Reviews - GMDX mod for Deus Ex

If you followed the development of GMDX for the last few years, you know the drill: New version, new enhancements, GFX updates, and bugfixes - same old, same old? Of course not. v9 of GMDX is the logical conclusion to v8's approach towards a major redesign of the combat & AI, stealth, and RPG systems.

What do I mean by that? Take combat, for instance. The original Deus Ex was never a stellar example of an ego shooter who could compete with the classics of the genre at the time. There were a lot of different systems in place to empower the player to try a large variety of playstyles but at the end of the day, the rather dumb AI, the terribly imbalanced weaponry and the problems associated with that (skill and augment choice, inventory concerns) never really encouraged anyone to move out of their comfort zone (AI abuse, upgrading the rifle skill).
Starting with v8 and realized to its fullest extent in the new v9, the combat has been polished to a level where Deus Ex can confidently hold its own as a competent shooter thanks to vast improvements w.r.t. enemy AI in particular. Enemies are constantly on the move, know when to take cover and wait for an ambush, can even throw down suppressive fire and know much better when to flush you out with a grenade or enter a melee fight if the player is getting too close. The robots learned a lot of new tricks (don't get one close to death if you're standing next to them!) and new enemy types added to the late game really ramp up the difficulty where the original became laughably easy. A lot of this was already put in the last version, but v9 simply fleshes everything out even better. Guns are improved and more customizable (just take a look at the assault rifle), Snipers have less superhman reflexes, enemies are much more unpredictable, especially during stealth segments.
Going along with these changes are improvements to overall balance, with special attention given to the augmentations which have been adjusted in several places and are even seeing some new additions to make things more interesting. Dozens of little tweaks to interface, audio design, or player movement as well as a bunch of (vanilla) bugfixes complete the picture.

Another big focus of this newest mod iteration are the graphics. GMDX veterans will already be familiar with most of the extensive level design changes, now there's even more of them, with better looking textures and a few custom models sprinkled on top. DX is looking better than ever, without any of the mediocrity found in other mods such as Revision. I won't go into detail here, as the website does a good job of showing a few examples of these touch-ups.

All in all, people familiar with GMDX will probably already have played v9 to death - if you didn't so far, stop hesitating, cause if you liked the previous releases, you'll also love this one.
If you're new - strap in, you're going on a ride. The biggest strength of Deus Ex was that it was much more than the sum of its parts. Now that all those individual parts have been brushed up to such a high level, the whole game is much better for it.

GMDX is a comprehensive "advancement" modification which aims to improve upon almost every aspect of the Deus Ex experience. Gameplay mechanics have been painstakingly tweaked and revised in order to provide far better balance between skills, augmentations, and expendable items. NPC and enemy AI has been altered to behave more realistically than ever before. Meanwhile, each level has been retouched and/or expanded with a number of graphical, decorative, and architectural enhancements which add an extra layer of discovery for veteran DX players. When combined with the New Vision and HDTP mod packages, this “fresh coat of paint” does an outstanding job of remaining faithful to the original artistic vision of Deus Ex while improving the graphical fidelity of the game.

Augmentations, in particular, have been enormously improved. Health Regeneration and Ballistic Resistance no longer throw the difficulty curve out of balance, while the much maligned Aqualung and Microfibral Muscle systems are now significantly more useful and worthy of consideration. Meanwhile, a revamped skills system (which includes new abilities such as Stealth) yields far more variety and actually forces the player to think hard about how to allocate his or her XP.

Throughout it all, the mod manages to preserve the original design principles of Warren Spector and the Ion Storm team while providing much-needed graphical, gameplay, and performance enhancements. This approach manages to breathe brand new life into a 14 year old classic, and I can honestly say that GMDX represents the definitive Deus Ex experience.

A must-play for DX newcomers and veterans alike.

Amazing project with amazing modders, the work done on this piece of art is flawless, this makes the game more entertaining than it already it, such a perfection!

Such an amazing improvement over vanilla Deus Ex. All of that without changing the core of the game. Congrats, imho GMDX is the best Deus Ex overhaul available.

A Deus Ex fan's wet dream.

Perfection

The perfect balance of new and old.

