Deus Ex: which ending did you choose?, *SPOILERS GALORE!* Options

[Ivan the Terribl...]

(As I say in the description, and as should be obvious from the topic, this post is filled with SPOILERS. Don't say I didn't warn you if you haven't played Deus Ex. )

The options:

- Destroy Area 51. With it's destruction, world communications end, ushering in a new Dark Age. Modern society as we know it collapses, but so do the dominating Illuminati and Majestic 12 oligarchies, giving people a chance for true freedom.

- Join the Illuminati. Brings us back to 20th century Capitalism; the rich few dominate the poor many, the Illuminati rules the world from the shadows, and while true freedom may not be likely, most of the world is at least safe and secure.

- Merge with Helios. A benevolent (yet all-powerful) dictatorship, with a mixture of the cold rationality of a sentient machine and the understanding of a human being, hopefully bring a new age of peace and enlightenment out of the chaos of petty human ambitions.

Which did you choose, and why?

[Phosphor]

I merged with Helios. It seemed the most rational path to take after being jerked around by everyone you meet, it was high time I took control of things. Besides, it was so satisfying "deleting" whats-his-face.. That smarmy tool.

[Ivan the Terribl...]

I merged with Helios. It seemed the most rational path to take after being jerked around by everyone you meet, it was high time I took control of things. Besides, it was so satisfying "deleting" whats-his-face.. That smarmy tool.

Same. I evaluated all the options:

1) Destroying modern civilization so everyone can be free. Uhhhh...no. An interesting option, but even beyond the obvious damage done, I don't follow the logic that destroying the biggest, baddest dictator around is going to make anyone free. More likely, the result will just be a bunch of petty feudal dictatorships scattered across the world....which, given Tong's connections with a powerful underworld syndicate, may be exactly what he had in mind.

Nix that idea. I have to admit, though, I really enjoyed watching Bob Page freaking out as he saw what I was trying to do.

2) The Illuminati were tempting, if only because they seemed to offer the greatest chance for a return to normality....but I couldn't help thinking of all the subtle hints about the Illuminati's true nature sprinkled throughout the game.

In the end, I just felt like Morgan Everett was completely untrustworthy, and I wasn't sold on his idea of a 'benevolent conspiracy', even if he believed it himself (which is questionable.) Absolute power corrupts absolutely and all that.

3) Helios. Programmed to bring peace and prosperity to the world and looking to use you to understand what human beings want. Unlike the Illuminati, quite likely incapable of being corrupted by power; it lacks all ambition, if we're to believe it, and exists only to see the human race thrive.

The possible negative is a 1984 scenario....or, for the pen-and-paper RPGers out there, more accurately a Paranoia scenario. The gigantic, borderline-inhuman, all-powerful computer thinking it knows what's best for the world and incapable of being stopped by anyone or anything.

On the other hand, the positive might just be a new beginning for the whole human race; a completely objective and ambitionless ruler with the compassion of a good human being (I played J.C. Denton as a goodie two-shoes, rarely killing anyone unless I had to) and the limitless knowledge and cold logic of an A.I., all rolled into the spitting image of the truly enlightened despot.

Between the three, it was the only one which offered a leap forward rather than a return to the status quo or a stunning fall backwards into medieval barbarism. But I still felt uneasy picking it; unchecked power in the hands of anyone or anything is an incredibly risky gamble, and the idea of any dictatorship never sits well with me.

Still, it was a great philosophical dilemma, and I've wavered between all three options at different points.

[Child of Flame]

I chose #3, for basically the same reasons as Ivan. Not that it really mattered at all in the sequel. :angry: Still though, that game wasn't as bad as everyone insists, and the Omar were totally bad@ss.

[mEtaLL1x]

Ditto.

3rd option is kinda like communism in its unreal form. Perhaps, with such an almighty machine that is always good-willed and unspoiled it is possible.
An ideal society of sorts. Who wouldn't want that?
The only problem it might pose is that the machine may reduce freedom a little... but not really much.

[zer"0"]

I chose to merge with Helios. Why?

