Warren Spector
Deus Ex

An uncontrollable epidemic, a vaccine for a few, an extremely unstable international situation, armed struggle as an everyday occurrence. This is roughly the dystopian reality faced by JC Denton, the protagonist of one of the most successful virtual experiences in the gaming world.

Now, to some, these might seem like grand words, and maybe these "some" might even find confirmation of this from reading this review, but let me justify myself by anticipating that it is very difficult to do justice to the possibilities and features of this video game. 

Back to Jc Denton, he is a nano-enhanced agent (which means he has physical abilities far superior to normal due to a complex technological system through which he was raised), serving in UNATCO, an anti-terrorist military unit established following the attack on the Statue of Liberty, with the purpose of eliminating the threat posed by the NSF, the most powerful and organized terrorist forces of the world in which one is immersed. These are the facts we know after the first 5 minutes of the game, but don't be misled by these sparse three lines, because the game is much more immersive than what has been read so far thanks to a cyberpunk and futuristically distorted atmosphere supported by the then cutting-edge Unreal graphics engine (we are in 2001); readers of Philip K. Dick would find it particularly fascinating, thanks to the original and intriguing twists of the plot and the subtle socio-philosophical references encountered in the dialogues, as well as a certain finesse in designing the characters and the world around them (the image of the decapitated Statue of Liberty following the attack, with the backdrop of a dark and militarized world, is truly stunning).

The ability to interact with the external world and other characters is really very high (even today it's hard to find a comparison with other works), and the socio-philosophical reflections just mentioned, obviously supported by a truly remarkable plot development, make the dialogues more interesting than those of many other titles, as beautiful as they may be. Indeed, in our conversations with terrorist leaders, government officials, or artificial intelligences, it is not uncommon to encounter digressions on human social tendencies or the concept of freedom, and it is precisely the freedom of action that perhaps contributed most to consecrating this video game to the level of masterpiece in the genre. Besides the ability to choose the infiltration and action modes most convenient to us, which are numerous and articulated into a series of skills to be developed throughout the game (skills from lock-picking, to hacking, to pure stealth agent up to the "rambesque" mad slayer, and even the gamer's ability to observe and study the vast game environment, aided by a series of enhancements that boost our physical-technological capabilities), there is also the option to choose how to act at very important moments in the game's plot, through conversations or actual actions. Even though the main storyline remains and it will not be possible, for example, to overturn the ideology that affirms within us during the missions, it is possible to decide not to kill certain prisoners, to even secretly assassinate our prominent comrades to avoid confrontation with them later, and many other things, even very small ones, that make the gaming experience extremely engaging: the relationship that will develop in the game with our brother Paul Denton (also nano-enhanced and the main architect of the protagonist's ideological shift) will lead us to make difficult, even irreversible, choices, to give another example. The most striking example that comes to mind, however, is the ability to choose from three different endings (to be actively pursued, doing what is necessary to make them "reality"), leading to three possible future developments.

Despite the undeniable qualities in terms of plot and interactive capability, the technical execution may today seem outdated and not fully satisfy the seasoned player of the post-Doom III era and the new generations of ultra-fast hardware and so on; even some game bugs due to the physical engine could compromise the overall experience (while still being very entertaining), but immersing in the game's style, and possibly overlooking some issues, can ensure a superior gaming experience. A commendation also goes to the musical theme and the in-play soundtrack, a series of synth-orchestra tracks that will accompany the player throughout all the missions and environments in an immersive and never annoying way.

In essence, to be played and replayed, because a similar game is extremely difficult to come by (even its sequel was not quite up to par); probably the best video game you will deal with, and awarded the crown of "best game ever" even in 2007 by "PC Zone" (avoiding uncomfortable comparisons with particularly representative or historically important games).

A post scriptum for potential detractors: the game doesn't contain philosophical treatises, rather it provides hints sometimes developed in dialogues that make the continuation more enjoyable and interesting, besides possibly suggesting personal reflections.

Another post scriptum: quite nice is the idea of accompanying each ending with a quote from an author/philosopher (they are Voltaire, Khalil Gibran, John Milton).