Let's Play: Deus Ex

[Revising Ocelot]

I'd always looked forward to working at UNATCO - the United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition. I was in private school in Switzerland when the Statue of Liberty was bombed - not destroyed, but decapitated.
Years later I came back to America and enrolled in the UNATCO Academy on the mainland, like the schoolmasters had already intended... not that I even minded. I was following my older brother's footsteps - we'd both been augmented with nanomachines, improving ourselves in every respect. Mental faculties, stamina, strength... I don't remember exactly why they were implemented for me and my brother specifically, but I don't care too much. Only my eyes bothered me... I've been covering them with shades for a long time, and nobody knows the difference. Not even myself, as there's no visual difference.

Tomorrow was supposed to be my first day on the job - I finally graduated last week after completing the training course. I was moving to New York - the main headquarters of UNATCO in the US was based on Liberty Island, rising from the ashes of the headless Statue... no tourists ever came after the bombing. An office was being prepared for me there, and Paul had already arranged for me to stay at his apartment in Hell's Kitchen whilst he was operating in Hong Kong. I don't know why he lives there of all places, but he claims it's certainly safe enough... given his UNATCO experience I don't doubt him. I was especially looking forward to finding out why when I arrived at New York at sunset today. But I had to check in at UNATCO first.







As soon as I get off the speedboat, I hear a gunshot in the distance. Do UNATCO use some of the island as targetting ranges? At night? No... something's wrong.



NSF raid? Paul's already here? And I haven't even seen this "Alex Jacobson" before - he's using the Infolink. Only Jaime Reyes has contacted me through that before, back at the Academy during the routine checkups and the training course.

Looks like I'm on my first assignment a day early...

And sure enough, Paul's already running over to me. I hadn't seen him for 3 months now.



"Welcome to the Coalition, JC... I might as well start using your codename. Think I'd miss my brother's first day?"

Avoiding the question already. Guess it wasn't for a good reason. He notices my expression.

"The NSF -- they hit one of our shipments. A few of them got away, but we trapped the rest in the Statue."
"What are we waiting for? Looks like a textbook assault."
"The NSF took one of our agents hostage. The bots are holding the perimeter, but my orders are to hold back and send you in alone. I think someone high up wants to see how you handle the situation."

Probably the only reason why the troops haven't come out in force and mown them done already. Trial by fire for the rookie...

"All I've got with me is a pistol and an electric prod. I don't mind a test, but
UNATCO better issue some hardware."
"Remember that we're police. Stick with the prod. It will stun your opponents or knock them unconscious. A nonlethal takedown is always the most silent way to eliminate resistance. Just in case, though, Manderley wants you to pick an additional weapon: a sniper rifle, a GEP gun, or a minicrossbow."

The UNATCO chief certainly was expecting me tonight. I'd used a rifle on the training course, but... I've never actually killed anyone in the line of duty before. If I have to, I'd stick to my pistol... I'm much more experienced with it. Seems like I'm expected to sneak in and do something anyway... hopefully this'll excuse me from shooting anyone yet.

"I'm guessing the crossbow comes with tranquiliser darts. They can instantly give someone an early night if you hit them in the neck or head."
"Good thinking. Quick and silent, and safer to use than the prod from a distance if your aim's good. You liked to use one back at the Academy, I hear."
"Yeah. What's the first move?"
"I'm going to give you a map of the island. If you can get to the north dock, a UNATCO informant will give you a key to the Statue doors. He responds to the code-phrase 'iron and copper.' You could avoid a lot of fighting, though, if you found a back way into the Statue. Your primary objective is the makeshift command center the terrorists installed at the top of the Statue, but don't forget about Agent Hermann. We think he's being held on the ground floor. Once you're there, interrogate the leader. We don't yet know why the terrorists would risk an open assault. As for me, I'm watching the coast at Battery Park. There's some activity there, probably NSF, but there's a more pressing issue at hand for now."
"Let's catch up later at HQ then."
"Good luck out there."


There's some soda and a beer on the dock near the boat. Last thing I need is to get thirsty halfway up the Statue, but Paul and I rarely need to eat or drink. Something to do with the nanites producing energy, but it doesn't stop us from enjoying a good meal. I should stay off the beer though, that'd be... more than foolish.


"Heh, even the Dentons need a drink. You're authorised to take whatever you want from crates or whatever on the island, we've been meaning to do a cleanup anyway."


Sounds like a good deal to me.


Pair of binoculars in one crate. I steal a quick glance at the statue as I can't see past the island walls from here. Nobody ever took credit for the statue bombing, but a lot of UNATCO folks thought Silhouette did it. I doubt it personally - they've never used explosives before now.
"Oh, and there's a multitool under the dock. 100 credits says you can't grab it!"


Multitools are useful anyway for bypassing electronic devices. I'd gotten quite skilled with using them back at the Academy and had hoarded an admirable pile of them - the inner kleptomaniac should have let myself bring a few along. Guess I'll make do with getting soaking wet for one.


