J.C. Denton, badass

   It's the near future, and it stinks. Deadly new viruses have wiped out most of the world's population. Terrorists, drugs, and fear control the streets. And every conspiracy you can imagine is probably true. You are J.C. Denton, fresh recruit for UNATCO, the United Nations Anti-Terrorist COalition. Your headquarters are the bombed out remains of New York City's Liberty Island. Your body has been enhanced with the latest nanotechnology; your equipment is state-of-the-art. Somebody's got to protect this cesspool of a world, and that person is you.

   The game is Deus Ex, and it is the brainchild of developer Warren Spector and development house ION Storm Austin. Spector is the mind behind Ultima Underworld and System Shock, two of the PC's most creative and groundbreaking RPGs; he is determined to take Deus Ex to the next level.

Even the parks are ominous

   Deus Ex runs on a highly modified version of the Unreal engine. At every step, the designers have struggled to create a realistic, beliveable, and interesting world. The environments are a cross between Blade Runner, Akira, and X-Files; wasted cityscapes and amazing technology meet conspiracies of all sizes: small, large, and unfathomable. Locations include the aforementioned Liberty Island, New York City's Battery Park, Hong Kong, Paris, and Area 51. Whenever possible, the level designs are based on actual photographs and location scouting. The entire game is set at night, giving a suitably ominous mood to the proceedings.

   Every aspect of the game will offer multiple solutions, allowing for extreme character differentiation and a personalized gameplay experience. Spector provides the example of retrieving an item from a safe. One character could hack into a computer and get the combination. A second could pick off a guard and steal his key. A third could open the safe with controlled demolitions that leave the contents intact. The game isn't picky about how you complete tasks, as long as you complete them. No matter what your character's skill set, the puzzles will have a solution; you will never be "screwed" because you lack a particular skill.

Your character has a wide skill set ;>

   Skills in the game include computers, electronics, environmental training, lockpicking, medicine, swimming, demolitions, heavy weapons, low-technology weapons, pistol, and rifle. Each skill has four levels of knowledge: untrained, trained, advanced, and master. Skills are upgraded by assigning earned experience points. There won't be enough points to master every skill; in fact, there will only be enough to earn "master" or "advanced" status in a single skill, with enough left over for "trained" in several categories. Players can use any skill regardless of their expertise; but the effectiveness, of course, will vary.

   Gamers will augment their character's skills with cybernetic upgrades and nanotechnology. Throughout the game, you will acquire upgrade canisters that contain two mutually exclusive abilities; the player must choose which ability they believe will be more useful. The player can obtain either night vision OR a zoom lens; the ability to move silently at any speed OR to run faster and jump higher.

Dramatic cut-scenes

   What you say to NPCs is as important to the game's direction as the skills you choose. Characters remember what you say to them; past actions determine future possibilities and responses. "The whole game at its core level is about choice and consequence," says Spector. "There won't be any response that won't have some kind of affect on the game world."

   Despite the gameplay freedom, Deus Ex gives gamers a linear narrative filled with conspiracies and twists. You can talk with NPCs via branching dialogue trees, as well as watch preset "cut scenes" that unfold important story elements. All dialogue in the game uses full voice-overs.

   With its creative setting and fantastic gameplay freedom, Deus Ex looks to be a much needed shot-in-the-arm for an often stagnant genre. Eidos has yet to officially announce a Dreamcast port, but its inevitability is one of the worst kept secrets in the business. Sources within Eidos regularly confirm that the title is Dreamcast-bound, and the Official Dreamcast Magazine even announced it prematurely. The Dreamcast may be currently RPG-scarce, but Deus Ex could be the Machina Sega fans need.