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Deux Ex: Invisible War is a computer game. It is the sequel to Deus Ex (2000), and (like its predecessor) is the product of Austin, Texas based developer Ion Storm. It was released (for Microsoft Windows computers and the Xbox game console) in the US on December 3, 2003 (with a worldwide release scheduled for January 2004). There is no indication of the game being ported either to Macs or to other consoles.
Overview
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow. The protagonist of the game is "Alex D.", a 21-year-old (players can pick both Alex's gender and race). Some of the characters from the original game reprise their roles in this sequel - including Paul Denton, Tracer Tong, and JC Denton (the previous game's protagonist). As before, the action takes place in a number of real-world locations, including Seattle, an arcology and surrounding Medina in Cairo, the Black Gate and its environs in Trier in Germany, Antarctica, and concluding on an ice-bound Liberty Island, the starting point of the first game.
Like its predecessor, the game features nonlinear gameplay, while still retaining a largely linear central plot. Similarly, nanotechnology and conspiracy theories again play a major role in the action, and action once more concerns the conflict between the Illuminati and Majestic 12. However, some players feel that an in-depth story line took a back seat for more action. This is possibly due to the removal of some items from the original Deus Ex, such as computers that allow the player to read email, as well as less character development.
Unlike the original game, Invisible War was intended from the outset to run on both the PC and a console platform, and its design reflects this; many elements of the game appear to be a compromise between the abilities and environments of both platforms. Some players perceived this dual release as Ion Storm "selling out" to the console crowd. Indeed, the initial (unpatched) default.ini file had many irrelevant configurations or misconfigurations; this ranged from Thief: Deadly Shadows references (a game also developed by Ion Storm) to outright misconfigurations that included the Field of View being set to Xbox settings.
In fan communities, debate has raged over what effect various design changes have had on the experience of the game: some fans have voiced concern that the game has been "streamlined" (simplified) too much, with others agreeing that the changes were for the best. The game received generally positive reviews on its release, although devoted Deus Ex fans were quick to reveal the occasional low-scoring rating. The game was criticised for its inability to run on certain graphics cards, such as the GeForce 4 MX line of graphics cards from Nvidia due to its lack of pixel shaders and for the relative shortness of the game compared to Deus Ex.
Ion Storm has already released two patches for the game to address some major concerns. However, many players argue that these do not go far enough and that the game is still problematic. At the time of release, a pinned thread on the official forums was available for configuration modifications, although the most offending problems were corrected with the aforementioned patches.
According to the publishers, Invisible War met sales expectations both on Xbox and PC.
Plot You begin the game learning that there was some sort of terrorist attack in Chicago. The terrorists appeared to be seeking some sort of laboratory in Chicago. You are one of the trainees of this laboratory. You and your project leaders are safely evacuated before you witness the complete destruction of the building. When you are moved to the Seattle facility, you and fellow program trainees Billie Adams, Leo Jankowski and Klara Sparks are being kept in the dark about what really happened to Chicago. However, they are attcked by Seeker warriors of The Order Church. You must escape the lab, and find out what has been happening. You enter a world of conspiricy, double crosses and corruption. You were to be used by corporations for their desires. But now you are free, to start your own Invisible War.
Characters and Organisations In Deus Ex: Invisible War you will find (as in the first Deus Ex) that not everyone is as they seem, your alligences and enemies can change in a second. Here is a list of main characters and their respective organisations:
Tarsus Academy/ApostleCorp Tarsus Academy is (supposedly) an academy for biomodifing and nanoenhancing its students and giving them major combat, infiltration and stealth training. They are then hired by corporations to perform their deeds (eg: political assasination, infiltration of opposition buildings etc). This is however a lie. Tarsus is in reality a front for ApostleCorp, a corporation dedicated to restoring JC Denton to life. formed in the wake of the collapse, and taking research from old Versalife facilities around the globe. An abandoned Versalife facility in Antartica was turned into JC's base for twenty years. The lead scientist is Paul Denton, JC's older brother. They have been trying for years to restore JC, and Paul subjected himself to an unstable prototype formula and went into a coma and also needs reviving. Both ApostleCorp and Tarsus bases have been attacked (and most destroyed), and nearly all staff killed by The Knights Templar. The only confirmed surviving ApostleCorp scientists and staff are the Tarsus project leader Stan Carnegie, Dr Leila Nassif, Paul Denton (in a coma), JC Denton (needs special DNA mergence to revive him) and Tracer Tong. They are one of the four groups you can side with in the finale, bringing about 'The Great Advance': worldwide unification through an AI mergence between Helios and Alex.
