Deus Ex: Invisible War

 PC
User Score
6.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 350 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 139 out of 350
  2. Mixed: 132 out of 350
  3. Negative: 79 out of 350
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  1. technofan21
    Jul 7, 2015
    10
    Okay, I understand that there is a lot of hate for this game. Noted. However, before you completely discount this review, haters, understand the fact that I come back to this series every year to play all the games through again, including the original(yet I don't consider The Fall to be canon). However I do have another fact to admit, and this is the fact that this was my first experienceOkay, I understand that there is a lot of hate for this game. Noted. However, before you completely discount this review, haters, understand the fact that I come back to this series every year to play all the games through again, including the original(yet I don't consider The Fall to be canon). However I do have another fact to admit, and this is the fact that this was my first experience with Deus Ex. Unfortunately I didn't possess a good enough computer to run the first Deus Ex when it came out, the knowledge of the game completely passed me by. It's strange how after Deus Ex met with such critical acclaim in its' time, only a couple years after (when I started to get into PC gaming) I had never heard mention of it till its' sequel was released on the Xbox platform. So, yeah, I have a little bit of a childhood blinders on but still this game deserves a better look, even from hardcore fans of the original.

    There is a reason why I go back to play every Deus Ex game every year, it's because these games get me hooked by their brilliant stories and Franken-Genre take on the FPS blockbuster. In no other game can I find an RPG FPS with minor Platforming elements with a deep and detailed storlyine. It just doesn't exist, and each part of this series has a different flavor entirely.

    As for Invisible War, this game has a very unique feel to it and it stands out from 1 and Human Revolution quite a bit, and it is as other people put it, kind of cold and apathetic. But for some reason, that doesn't exactly make me hate this game. The character you play as is pretty out of touch with reality, almost robotic, yet this sort of makes sense because he was... well... if you played the game you know his back story so I won't go and spoil it for any poor soul who hasn't played this yet.

    On top of that, this bland character gives you the ability to sorta impose your own conscience over your decisions. In the end, Alex Denton feels more like a conscientious objector, a spectator; this fact gives the player the ability to let their own feelings and morals take control of the character's actions and in this way the player becomes the character. No other part of the Deus Ex franchise provides the means to interact with your character in this way.

    The graphics, while they weren't exactly the best thing in their time, are still quite enjoyable to me today, and this is because it still delivers this cold and detached atmosphere that is not present in the other Deus Ex games. Combined with the (enjoyable) coldness of Alex Denton, it achieves in pulling off that not-so-bright future feel that some books like Farenheit 451 have. While the original Deus Ex and Human Revolution seem a little bit over-the-top, Invisible War seems quite subtle in comparison to the other two.

    So, while I understand that there are a couple of things to hate on (really easy, too loose with the ammo and upgrades, well, that's pretty much my main gripe with Human Revolution too, except for the bugs), I give this game a 10 because I can't find it anywhere else. This game feels like playing a Hardcore Sci-Fi novel, and that is pretty much the coolest thing ever    … Expand
  2. MCFThousandCuts
    Sep 28, 2015
    8
    Here's a case of a perfectly good game all it done wrong was not be the first game the attitude of a game is worse because its not the first is a popular one lately, of course follow ups are not going to have the new feel that the first game does as its building on that foundation and unless games adds 100 new features and mega shiny graphics they get slated.
  3. Amsheagar
    Jul 26, 2016
    6
    Deus ex is much better game than Deus ex: Invisible war. There is worse skill system and gameplay. I didnt like the menu, inventory, quest, map system. This is boring and hard game, i hate i always ran out of ammo. I cant reccomend the game, only for the deus ex fans.
  4. DiegoParedesHD
    Aug 1, 2020
    7
    Muy buena segunda parte de la saga deus ex.
    En esta ocasion el juego se ha simplificado bastante ya que el juego fue pensado desde su creacion para salir en pc y consolas a diferencia del 1 que habia sido pensado 100% para pc.Aun asi esta versión de Pc es muy buena y no suele dar problemas.
    En cuanto la historia no es tan buena como la del 1
  5. arostislavna
    Dec 1, 2021
    8
    Pretty good game, has lots of cons but is still better than most games these days.