Alex Jacobson crops up again. I guess he's the comms and hardware guy stuck in HQ. There's a police baton by the crate, which I pick up... should save me some prod batteries if I copy the training correctly.


A corpse... guess the NSF are around here. I extend the baton and hide behind the boxes in the shadows.


There's one... he stops his patrol for a second to look down the east road. His loss.


Sneak behind your opponent while crouched, stand and swiftly hit the side of the head...


He keels over to the side. Out like a charm.


I drag him over back to the dock, no need to announce my presence yet. I don't even break a sweat in doing so.Collins is all too happy to keep an eye on him.


UNATCO HQ is nearby. Wouldn't hurt to have a quick look.







It's... not as big as I imagined. I guess it's entirely underground. The tech sergeant out front looks disgruntled.
"Afraid base is under lockdown 'til the danger's gone, Agent Denton."
"Right. How you guys holding up?"
"UNATCO command made us pull back, I guess for Gunther's sake. What's the deal? We're ready to go in."

May as well humour him, the guy actually looks bored even with the island under siege. They must not like holding back.
"I can't speak for command, but I'm gonna clean the place out."
"I hear ya. Manderley's right: you nano-augs are born and bred killers. Get some down for me, I'm stuck here and not even these guys will dare approach the main UNATCO building. You'd better load up, though. There are some crates of ammo stashed in the antenna shaft behind the helipad. Might also want to check out the comm hut next to it. The code's 0451 for the hut and the key for the shaft is behind it."
"Thanks."


Key behind the hut? Sounds like a house in the suburbs...


There's a terminal in the hut. Let me guess... the password's under the table... eh.


I was renowned for my ICE Breaker hacking back at the Academy. Learned it myself. It certainly wasn't part of the training program, but once my superiors found out, just like a classmate said, they actually encouraged it. 'Good initiative from an Agent', it was recorded. They didn't mention it at my graduation, of course.


This is too easy. I leave the camera controls well alone for now... just wanted a look.


Ah... somehow I feel let down.










--------------------------------------------------------------------------

First update done at last! Now I would like some tasty, delicious feedback, please.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

Should've got the GEP dude, you won't find one of those for ages now. Oh well, just make sure you grab the sniper from the, erm, sniper outside the statue. Everyone knows you can't be a real hacker in this game without a sniper rifle.

Oh and sod Gunther; leave him to rot in his cell, it will give him time to contemplate how royally he fucked up by being captured. It's for his own good.

[Kerensky287]

Originally Posted by Revolving Ocelot

tasty, delicious feedback

*offers a good-work cookie*

Also, what's with the "Zap!" thing next to the soda in the picture? I've never played the game before.... but if you can booby-trap food by zapping it with a cattle prod then this would be the funniest game ever.

[Revising Ocelot]

Originally Posted by Hawk

Should've got the GEP dude, you won't find one of those for ages now.

Should have had more people posting GEP gun instead of crossbow then!


As for the Zap thing, it's a feature of Shifter, which I've decided to try. On another difficulty which I chose by mistake, the soda was labelled Nuke. On a normal game, it's got no label at all, as described in the... er... description too.

[PyrosNine]

I said go for EXPLOSIVES!

What does GEP GUN DO?

IT MAKES THINGS EXPLODE!

If you can, do what I did where I just climbed to the top of the statue's base, then took out the bad guy without even bothering to do all that stuff on the base floor.

Granted, if you do this there won't be any loot for you to take when it's all said in done, as the Defense Force will clean up all the corpses with their precious itemz, and some naturally occurring stuff will be taken away.

Also, if you get injured, I won't think less of you if you somehow manage to regenerate your limbs by drinking a water fountain dry (which makes no sense!)

You might want to try a 'no-kill' run, as this makes the munitions master more willing to give you stuff. So just shoot people a little.

Also, the Tranq crossbow sucks in some ways, as I've never been able to perform a takedown with one shot, and in the time it takes for him to pass out, he's alerted the other guards.

As for Gunther, F*** Gunther! He is old technology and therefore must be rendered OBSOLETE. If you can, try and stack shit in front of his door so there's no way for him to escape, and stick a LAM to the doorway in case anyone should try and free him!

[Ryong]

Sneaking around, hitting people in the head with a crowbar? I approve. And there's the crossbow for pesky long-ranged enemies...How fast can you kill them with it?

Originally Posted by Hawk

Everyone knows you can't be a real hacker in this game without a sniper rifle.

...What the hell?

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

As for Gunther, F*** Gunther! He is old technology and therefore must be rendered OBSOLETE. If you can, try and stack shit in front of his door so there's no way for him to escape, and stick a LAM to the doorway in case anyone should try and free him!

I approve of this plan. Also we should totally learn his killswitch so we can make him die with the power of words later on.

Originally Posted by Ryong

...What the hell?

It's a thing. Just go with it.