This mod has come a long way since I first stumbled upon it while searching for a mod for my favorite game of all time. At first it started out as a solid mod with an overpowered muscle upgrade and a dragon's tooth sword that had a ridiculously long range and a laser sight (What was CyberP thinking xd)
But since then it has become more and more complex with dozens of new changes and improvements and has become easily the best overhaul mod for me easily surpassing a lot of other mods for Deus Ex. So I'm fixing my rating up to 10, because it deserves it. Although I'm still hoping CyberP to give Walton an ADS aug xd

Why is this mod so good? Because looking at it, you can see that the creator has thought about every change he made carefully. He didn't do things just because he can, but rather asked himself "Could the game benefit from this change whilst staying true to the original format?" Of course not everything suits my taste, but you can't please everyone. But even with those unwelcome changes it still deserves the 10/10 from me. Would I suggest this to people who love Deus Ex? I definitely would. It kinda feels like that patch the creators never released. Would I suggest it to new players? I would, yes. People say the "hardcore mode" makes the game harder, which it does, but Deus Ex was never a hard game to begin with and besides the lower difficulty settings offer a more casual player friendly difficulty while still keeping most of the awesome gameplay changes that GMDX has to offer. So it's really for everyone who likes Deus Ex regardless of his/her skills. If I could go back in time I would give this mod to my younger self and tell him "Take it and play it, *******. Oh and when you're going to meet a girl named Manon in the future for the first time, then by all means: Shave yourself, you bum!"

GMDX (version RSD especially) is the ultimate version of Deus Ex. It is safe to play if it is your first time playing Deus Ex (and most recommended even) as it does not change any story elements, map layouts, and the gameplay changes are all universal improvements which I bet Ion Storm in 2000 would agree with.

This mod contains Project HDTP and New Vision, resulting in vastly overhauled graphics. DX9 and DX10 renderer options (the latter is limited to 100 FPS but you can also try the DX11 renderer), high resolution textures everywhere, new shaders, and more. It also includes new sound effects to add variety where the original is lacking. Gameplay balance is improved and the new Hardcore difficulty mode is very welcome. The new vaulting (ledge climbing) feature is priceless.

I wholeheartedly recommend using the new stamina system and augmentations. They are logical systems and the latter is an improvement over the original with the presence of new passive and automatic augmentations.

It is inevitable that this mod will be compared to Revision. GMDX is truer to the original so best for a first time playthrough. Revision has some limitations, like how vaulting is limited to Biomod which breaks Spy Drone unlike GMDX. GMDX also improves gameplay FAR more. GMDX is available in multiple languages unlike Revision, has additional ammo types, more sound effects, more UI customization (colors), and a new perk system which does not interfere with gameplay (can easily be ignored if you dislike it). Oh, and cameras are actually destructible in GMDX!

The only downside is that a few levels actually are better designed in Revision than the original game (and thus GMDX which uses the original levels but with more details added). Revision has two levels with significant improvements: the first Paris level, which is just a courtyard with two buildings I believe in the original game and thus GMDX, while it is an actual sliver of a city in Revision with multiple city blocks and streets and more buildings. The other better designed level is the VersaLife building, which is more visually appealing and showcases higher end aesthetics as one would expect from a company such as VersaLife, compared to the very plain design in the original/GMDX. But the latter is purely artistic, not functional.

GMDX is ready for high resolutions, including 4k, due to the UI scaling options. Overall it is definitely the definitive version of Deus Ex.

This is like every serious mod should look like. It expands upon the game world, fixes bugs and adds new ways to play the game, but doesn't end up with stuff thrown inside just because. It doesn't make the character a walking god, but doesn't turn him into a wimp either. It adds challenge where it should, removes annoyances where necessary. It's meant to improve upon the developers' vision of the game, not replace it with some sort of self-perceived vision of a game.

Unlike Shifter, which takes a game facing difficulty issues (being too easy) and makes it several times easier by drowning the player in skill points, replaceable augs and overpowered unique weapons, GMDX actually capitalizes on choice in a good way (not overly limiting). You're expected to stick to several skills and make a proper use of them instead of skilling everything or just making the obvious powergaming picks. In return, this leads to several play styles, and increases longevity of the game. After you finished a ninja pistol guy, you may want to play as Rambo shotgunner. Both playstyles are viable and equally fun.

GMDX also adds goodies, secrets and makes you want to revisit old maps you know so well and search them again in quest for upgrades and ammo. The enemies are slightly smarter and tougher, making combat more thrilling. Finally, it just adds sense to the game. You no longer just equip a Stealth Pistol + Flamethrower and speed through the game with power of gods. You're still powerful, but there are places where you may find yourself limited. That's exactly how it should be in my opinion.

I highly recommend GMDX if you're a die-hard Deus Ex fan, like me. Unlike Shifter, it TRULY removes the "suck" out of Deus Ex, rather than being a godmode. Jump in and enjoy, it's one hell of an immersive ride.

I just started replaying this game on v6.3. The improvements on v6.2 were great but this takes it to a whole new level. This game remains faithful to the original while improving on it's gameplay and AI in many ways. It adds new weapons like the USP, which has differences from the Regular Pistol. It also improves the Skill system and overall Stealth. It gives a much needed gameplay overhaul to what is my favourite game of all time and I can't thank the developer of this mod more.