Alex D The character you play as during the game. You later discover that his name is really Alex Denton. Although you start the game allied to Tarsus, you can immediatly change your alliegence at the end of the first level. You learn that you are in fact a clone of JC Denton, and that your life up untill now has been an elaborate cover-up by ApostleCorp, and that your school, Tarsus Academy is just a front. You question your alligence to them and decide to make your own path in the world. However, luminon Saman, who becomes Grandmaster Saman and leader of the Knights Templar, tells Alex that he is infact a normal person who was made into a Denton, rather than a straight clone of a perfect individual like JC.
JC Denton The previous main character of Deus Ex, he is now a major character even though he appears for the first time at least halfway through the game. He is a clone of his older 'brother' Paul. He joined UNATCO, discovered their corruption and left, joining his brother, defeated MJ-12, and brought about the Great Collapse (as told in Deus Ex). He wishes for 'global bliss' and that all life is connected to a super AI (similar to his wishes in the first Deus Ex that he wanted to merge all life with the Helios AI) so that all life is managed by one who cannot be morally corrupted, as it is a computer system. If you betray JC, then you make an enemy of Tracer Tong and Paul Denton (because JC is the leader of their faction).
Paul Denton Paul Denton is the older 'brother' of JC; MJ-12 used his DNA to clone JC. He was also a former member of UNATCO, and the first to be bio-modified, but left when he discovered the truth. Being clones the two look alike, but have totally different personalities; JC is cold and stolid, while Paul is passionate and empathetic. In an attempt to speed up the revival of his brother after his merger with the Helios AI, he subjected himself to the test formula (against the wishes of Tracer Tong). His body violently rejected the formula and Tong was forced to place him in cold storage, to preserve his body, until Tong and his scientists were able to cure him as well.
Tracer Tong Tracer Tong is a computer genius and a master hacker. He was viewed as a powerful threat by MJ-12, and while Paul and JC were employed by UNATCO they were both ordered by their superiors to kill him, but they both defected and helped Tong in his work. He has an army of robots ready to be activated to aid JC in his plans. He explains many things to Alex and tells him the truth about ApostleCorp.
Dr Leila Nassif Project leader of the Tarsus 'cover-up', she tells Alex the truth about Tarsus and what its real purpose is: to find a suitable DNA match to help revive JC. After the attack on Tarsus Academy in Seattle, she orders the trainees to escape and then regroup with her when she contacts them. None of the students do so however, as she never gives them the orders. She flees to Cairo, leaving the Project Director Stan Carnegie in control of the Mako Ballistics facility. You and Klara Sparks track her down to the ApostleCorp facility in the New Cairo Archology, where you have the option of killing her or interrogating her.
Stan Carnegie Possible head of the Tarsus 'cover-up', though it isn't certain what his exact hierarchical status relative to Nassif is. He remains behind at Apostlecorp's cell at Mako Ballistics as Nassif flees to Cairo. He is the one who gives the Tarsus students the order "to run" during the game's opening cinematic sequence.
The Illuminati The Illuminati (of Deus Ex) are decendants of the original Bavarian Illuminati. They have controlled the world 'behind the scenes' for centuries. They carefully manage the world's economies to make sure that no one has more power than they. To perform this monopoly, they own as many businesses as possible (with only a select few having knowledge of the organization) then keep their competition up to keep prices down. In Deus Ex they control two of the most influential groups in the game's beginning: the Order Church, and the WTO. Both are completly different in appearance and nature. Also, the Illuminati owns the two coffee shop chains Pequod's and QueeQueg's (these two chains are violently competitive, and hardly anyone knows of their parent companies). The Illuminati are one of the four groups you can join for the ending to bring about the 'Age of Light': The select few managing all of the world's economies, via the WTO orbital platform 'Ophelia'.