    Sadly, it feels incredibly like a FPS rather than an RPG.
  6. Broyax
    Apr 14, 2023
    5
    J’y ai d’abord joué sur Xbox à sa sortie en… 2003 ! mes souvenirs en sont un peu flous… je crois que ça ramait un brin, voire même un peu plus que ça… et les temps de chargement étaient nombreux et longuets ! j’ai toujours la Xbouse certes mais le lecteur déconne assez… régulièrement comme sur la plupart des Xbox, pour ne pas dire toutes (déficience de l’âge et fiabilité… lamentable).J’y ai d’abord joué sur Xbox à sa sortie en… 2003 ! mes souvenirs en sont un peu flous… je crois que ça ramait un brin, voire même un peu plus que ça… et les temps de chargement étaient nombreux et longuets ! j’ai toujours la Xbouse certes mais le lecteur déconne assez… régulièrement comme sur la plupart des Xbox, pour ne pas dire toutes (déficience de l’âge et fiabilité… lamentable). Quoique… j’ai eu aussi le coup sur ma PS2 Slim ! du jour au lendemain !

    Il reste heureusement la version PC (j’ai une version boîte !), laquelle marche étonnamment bien sur Windows 7-64, mis à part le fait qu’il est impossible de jouer avec une manette (ça fait chier) et que le jeu est en 4/3. On peut monter jusqu’en 1280×960 avant que l’interface ne devienne minuscule… et on gagne les 60 im/s.

    Lex voix sont évidemment en anglais et je m’étonne du doublage un peu… bâclé : tout le monde débite son texte à une vitesse ! comme s’ils avaient tous un train… ou un avion à prendre. C’est bizarre. En tout cas, le jeu est d’une stabilité exemplaire et sans aucun bug… sauf à la fin, lors de la mission finale où selon les choix que l’on peut faire, on peut se retrouver bloqué…

    A noter qu’il y a surtout une « bonne fin » seulement… car les autres s’avèrent éminemment decevantes ou ridiculement négatives. Bien que ce second Deus Ex offre des possibilités d’infiltration intéressantes, il arrive tout de même un peu trop souvent que l’on doive se battre… sans autre choix apparent puisqu’on se retrouve surpris, pris en embuscade pour ainsi dire ! c’est dommage et ça peut être emmerdant si vous n’avez pas un arsenal adéquat… ou au moins une ou deux capacités utiles à cet égard.

    A part ça, l’histoire tient à peu près la route, à part une ou deux révélations abusées… et l’ambiance cyberpunk reste excellente avec moult gadgets et ‘bio-modifications’ disponibles. L’interface et la maniabilité ne posent aucun souci, même au clavier et à la souris… bien que personnellement j’ai en horreur ces dispositifs dans les jeux… sauf bien sûr dans les jeux de stratégie en temps réel ou assimilés. Mais bon, pour ce que je joue à ces merdes, je m’en tamponne un peu.

    Invisible War reste en tout cas un jeu agréable mais qui pâlit tout de même un peu trop régulièrement à côté de son aîné… ça manque d’alternatives dans l’exploration des niveaux, lesquels sont de toute façon souvent trop étriqués, c’est le moins qu’on puisse dire.    … Expand
  7. jumpinglangur
    Dec 6, 2018
    9
    It took me a while to get into, including two failed attempts at playing it over a few years, but when I finally played it from beginning to end my opinion of it made a 180. This is in fact a very good game, whose technical prowess was way ahead of its time. The story is amazing and contains some very interesting turns and twists. The shooter mechanics are much better than the original,It took me a while to get into, including two failed attempts at playing it over a few years, but when I finally played it from beginning to end my opinion of it made a 180. This is in fact a very good game, whose technical prowess was way ahead of its time. The story is amazing and contains some very interesting turns and twists. The shooter mechanics are much better than the original, and the overall atmosphere conveys the overall desolate mood perfectly.
    It is, though, a bad port. The PC version could have been much much better than what we have. They should at least have reworked the interface and decrease fix the very many loading screens.    … Expand
  8. Babutto
    Sep 11, 2020
    7
    Pros.:
    - variety of gameplay options: stealth-hacks, tank modes;
    - augmentations variety (even though worse than DE); - the story develops the previous story. Even though on a cheaper scale. The choices you made previously are useless; - character development. Cons.: - the story is much, MUCH simpler; - always lack of ammo. The physics are dumb (ammo always underbodies, need to    Pros.:
    - variety of gameplay options: stealth-hacks, tank modes;
    - augmentations variety (even though worse than DE);
    - the story develops the previous story. Even though on a cheaper scale. The choices you made previously are useless;
    - character development.

    Cons.:
    - the story is much, MUCH simpler;
    - always lack of ammo. The physics are dumb (ammo always underbodies, need to throw them away);
    - the inventory limitations;
    - augmentations are simple and again very-very inconvenient. Speed and heal are the best;
    - the game gives the chance to choose any end up till the end of the game. That's not cool, because it just repeats the same idea of the first game. Not a bright one, btw;
    - music. It's just nothing. In DE the music was iconic. Here you barely notice it.

