Frame-rates aren’t optimised.

Perspective is always important, and it seems that what we’ve become willing to accept in our every day lives, and what we’re willing to accept in videogames, are two entirely different things. We want our entertainment to be pure, flawless, even the slightest technical hitch can be enough to jerk us out of this virtual playground and drop you, the player, back to earth.

This is the quandary that Deus Ex: Invisible War faces, on one hand it has much to offer; freedom of choice and consequence, intriguing though flawed physics, and an involving plotline which becomes more complex the further you delve. On the other hand it doesn’t spoon-feed visual delights; textures can be muddy and ill-defined, character models have a tendency to repeat, and the frame-rate never really achieves a comfortable medium. Unfortunately, for some, these points alone will slam an impenetrable barrier between them and any potential enjoyment.

Until Invisible War, PC owners hadn’t seriously considered that they could come off worse in a dual-format release. Naturally, after the furor which followed a recent demo, Warren Spector put up a valiant fight defending the merits of Invisible War on both PC and XBox,. But the fact remains that this is primarily an XBox game.

The control scheme has been shrewdly and carefully mapped to the XBox pad, quickly becoming intuitive to the player. Auto-aim is default enabled in the options menu, passwords and keycodes are now inputted automatically upon being discovered, and the skills system from Deus Ex has been wiped clean in favour of bio-mod upgrades and weapon add-ons. Character generation, a feature which was joined at the hip with the skills system has also been scrapped. Little is left except the option of choosing a male or female character, and altering their skin tone to one of three variations, any tailoring you desire will concern the aforementioned bio-mods and weapons.

Regrettably, the developer’s consideration of console gamers didn’t stop with the control scheme and interface, they also make some questionable choices about what we prefer, too.

Biomod canisters, used to upgrade your systems, were a rare and desirable sight in Deus Ex; when you finally got your hands on one it was a matter of some deliberation to decide how best to use it, particularly as your choice was effectively irreversible. This also meant that you had to commit to a single set of abilities throughout the game, usually ones which matched your playing style, but Invisible War totally erases this consideration by selling out to the impatient player. There are so many biomod canisters now that you can, conceivably, experience all the biomod abilities and still have more than a handful of canisters left at the end of the game. Don’t like a chosen ability? Not a problem, find a new canister and you can over-write the talent which doesn’t suit you, it’s all as unpleasantly casual as trying on clothes in a shop.

The idea of Universal Ammo also had stalwart fans frothing at the mouth, and while it is by no means a blunder which wrecks the game, it’s unlikely that after a few hours play you won’t see their point. Each weapon in the game, including melee devices, draws upon a single pool of ammunition which is compatible with everything from a flamethrower to a stun-prod. What was classified as stream-lining feels like another nod to the ‘play fast, think later’ mindset that Ion Storm seem convinced console owners adhere to.

Invisible War’s plot, despite some lofty pretensions, substitutes the detailed conspiracies of Deus Ex for smoke and mirrors. Mystery is replaced with ignorance, you’re given a chance of choosing a faction but so little information is made available about aims and methods of operation that the choice itself is moot. Events which took place in Deus Ex are constantly alluded to, and as all three optional endings of the original occurred there is plenty to talk about. Nobody knows whether JC Denton is still alive, but the chance of meeting him is constantly dangled before you, suffice to say the two plotlines do inevitably connect.

In terms of a timeframe, the story will take anywhere from fifteen to twenty hours to reach a conclusion. There is some visitation to different countries involved, just as in Deus Ex, with Cairo and Germany featuring prominently, but the crafty excuse of Martial Law is used to limit your access and depth of exploration in these places.

Freedom of action and decision in Invisible War is still crucially present, yet everything is more placid, less demanding. Realising that you could kill your partner in the original Deus Ex and the game would continue, taking this into account, rather than fading into a black ‘Game Over’ screen was a stunning realisation. It presented a fluid world and let us do things our way; we knew that we were playing something special, something new.

Invisible War does give you that, but often in oddly unsatisfying Happy Meal sized packages; it leads you by the nose to an alternate route or solution then gushes and praises your ingenuity when you easily uncover it. Ventilation ducts run like rabbit warrens through every major installation, which is a sin carried over and expanded on from the original; being faced with an impenetrable laser-grid, a defence droid, and patrolling guards, then looking down and spotting a ventilation grid to bypass them all sometimes borders on the comedic.

With those contentions out of the way you may be asking, and worrying, about how much is left. The answer is a surprising amount. As while Ion Storm put a few too many unnecessary bullets in their own feet with the design of Invisible War, they didn’t lose sight of some of the factors that made Deus Ex so enjoyable for so many people - namely, atmosphere and style.

The Havok physics engine, now surfacing in recent and forthcoming titles such as Max Payne 2 and Thief 3, is a worthwhile addition. There’s no denying the teething problems, such as unrealistic weights for objects which can result in unintentional ‘bull in a china shop’ moments, with objects tumbling and bouncing all around as you walk calmly through an apartment. That said, watching the enemy scatter furniture as your shotgun blasts knocks them across the room, or tipping a sniper over a high railing with a well-aimed pistol shot, count as moments which are well worth one or two faults.

The roughness of the graphics is saved by superb lighting effects and detailed character models, elevating it to the state where there is enough detail for even the unfinished edges to create their own distinct feel. Due to seminal science-fiction films like Blade Runner many of us will give Invisible War a fair amount of slack, seeing these dingy, closed in areas not as limited design view but rather snapshots of an oppressive and bleak future.

Sonically it has some stand-out moments, the resonant beat of the nightclub, and professional bands adding their talents to the songs played via holographic jukeboxes, but these are burdened by merely adequate voice acting.

If ignorance is bliss then familiarity can be hell, the militant gamers’ howls of pain and derision are not so much aimed at Invisible War but at themselves, trapped by the shadow of Deus Ex and unable to escape that black expanse to sample new riches based in the same universe. Those who are unfamiliar with the original are a different matter, however, they simply will not see many of the faults which most reviews furiously trumpet, and as such are in line for a refreshing and varied gaming experience.

It almost certainly isn’t the Deus Ex sequel many of us hoped for, but is only marginally less worthy for that. Invisible War welcomes new gamers, it caters for them and supports them, while nodding and making an occasional blithe reassurance to the vetrans skulking in the wings. Evolution or minimisation? One thing is for sure, if you remain uncertain as to which side of the fence you’re sitting on, you may just be able to allow yourself an immersive and unique period in which to decide.