Chad Dumier The joint leader of The Illuminati (with Nicolette Duclare). He was, in his youth (during the events of the first Deus Ex), the leader of the French revolutionary group 'Silhouette'. He (in public) poses as the Chairman of the WTO.
Nicolette Duclare The joint leader of The Illuminati (with Chad Dumier). Daughter of prominant Illuminati member Beth Duclare. Joined the Silhouette revolutionary group and fell in love with Chad Dumier. They have been unable to conceive children and so are unable to continue their family bloodline for The Illuminati. She poses (in public) as the leader and figurehead of The Order: 'Her Holiness'.
The WTO The WTO (World Trade Organisation) is a global capitalist trade corporation, though they are secretly owned by the Illuminati along with their political rivals the Order. They offer economic aid to cities (in the economic depression of the Great Collapse), provided they submit to certain levels of WTO laws. These cities which agree (like Seattle), have 'enclaves' created or in other cities (like Cairo) they create 'arcologies'. However this creates a huge divide btween the rich and the poor. The rich are in the arcologies and enclaves, while the poor are in the poor areas surrounding these structures.
Donna Morgan Chief of the WTO. She is shocked and rather hurt when she learns of the WTO and Order both being of the Illuminati because they did not tell her even though she is the second most powerful member of the organisation (after Dumier himself).
The Order The Order is an attempted amalgam of all world religions. Like the WTO, they are secretly a part of the Illuminati. While very popular in the immediate post-collapse world, they have recently become challenged by the Knights Templar who have taken a lot of their popular support, especially in areas that, as High Augur Lin-May Chen informs Alex D, are more financially challenged. The Order flourished in the poorer districts around the WTO enclaves and arcologies, but the Templars are stealing members since the defection of Luminon Saman, he has been recruiting the more extreme members and the poorer classes.
Lin-May Chen High Augur of the Order Church and second in command to Her Holiness (Nicolette Duclare). Like Donna Morgan, she is appalled when she discovers the Order is merely a front for the Illuminati. She is the daughter of Maggie Chow and Max Chen from the first game.
The Knights Templar The Knights Templar of Deus Ex: Invisible War believe themselves to be decendants of the original Knights Templar. They believe in the complete elimination of biomodification and nanotechnology. Templar Paladins have a zealous belief in their religion and their Grand Master: Saman. Their devotion to their cause means they constantly clash with The Omar, a race of biomodified cyborgs. Knowing that they cannot defeat biomodified enemies with standard armour, the Templar scientists have developed a special Power Armour suit, making them as tough as a biomodified human. Because most of the Templar members are former Order members, including their leader Saman, the Knights Templar are a splinter group of the Order. The Templars are one of the four groups you can join at the games finale, creating 'The Templar Flood'.
Luminon/ Grand Master Saman The leader of the Knights Templar. He speaks in a philisophical manner, and refers to Alex as 'Pliable'. He believes heavily in the 'purification' of the human race by wiping out biomodification and will stop at nothing to achive it. He proves this by revealing to Alex that it was he who ordered the terrorist attack on Chicago, killing roughly 7 million people just to destroy one ApostleCorp facility. He believes that all Templars are expendable to achive the purification of humans, and the Templars will die for their cause. He was a high ranking Luminon in The Order, but when he formed the Knights Templar he took the title of Grand Master of The Knights Templar.
The Omar The Omar are a large group of biomodified cyborg/humans created by scientists in pre-collapse Russia. They spread around the globe, their heavily biomodified bodies earning hatred from the Templars and fear from others. The Omar's environmental suits and biomods have enabled them to share a group consciousness (for example if you kill an Omar, then all Omar will know about it and will seek revenge upon you). The Omar quickly flourished with a Black market of biomods and weapon mods. There are many Omar Traders all over the world. The Traders deal with the buying and selling of Black market goods. The Omar Protectors act as bodyguards for the Traders.
External links - Official Website (http://www.dxinvisiblewar.com/)
- Ion Storm Homepage (http://www.ionstorm.com/)
- PlanetDeusEx Fan Website (http://www.planetdeusex.com/)
- Retexturing Project for the PC Version (http://www.dx2rebirth.offtopicproductions.com/index.html)
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