Once you create as good a game as Deus Ex, it’s hard to match, but Ion Storm succeeds quite well in Invisible War.

Invisible War takes place 20 years after the events in Deus Ex. The world is slowly starting to be rebuilt after JC Denton destroyed the Aquinas hub (the global hub for all electronic communication), and initiated the Great Collapse. The player starts off as Alex D., a student at Tarsus Academy, a premier worldwide private school devoted to the biomodification and nanomodification of its students. Throughout the game, you make your way through several levels (including a ballistics facility and the ruins of an abandoned castle) in an effort to discover information about yourself, and the world, that has been kept secret.

Soon after the start of the game, Order Seekers (the grunts of the Order church, one of the major factions in the game) launch a raid on the academy to liberate them from what the Order sees as inhumane experiments. Before you exit the facility, the Order High Auger Lin May Chen contacts you and explains that the officer in charge of the raid disobeyed his orders in using lethal force. You escape the attack, and go searching for answers. Immediately after leaving, you are offered the choice to help either the W.T.O (World Trade Office), who focus on helping the world recover from the crippling blow the Collapse struck on the world’s economy, or the Order Church, a religious group led by the mysterious Her Holiness and focused on natural balance. Sadly, however, what group you help really makes no difference whatsoever, except in the ending cinematic.

Invisible War has many areas that could use improvement. For example, the developers did away with the skill system that gave the original Deus Ex much of its RPG attributes. The augmentation system has been simplified considerably; the installation and use of the biomodifications (or biomods) is now much less complex, which, along with making gameplay smoother, reduces the immersiveness of the game. Furthermore, the variety of weapons modifications has been reduced, as has their effect on the game.

However, Invisible War has several redeeming qualities that make it a very satisfactory game. The graphics are quite good, as is the “rag-doll" physics system, which makes for more lifelike gameplay. The storyline and script are excellent, and the game offers many solutions to any given situation.

From the graphics to the storyline, from the soundtrack to the weapons systems. Deus Ex: Invisible War succeeds in being a satisfactory gaming experience which will leave the player wanting to play it again.