Deus Ex

The best PC game...EVER.

Deus Ex, released in 2000.

There are thousands of computer games in the world, but the odds of one better than Deus Ex are astronomical. It's that good. Here is a game that excels on all levels -- presentation, graphics, play control, sound, and, most importantly, gameplay. Here is a game that transcends the typical video game boundaries, and charts a new course for interactive art. Here is a game so brilliant that it makes other top 50 games look almost insignificant. Deus Ex is the best computer game of all time. It just might be the best video game of all time.

Deus Ex takes place in a dystopian not-to-distant future. Many of the world's nations have placed their support behind UNATCO -- the United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition -- to combat terrorism around the globe. Players take control of rookie UNATCO agent J.C. Denton, a nanotech-augmented operative. Along with his brother and other UNATCO agents, J.C. is tasked with taking down a terrorist group called NSF. Everything is not what it seems, however, and soon enough J.C. is thrust into a much larger and more sinister plot. It's safe to say that the story in Deus Ex is one of best ever written. It's unpredictable, for sure -- lots of plot twists -- but also intelligent and thoughtful. There is some serious reflection in Deus Ex on technology, politics, and human nature.

During important dialogue, the camera switches to third person view.

In Deus Ex, choice is everything. As a player, you make choices and then have to live with them. This applies to your tactics -- whether to fight directly or sneak around -- your loyalties, and your upgrades. As J.C. completes missions and tasks, he is awarded money and also attribute points, which  can be used to enhance a menu of special skills. Players who prefer running and gunning will want to invest in rifles, pistols, and heavy weapons. Those who prefer to outmanuever enemies with technology can add points to lockpicking, electronics, and computer. Skills will largely determine how each player reacts to obstacles in the game. In this way, Deus Ex is one of the games most responsible for "emergent gameplay" in video games today. Emergent gameplay defines a scenario where game developers introduce to the player a relatively simple set of rules and frameworks against which the player is encouraged to explore creative strategies, some of which the designers never predicted. In other words, Deus Ex challenges its players to solve problems in many different, imaginative ways.

The skills screen, ranking each skill from "untrained" to "master."

Deus Ex uses the standard WASD plus mouse combination, with weapons/items and nanotech augmentations mapped to the 1-0 buttons and F3-F12 buttons, respectively. The layout works exceptionally well with very few hiccups -- only rarely did I need to inspect the F keys to find the appropriate augmentation. The game makes good use of the keyboard in other inventive ways, namely the ability to hack computers and input user names and passwords. This is certainly one aspect of the game that wouldn't translate well to home consoles.

Where's Catherine Zeta-Jones when you need her?

It's difficult to single out one thing that makes Deus Ex such a superior game because everything works together. Graphics and sound provide an appropriate sense of place and atmosphere, the story and characters provide meaning and direction, and the dynamic gameplay provides constant challenges. What might be Deus Ex's greatest strength is its level design. Each level is perfectly spaced and paced, whether it's UNATCO headquarters on Liberty Island or a night club in Paris.

With so many "game of the year" editions on the market, and with so much hyberbole coming from video game sites and print publications, it's easy to forget what true greatness is. Deus Ex is it. There are only so many best-of-the-best, transcendent video games out there -- I can count my personal list of such games on two hands, and still have fingers left over -- so it's important to spread the word once they're discovered. And the best part is this: you could share this game with a dozen friends, and none will experience it in the same way.

Score: 10

Note: Deus Ex is available for a small price on Steam, gog.com, and GameTap.