible hand, the way the Illuminati have always ruled.Ion Storm (March 25, 2002).Deus Ex(PlayStation 2). Eidos Interactive.
  5. ^Helios:You are ready. I do not wish to wait for Bob Page. With human understanding and network access, we can administrate the world, yes, yes. /JC:Rule the world...? Why? Who gave you the directive? There must be a human being behind your ambition. /Helios:I should regulate human affairs precisely because I lack all ambition, whereas human beings are prey to it. Their history is a succession of inane squabbles, each one coming closer to total destruction.Ion Storm (March 25, 2002).Deus Ex(PlayStation 2). Eidos Interactive.
  6. ^Load screen message:JC Denton's destruction of Area 51 plunged the world into a period of depression and war known as the Collapse.Deus Ex: Invisible War.Ion Storm, 2003
  7. ^Shoemaker, Brad (September 6, 2003)."Deus Ex: Invisible WarHands-On Impressions ".GameSpot.RetrievedMay 25,2007.
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  9. ^ab"Eidos Montreal Tells Us All About Deus Ex: The Fall".Siliconera. June 11, 2013.RetrievedJuly 9,2013.
  10. ^abSpector, Warren (December 6, 2000)."Postmortem: Ion Storm'sDeus Ex".Gamasutra.RetrievedJuly 24,2007.
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  25. ^Curt Feldman (April 6, 2004)."Q&A: Invisible War's Harvey Smith".Gamespot. Archived fromthe originalon October 7, 2013.RetrievedMay 10,2013.
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  77. ^"Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Mankind Divided Sales Reach 12 Million".Siliconera. May 2, 2022.RetrievedMay 3,2022.
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