Like its predecessor, DE:IW puts a ton of focus on its storyline. There's a bevy of plot twists, betrayals, and startling revelations to be experienced, and no two gamers will experience the same exact game. DE:IW is all about being open-ended; right from the early stages of the game, your character (and in turn you) are forced to make quite a few tricky moral decisions. Do you side with the WTO in their fight against the Order? Or do you distrust "Big Brother" and side with the underground Order? Or better yet, do you play both sides against each other for your own ends? No decision in DE:IW is ever easy or without ramifications, and that helps create an incredible sense of immersion in the game.

Revealing anything beyond the absolute basics of the storyline would rob gamers the enjoyment of seeing things unfold for themselves. Gamers who never played through the original Deus Ex won't be at any disadvantage in comprehending the events in Invisible War, though the state of the world in the sequel is a direct effect of the events that transpired in the original - let's just say that the world is not a fun place to live in. DE:IW takes place in the not-too-distant future, in a world of corporate intrigue, political and social unrest, and plenty of terrorism (hrm?wasn't there just a report about such things on the news today?). You take the role of Alex D (an androgynous name so as to allow you to choose whether you want your character to be male or female), who starts out as a BioMod-enhanced anti-terrorist agent-in-training. The status quo is thrown out of whack all within the intro movie and subsequent "tutorial" (which doesn't come off as a tutorial) that throws you right into an attack on your base by the mysterious Order. From that point on, you are faced with all of the moral decisions above and oh so many more. Needless to say, Invisible War is no mindless shooter.

While PC gamers may complain that the interface has been dumbed down, it works perfectly on the Xbox. The only real complaint to be had when it comes to the interface is that the on-screen HUD can be a bit annoying at times as it sits more around the center of the screen as opposed to on the edges. For the most part though, the interface is streamlined and allows for easy access to your weapons, inventory items, and BioMods, via just a few button presses.
Speaking of BioMods, these are the main RPG-elements of the game, as far as your character goes. Gone are the character stats from the original Deus Ex. BioMods are basically your character's "powers" and you can choose from a wide range of them to install, from speed to stealth to drones and even a few that are, shall we say, not-so-legal. You must manage your BioMods carefully though, as you can only have one 'Mod active for each of the five slots your character has.

These BioMods, along with the various choices you make along the way, allow you to play the game however you'd like. Even in the earliest stages of the game, you are given a variety of options on how to deal with a particular situation. When the Order attacks your base and you are trapped in a locker room with a guard, you have the option to sneak through the shadows and around the Order member outside, run a distraction for the guard (by, say, throwing a basketball at the Order member) so he can get a few shots off, or take on the Order member with guns blazing. Soon after that you gain access to your first batch of BioMods, and then, for instance, if you want to play a totally stealthy character, you can use the cloaking and sound dampening 'Mods to allow you to sneak past all of your obstacles. The subtle approach not your style? Just go with the combat 'Mods and gun down everyone who gets in your way, or simply mix things up depending on what the situation at hand calls for.

The engine that powers Invisible War, like everything else in the game, only helps to enhance the immersion factor. While the engine is, at the basic level, based on Epic's Unreal engine, it's clear that Ion Storm went through quite an effort to custom tailor it to fit their exact needs. Invisible War easily holds its own against many of the best looking games on the Xbox with a wonderful lighting system and beautiful environments and character models. All of this beauty comes somewhat at the cost of a stable frame rate, though the game never comes close to being unplayable?just not quite as smooth as one would like.

Now, remember the much-ballyhooed rag doll physics from Unreal Tournament 2003 (PC) and Unreal Championship (Xbox)? Well, Ion Storm has taken those physics and applied them to just about everything in the world of Invisible War. You'll probably find spending the first few minutes of gameplay just picking up every dish, ball, vase, and chair in your character's apartment and tossing it around, just to watch how they behave. This isn't just a useless gimmick either, as you can stack boxes to get to higher places, throw trash cans at your enemies (and this actually does damage to them), and so much more.

Deus Ex: Invisible War does everything a good sequel should. It takes everything that was great about the first game and improves on it, fixes or cuts out anything that just didn't quite work last time, and then adds it's own flavor to the mix (so as not to make it feel like graphically upgraded expansion pack). There is so much more that could be detailed in this preview, but that would ruin the fun of discovery when you actually play the game, and play this game you should. Invisible War's release date is just around the corner, and while there have been so many great holiday releases already this year, this is definitely one game you should still make a point to check out once it's available. Keep an eye out for our full review soon.