It was hard going into Deus Ex: Invisible War with an open mind. Fans of the now classic original look at this as less of a follow-up and more of a Deus Ex for Dummies. Though it would’ve been impossible to live up the hype, the consensus seems to be that this sequel is one of the biggest let downs in gaming.

The good news is that Deus Ex: Invisible War is nowhere near as bad as you’ve been led to believe. The graphics are a huge step up and the physics are a welcome addition to the Deus Ex world. The soundtrack is great, and relevant to the themes at hand. The gameplay is true to the first entry, with plenty of opportunities to choose between sneaky, ballsy, or both. The weapons from the original are mostly all back and the modification system is a step forward. I found the new tranq-darts particularly fun as they remain lodged in your opponents while injecting their glowing sleepytime medicine.

Though most of them probably quit playing after the first or second mission, there’s actually plenty of material for fans of the original to look for. In-jokes, revisited locations, and plenty of story-related references to the first game. All these things will make Deus Ex: Invisible War an interesting play for Deus Ex veterans who are willing to stick it out for the long run.

Common complaints about the in-game HUD and universal ammo system are almost totally warrantless. If your game is patched up to 1.2, the HUD can be adjusted so that it’s completely unobtrusive – and you’ll still be left with a cool eye-style selection menu. The universal ammo system is actually a good idea and would’ve been looked on as an improvement if only the rest of the game showed as much innovation. The real issue is that your ammo is capped at a relatively low level so that you’ll often have to pass up on extra clips you can’t carry, only to need them a couple minutes later. So yes, there are flaws.

The bad news is that fifty million French gamers can’t be wrong: Invisible War doesn’t hold a candle to the original. The long load times are really jarring and make the annoying load-transitions from the first look seamless. The RPG-style skill point system of its predecessor is sorely missed here. The game also suffers from a real feeling of emptiness. If anything, this is something that should have been improved on for the sequel, but instead, it’s much worse here. A dance club section has about three patrons in it. You’ll walk through “cities” without seeing people in every direction, and there’s nary a crowd in the entire game. This isn’t helped by the claustrophobic feel to most of the level designs. Even the most guarded areas in the game didn’t have enough live enemies for my tastes.

Now, that may be due to the fact that the game is so very easy. Those who have already tackled Deus Ex will find this game to be a breeze. Most of my re-loads were due to experimentation, not because I was challenged by opposition. Even on the hardest setting, vets will glide through this one effortlessly. And it’s not just the enemy AI and damage amounts, there’s a real lack of problem-solving depth that the first one cleverly employed at almost every turn. However, the more you compare Invisible War to Deus Ex, the worse things get.

The voice acting is atrocious. The infamous Louis Pan from Deus Ex might as well be on par with Lawrence Olivier compared to what you get here. The blank-faced, wobbly animation doesn’t help either. While JC Denton was appropriately robotic without giving up badass attitude, Deus Ex: Invisible War suffers countless stiff personalities who are mostly, supposedly human. And that’s to say nothing of recurring characters whose voices are painfully and inexplicably different from the first game. Worse still, the motivations of the original characters making a return here all seem totally in opposition to how they acted in the first game.

In fact, the storyline in Invisible War is worthy of special mention. Not because it’s bad (it is), but because the first Deus Ex offered three potential endings. If you thought those were anticlimactic, then get ready to be impressed. Without giving anything away, Invisible War starts off presuming that all three endings happened. Such logic sets up for an awkward continuation and a very disappointing finale.

Ultimately, Invisible War is one step forward and two steps back for the series. Luckily, Deus Ex was so far ahead of its time that you’ll still be in for a fun ride. But not one that you’d want to go on a couple of times like the first. Even with a good deal of variation left to play around with on a 2nd run, my enthusiasm for playing through this entire game again is pretty low. Instead, one is really left hoping that the upcoming third entry come out soon and kick things back into a higher gear.