It's 2052 and you play JC Denton, a nanotechnologically-enhanced, trench coat-wearing employee of anti-terrorist organisation UNATCO. At the beginning of the game, UNATCO is embroiled in a war with one particular faction who is demanding vaccines for a deadly virus sweeping the planet. As the game progresses and more and more information about the true motivations of both terrorists and UNATCO surface, Denton begins to question his allegiances.

Essentially Deus Ex is a first-person shooter, but with a hefty helping of role-playing game. As you progress you get experience points which you can distribute across Denton's various skills, from hacking to weapons. How you solve a particular problem decides how many points you get and wading in guns blazing isn't always the best response. There are also a lot of non-player characters in the game from whom you can extract information, thus furthering the story, unlocking sub-missions and generally immersing you in the game's narrative. It's the story that really raises Deus Ex to classic status, though it's also incredibly atmospheric, completely interactive and effortlessly stylish.

The PS2 version is a direct port of the PC game; the control system takes a bit of getting used to if you are a seasoned PC FPS player and there are some issues with the graphics, which are blocky in places, but the rich gameplay more than makes up for any small niggling failings. This is a brilliant game on any format. --Kristen Bowditch