"A decent shot at immortality right there.
In short I could become a demi-god, essentially taking Page's place as ruler of the world.
Under different circumstances I would have probably been at Bob Page's side.
Walton Simmons was much more a role model to me than Paul ever was.
Though certain unforeseen events led to all out confrontation. Fools!
Don't they see I am the future, new age ... I am Dues Ex Machina."

[Musopticon?]

Fourth ending: Get stuck in the Cathedral in Paris and later stop playing out of boredness. :(

You could also kill yourself, which most fans see as a valid endgame.

[mkreku]

I chose to destroy the machine. I figured the world was headed to such a horrible place, they might as well start over and try again. Also, the world after the collapse would be.. post-apocalyptic

[Kitch]

I merged with Helios. It just seemed more appealing than the others. Of course, I reloaded a save to check them out afterwards also

[Child of Flame]

I chose to destroy the machine. I figured the world was headed to such a horrible place, they might as well start over and try again. Also, the world after the collapse would be.. post-apocalyptic

I hope you never find yourself in control of any Nuclear Weapons of this is how you formulate your decisions.

[Phosphor]

Both Everett and Tong were opportunists seeking to use you to achieve their own ends; both were more or less the same as far as I was concerned, and neither had a good plan. Bringing down civilisation or giving power to the Illuminati were both going to place their repective proponents in a position of power, a position both clearly did not deserve to have. I didn't want the power either, but then I was operating on the premise that those who want power, shouldn't have it. At least with my character taking control, there's some peace of mind there.

On the topic of Deus Ex, it's largely agreed on that DXII is a pale shadow of the original, but is it worth paying $10 or so for it in clearance?

[HomoUniversalis]

Well, I saved prior, and I tried two out of four. The first time I merged with Helios, the second I brought the Illuminati back in power.

I prefered the latter though. For some reason, being an invisible hand in things, influencing, not leading directly appeals to me .

Mr U

[Kaftan Barlast]

I choose the obvious Helios endngs because I WANT ZEE PAWAHRR! IT SI MEIN!!!


..but I didnt really like Deus:Ex, I think it truly managed to blend the precisely wrong parts of FPS and RPG together. To put that in perspective, I loved Bloodlines.

[Phosphor]

I think I liked Deus Ex more than Bloodlines, at least in terms of gameplay. Deus Ex gave you many more options for disposing of enemies, or at least bypassing them, than Bloodlines did. In Bloodlines, you pretty much had to engage in melee combat, which was a very poorly-designed model, in order to win. Deus Ex gave you more options, I thought, and a more accessible playing environment. If you went the sniper/stealth-killer route, you could always find vantage points, very little was blocked off, unlike Bloodlines.
Bloodlines did dialogue and character interaction much better than Deus Ex, however. Even though the options for your PC's speech were dreadful, the NPCs were very engaging and three-dimensional. Deus Ex had fairly flat NPCs, save for a few key characters.
A meshing of the best parts from both games would be really great.

[Child of Flame]

Both Everett and Tong were opportunists seeking to use you to achieve their own ends; both were more or less the same as far as I was concerned, and neither had a good plan. Bringing down civilisation or giving power to the Illuminati were both going to place their repective proponents in a position of power, a position both clearly did not deserve to have. I didn't want the power either, but then I was operating on the premise that those who want power, shouldn't have it. At least with my character taking control, there's some peace of mind there.

On the topic of Deus Ex, it's largely agreed on that DXII is a pale shadow of the original, but is it worth paying $10 or so for it in clearance?

I would say most definitely. While it wasn't as good as the first, due largely in part to being a dual released console port (i.e. if you open up the .ini file for it, there's already a control scheme for an Xbox Controller in it ), the story was still done well enough, and if you pick up the Fanpatch with the improved textures it actually looks pretty good. The tiny areas between loadtimes is still an annoyance, but no more than in any other Xbox/PC dual release *cough*Thief 3*cough*. I picked it up at full price before reading reviews, but I still didn't regret it as much as my purchase of Contract J.A.C.K. or Dungeon Siege. :ph34r:

I think it was more of a matter of the first one was just so perfect, combined with nostalgia, that fans of the original just had to rag on the new one as hard as they could. It was better than most give it credit for.