Reception
Deus Ex: Invisible War received largely positive reviews, receiving an average score of 80 for the Windows version and 84 for the Xbox version on Metacritic. Fan response to Invisible War is notable for being quite split. User rankings on MobyGames for instance are around 3.5 out of five for both versions of the game, while Metacritic users awarded 6.2 out of 10 for the Windows version and 7.4 out of 10 for the Xbox.
Electronic Gaming Monthly scored the game 8/9/7: Joe Fielder, the first reviewer, praised the game's freedom of choice, but found fault with its "long loading times, somewhat clunky combat, crappy mapping system, and weak finales", and concluded that the game is "definitely the padawan to Jedi master". Second reviewer Dan Hsu said, "This is a truly great, immersive experience only hampered by poor enemy A.I.", and third reviewer Bryan Intihar concluded: "If you can look past technical hiccups, Invisible War shouldn't disappoint".
Criticisms of Invisible War generally drew negative comparisons to the game's award-winning predecessor. The most common complaints center around the length of the game (considerably shorter than the first installment), and the substantial reduction of RPG elements and the number of 'augmentation' abilities the player is able to find and use.
Invisible War dropped the skill system from the previous game and used a simplified version of the biomod upgrade architecture. Also, the heads-up display was placed towards the center of the screen, but could be set up to fade out during play so as not to obstruct the player's view.
The Windows version of Deus Ex: Invisible War was notorious for demanding a powerful video card, effectively making a large number of the fan base unable to play the game. On the Xbox this was not an issue, and was largely the reason behind the higher-than-average rating of the Xbox version. Many graphics cards at the time, such as the Geforce MX series, did not support the Pixel Shader requirement. There is even a dedicated button on the CD's autorun menu for checking graphics card compatibility.
An IGN review of Invisible War compared the plot of the sequel to the original game by saying "In all, it's a much more comprehensible story arc this time around. To be honest, by the time I finished the original Deus Ex on the PC, I could barely remember how the game started. This time, it's much easier to visualize the overall path of the action." However, others have noted drawbacks of Invisible War's plot when compared to that of the original game, considering its attempt at moral ambiguity as a flaw. A review of Invisible War on GameSpot says "There really is no clear sense of right or wrong in this game, which is interesting—though odd—and not always conducive to a satisfying experience," later also noting "The characters themselves aren't well developed."
Read more about this topic: Deus Ex: Invisible War
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