    This game develops DE. But everything seems kind of cheap and simple. Instead of making the game more complex, even more story oriented, the developers just exploited the predecessor. It is not a bad game though.    … Expand
  9. ylnylmn
    Mar 23, 2021
    8
    I played the first Deus Ex and it is in my top 5 games. I can understand why they dislike this game. But regardless of the first game, the game is fine and playable except for a few minor bugs. It is a very good game for the year as a graphics and physics engine. Even though the story is very similar to the first game, I was still not bored, it was gripping. In-game dialogs are very simpleI played the first Deus Ex and it is in my top 5 games. I can understand why they dislike this game. But regardless of the first game, the game is fine and playable except for a few minor bugs. It is a very good game for the year as a graphics and physics engine. Even though the story is very similar to the first game, I was still not bored, it was gripping. In-game dialogs are very simple and short. The world feels a little empty and the missions are few. The loading screens are a bit long. AI is weak but OK. Biomods and weapon modes lose their importance after the first few hours of the game. When the game was over, I had 9 black market, 6 normal biomods and as many weapon modes as I could not count. The game isn't bad enough to be hated, and its score is unnecessarily low.… Expand
  10. behemod12
    Jun 28, 2021
    5
    oyun eski olduğu için pc de tam uyumlu çalışmıyor çıktıktan sonra save dosyalarını siliyor bundan önceki oyunda olmamıştı hikaye oynanış vb. zamanına göre iyiydi şimdi çok götürürmü bilmiyorum
  11. petrkozak13
    Sep 28, 2022
    7
    I avoided this game for almost 20 years because I heard it's awful. Finally I played it in 2022 and yes, in comparison to the first game it's bad. But in general, Invisible War is a fun game that still feels like Deus Ex and I feel like lot of modern games are way worse than this one.
  12. F1_is_WWE
    Feb 12, 2023
    4
    The game is bad. Not terrible, but not worth playing. It is obviously a console port.

    First, the game is ridiculously easy. You can unlock invisibility as soon as the second level. When invisible, enemies cannot see you and you can literally walk straight past them. And, it lasts for a minute! With an item that allows an instant recharge! Also, unlike the first game, here you start out    The game is bad. Not terrible, but not worth playing. It is obviously a console port.

    First, the game is ridiculously easy. You can unlock invisibility as soon as the second level. When invisible, enemies cannot see you and you can literally walk straight past them. And, it lasts for a minute! With an item that allows an instant recharge! Also, unlike the first game, here you start out with perfect aim. So right from the start you can score silenced headshots on all enemies from accross the room. It's not until 2/3 of the way through the game that some enemies start wearing helmets to resist. Some people don't like the aiming system in the first game because it makes combat awkward, but here you can just walk around like Terminator killing all enemies on the map no problem. Finally, the AI is stupid. You kill a soldier, "Huh, what's this?" you kill him, next guy comes "Huh, what's this?" you kill him, next guy comes....

    Second, the levels are very linear. Statue of Liberty in the first game was a huge island with about 3 different ways to ascend. In this game you have a tight circular corridor and a few turns where NPCs are waiting to talk. There is only one way into the statue. The whole game is like this, and the cramped design makes stealth without invisibility frustrating. Load screens are constant and long.

    Third, the plot is boring. The voice acting is just as lifeless as the first game, and there aren't any huge in-your-face plot holes, but there is no connection with anything. There are a few factions to side with, and you have people constantly rambling at you over your mic trying to get you to side with them. But they never explain any ideology or goals, they just yell at you. There is no worldbuilding, in other words. Each level you can choose which faction to side with, but ultimately none of it matters they always call you and say "so, you double crossed me... well, I'll forgive you if you help us next time." In the end you get 4 endings, none of which feel properly developed, and the game actually calls you a retard if you choose the purity ending :)    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

48
#48 Best PC Game of 2003
11
#11 Most Discussed PC Game of 2003
41
#41 Most Shared PC Game of 2003

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 44 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 44
  3. Negative: 0 out of 44
  1. Total Video Games
    90
    One of the most captivating and thoroughly polished titles in recent times. It’s not perfect, however anyone who has an interest in well-crafted Sci-Fi storylines a la "Minority Report" will find themselves completely captivated with this game.
    Read full review
  2. PC Gameworld
    80
    A somewhat disappointing, but fun sequel.
    Read full review
  3. eToychest
    50
    It absolutely defines mediocrity.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »