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Deus Ex takes place in a futuristic world filled with international conspiracies, far-out technology and aliens, with a setting that combines elements from The Matrix, The X-Files and Blade Runner. If you think all of this sounds similar to the world of Nintendo 64's FPS Perfect Dark, you wouldn't be far off. Deus Ex could easily pass as the adventure-game cousin to Perfect Dark, with gameplay elements similar to the strong storytelling aspect of Half-Life and the stealth-play strategy of Thief.

You play the role of J.C. Denton, a troubleshooter for a world anti-terrorist organization whose look seems "inspired" by Neo from The Matrix -- right down to the sunglasses, trench coat and jackboots. The world of the future is in pretty bad shape: The economy has gone to hell, terrorists are blowing things up and a killer virus called "Gray Death" is spreading throughout the populace. In other words, it's your typical "Boy, the future sure does suck" scenario. These crazy times prove to be a ripe opportunity for an ancient secret society (who may have a hand in the catastrophic world events unfolding, of course) to come out of hiding and make a power play for control of the world's governments. Oh, and did I already mention that space aliens figure into all of this somehow?

As Denton, you are sent on missions to perform any number of covert tasks: information gathering, assassination, rendezvousing with contacts and the like. Developer Ion Storm boasts that Deus Ex combines the best elements of role-playing, adventure and first-person shooter games. Whether you find this cocktail mix appealing may depend on how much you like each of these genres.

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