Deus Ex: Invisible War Reviews

Three new reviews for Ion Storm’s Deus Ex: Invisible War have appeared on the web over the last couple of days, ranging from very low to very high scores. The first is Gone Gold’s “Night Call” and it’s very negative overall:

To start with, let’s get the half-ass console port stuff out of the way. The PC version of this game is crippled (there’s no other word for it) because it inherits the limitations of the Xbox version. This means you will see low-res textures no matter the resolution you’re using (and they don’t look good). You’ll see the Fischer Price My First Font for all dialogue, because it’s sized for the standard Xbox resolution.

EAX Support? No. That’s pretty unbelievable for a game where sound is supposedly so important.

Ironically, given that the game doesn’t look cutting edge at all, it runs really poorly. The one interesting aspect of the graphics engine are the lighting effects. They’re spectacular. Enjoy them for the five minutes you have them turned them on, because they cripple the framerate. One of the first things you’ll do is turn them off.

By far, though, the most painful consequence of console-itis is in the size of the game areas. The game never feels ‘big’ because so many small areas have to be connected to form one full level. The areas are so small that it’s easily possible to travel for thirty seconds, hit the edge of the zone, load an area (which might take 20-30 seconds as well), travel another fifteen seconds–then have to load ANOTHER zone.

The second review is at EuroGamer and is quite a bit more positive, with an overall score of 8/10:

Fundamentally, Invisible War has chosen certain aspects of the Deus Ex experience to focus on to the exclusion of others. This second instalment in the series is certainly an excellent game, but in becoming a much more accessible and polished title than its predecessor and taking significant advances in storytelling, it has left behind some key aspects of gameplay and much-loved variety from the first title. Not everyone who played the first game is going to take kindly to the decisions that Ion Storm Austin made in the creation of this game – but even if Invisible War isn’t exactly Deus Ex, and certainly isn’t as inventive and enjoyable as Deus Ex, it would be simply churlish not to acknowledge that it’s a superb game in its own right, and one which will be enjoyed by most fans of the first game, as well as – hopefully – by a lot of complete newcomers to the paranoid conspiracy theory heaven that is the Deus Ex universe.

And the third is at XVGN with an overall score of 92%:

Deus Ex Invisible War is without a doubt the best XBox game so far of 2004 and we’ll more than likely be sat here saying the same things about it come December. Excellent graphics, sound and lastability complement an excellent story line and some of the most initiative and imaginative gameplay seen on the XBox so far. The RPG/FPS formula works an absolute treat and as gamers we can only hope for more games in the future with such original and impressive gameplay. This is one of the finest games I’ve had the pleasure of playing in a long time, and I can only recommend you share the pleasure as well. What are you waiting for? Go and get yourself a copy!