[Revising Ocelot]

Update tomorrow, been busy. Liberty Island should be finished by Friday.

EDIT: Maybe not, in a self-destructive rage due to events today at the moment. Tuesday instead. Sorry.

[Revising Ocelot]

They've got nano encryption on the hatch... the nanokey system was being rolled out across the world a few years ago. Instead of turning a key in a lock you just swipe your nanokeyring across a door lock and it opens. Problem with implementing it on old doors is that they can still have their locks picked. Waste of time and money to make the new system, really, but at least I can't lose individual keys now. Wouldn't stop a decent pickpocket from stealing all your keys at once, though. Humph.





I'd best find a way inside the statue now. The front door is on the west side, close to where I am... and an informant north of here has the key. It would be best to scout it out on my way. There's two NSF terrorists patrolling around here, too close to each other for me to incapacitate one without the other noticing... I suppose if they did open fire I could lure them towards the combat robot on the dock, but the UNATCO guys would have a field day talking about that. Best sneak around and use the crates as cover.





That's the front door... is that another robot by it? Looks like a private security bot... not UNATCO. Shit. And I doubt that camera is UNATCO 'friendly' either.





One of the terrorists stops by a crate to check a datacube on it. Once he rounds the corner, I quickly stand up and check the cube - even if I see it for just one second it gets recorded into my personal databank. And it looks like they have gun turrets too. Any kid these days can wire up his front home with a terminal, camera and turret in 5 minutes if they had the money for it.





As I creep northwards away from the front door, the security bot slides right in front of my view - this one looks hastily programmed as it's not bothering to check to the sides or behind on it's route, so I start shadowing it. There was an EMP grenade in the hatch, it might be worth taking it out around the next corner...




And as I do a terrorist sees me for a second. I dart out of sight, but I hear his footsteps... backing off? A few seconds later he loudly declares there's noone there after all, and walks off. I take the opportunity to get around the walled enclosure.

So they're expecting someone? But this guy seems scared. I think they know that attacking the island UNATCO has its main HQ on was a suicide mission. So why are they still here? A distraction for the raiders who took the shipment - whatever it was?





I snatch a quick look at the door again from the other side of the walled enclosure. There's definitely a gun turret above the doors, but there's also a terminal near it. Basic 5 minute security indeed, but I don't fancy trying that terminal the password from that 'cube with that bot lurking around, so I make my way north into a grassy side area away from the main road.





There's only one terrorist here... seems like a good time to try the mini-crossbow tranquiliser darts. They can apparently knock someone out instantly, but I've not had the pleasure of trying.




I fire off a dart. The guy turns around as the dart hits him, looks at me and then collapses before he can even yell. Quick... but not instant. Hmm. Shouldn't rely on this crossbow to be perfect. Glad I didn't choose the sniper rifle earlier though, he's laden with loot. Lucky that he was just carrying it around rather than waiting in ambush.




The dock is just a hundred yards ahead.




The cabin where Filben is looks to be just ahead, but there's two terrorists here. One's standing around and the other is circling around the crates. Too risky to try taking down.




I'm already wet from earlier, so to hell with it... I climb over the fence and slip into the water.




When I get back to UNATCO I'm requesting a towel. There's a ramp upwards behind the cabin, which I use to get back onto the dock.




There's the informant... he really is just a bum. If he has the key he must have stayed on the island for years. Probably getting paid very little for this.




"Iron and copper. The statue is copper on an iron frame, right?"
"Password's enough, pal. Don't think you know something about the Lady I don't. My dad did tours out here."
"So I take it you've got the key to the front."
"Depends. You get your man out, take back the Statue, whatever, but I know the commander and I don't want to see him get hurt. Here's a picture so you don't make a mistake."

My orders aren't to kill the commander anyway. "You can trust me."


So the guy's an NSF sympathiser as well as an informant? "How do you know so much about the commander?"
"He's my main contact in the NSF. I need him alive and out on bail."
"UNATCO will probably keep him in custody."
"At least he has a chance if he's alive. I warned him, you know. I said right to
his face, 'Don't take weapons into the Lady. That makes you as bad as UNATCO.'"

This bum is annoying me on purpose... but he's the one walking around without a shirt.

"Don't forget that it was the NSF that C-4'ed the Statue in the first place.
UNATCO's here to put the pieces back together." I don't believe it myself, but he's being irritating.
"Ask me, I think the government did it. They want people to think the NSF are
terrorists."
So attacking a UNATCO shipment makes them upstanding citizens? I've had enough of this.





-----
Choice time! We can either try and sneak through the front, which gets us a lot more delicious goodies, cash, and a giant German going on a rampage, or we can look for a back route which'll normally bypass those, but we can backtrack to the cash and goodies regardless once inside the Statue.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

Back route. You can climb up 1 level and miss Gunther out entirely then. Also I advise a slight detour beforehand to the bunker behind the statue; if I remember correctly there are some goodies in there, including a weapon mod.