Deus Ex is one of gaming’s all-time greats, but let’s be real: 2000 was a long time ago. Some parts of the game — like, say the visuals — don‘t really hold up, which is where the fan-developed Revision project is stepping in. The strangest part? Square Enix, who owns the Deus Ex series these days, is totally on board.
Revision is more than just a set of new textures, but holy cow, it has that:
That’s a huge difference. It’s not quite Deus Ex: Human Revolution, but for a game released 15 years ago, Deus Ex isn’t looking too shabby now. And if the upcoming sequel has you interested in where it came from, it’s waaaay easier on the eyes.
Revision doesn’t cost a dime, but you’ll need to own a copy of Deus Ex. It’s only $US1.39 for the next few days, so I’m not exactly sure what you’re waiting for.
It’s not only a visual upgrade, either. Revision has a bunch of different mods, such as Human Renovation, which fixed glitches, re-balanced augmentations, modified the AI of various NPCs, and a whole bunch more. Fans have been slowly improving and tweaking Deus Ex for a number of years, but if you’ve been afraid to download a bunch of random mods, Revision is your catch all solution.
For a while, there was some concern Revision might get some heat from Square Enix, which prompted the developers to straight up approach them about it:
All of this lead us to feel extremely cautious- we want to ensure that when we release, there are no potential land mines waiting for us. So we approached Square Enix with the intent of making sure that everything we had planned was going to be fine. They have been very helpful and supportive; the processes has gone on longer than anyone anticipated, and we’re taking advantage of the time to implement little fixes and bits of polish that were otherwise slated for the 1.1 update. On the one hand, we would love to get Revision out the door ASAP. On the other, we’re committed to making sure that we can release it and maintain it in the best possible way, and with as few stumbles as possible.
The result was not only Square Enix giving it the thumbs up, but issuing a press release today about Revision‘s release and prompting a Deus Ex sale on Steam:
Today Square Enix and Eidos-Montréal continue to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the release of the original Deus Ex® by authorizing a fan-created mod for the first Deus Ex game originally released in 2000. Called ‘Revision’, the mod by Caustic Creative overhauls the environments and soundtrack of the original Deus Ex and is available to download for free today on Steam®.
Kinda bizarre, right? This is a company that’s known for putting the kibosh on fan projects, so watching them embrace Revision is really fantastic to see.
I booted up Revision this afternoon, and was impressed with how much better it makes Deus Ex look. Depending on the day, either Mega Man 2 or Deus Ex is my favourite game of all-time. Thing is, it’s a lot harder to go back and play Deus Ex. Revision can’t give me more time to play games, but with Mankind Divided only a few months away, I suspect I’ll be digging up Deus Ex again.
If nothing else, this gives me an opportunity to share the rad Deus Ex theme:
So good.
Comments
14 responses to “Square Enix Embraces Fan-Made Deus Ex Upgrade”
But they shot down Chrono Resurrection :[
To be fair, that project was shut down in 2004 which was an entirely different landscape for modding and remakes.
that’s cause it didn’t require you to buy an original copy of the game. This whereas the Deus Ex Revision does.
shhh, this scar is still healing.
I don’t think I own Deus Ex. Will pick it up tonight for sure. It’s been a loooooong time.
It’s a shit move of them to make it steam-exclusive. I’ve bought a cd copy and a gog copy and I am not going to buy it again.
Your original CD key might possibly work with Steam.
I’ve had some decent success with importing physical CD keys or keys from other providers (such as Gamestop’s ill-fated poaching of Stardock’s Impulse, or GoG) into Steam.
Agreed, it’s definitely a sh*tty thing for them to have done (and I wonder if it wasn’t Squeenix who forced it on them).
However, the good news is that people on the GOG forums are reporting that the Standalone Installer does work for non-Steam copies:
The Kentie Launcher can be found here:
http://www.kentie.net/article/dxguide/
Eff that guy right back!
STEAM 4EVA!
Good news, though, that.
I have never played Deus Ex properly so this is probably the catalyst to get me to finish it
Ahh, I love the Deus Ex series. This is not a bad incentive to replay it yet again.
Unpopular opinion: I LIKED DEUS EX 2: INVISIBLE WAR.
Not the shitty ‘made for console’ controls and level/mission design, but it followed on pretty well from the insane possibilities for finishing Deus Ex 1, and it had some really nice touches for world-building all over the place.
You’re not alone. It had its problems, but it wasn’t a wreck and some of the mission and level design was really good. I did need to buy a new graphics card for it too… I think it was an 8400GS. 🙂
Also, the NG Resonance AI – voiced by Kidneythieves lead singer – was a total badass.
From flirty manipulation/government confessional-booth transformed to balls-of-steel mission-dispenser once you identified her secret purpose/side-job. Fantastic writing.
Totally. Really good writing. Gender-neutral writing too, ahead of its time on that.
I think the biggest problem of all was the way that no matter what you did, it all boiled down to a simple choice at the end (an issue with the first one too). But I guess even the mighty Mass Effect ultimately came unstuck the same way.