The Nameless Mod

The Nameless Mod is a superbly crafted, lengthy total conversion for Deus Ex. Where many other mods (and games) have failed, the nameless mod succeeds. I will explain why I feel this way below.

Gameplay: 10/10.
The gameplay is similar to Deus Ex. You can walk around and talk to people, explore, sneak, shoot, level-up and so on. What really makes this mod great though is the fact that you can work for either the evil or good faction! Yes, that’s right… This time, you have a choice! Moreover, your choices stick with you throughout the game. After playing Deus Ex and Invisible War, I felt like no matter what I did, the opposing faction was willing to forgive me if I just did a small task for them. In TNM, if you disobey direct orders from one side, they’ll hold a grudge. They don’t just “forgive and forget”. This was a welcome change.

tnm_shot_worldcorp

The puzzles are another nice addition to the game. They’re challenging, but not too tough if you take the time to think about what you’re doing rather than just trying random solutions. I enjoyed them a lot. This mod also makes excellent usage of the FOV command. I won’t say anything more about that though, because I don’t want to spoil the surprise.

Sound: 9/10
This mod sounds fantastic, especially the music. The different tracks match the different locations perfectly. If you visit the slums, you’ll hear a gloomy, but very pretty tune. The music that plays in the Party Zone made me want to get up and dance. The Nameless Mod uses Vorbis files for music, rather than UMX. This means you’ll hear real Saxophones, guitars and other instruments in the soundtrack.

The voice acting was also great for the most part. One or two characters sounded like they were talking into a microphone when they were standing next to me, but they were minor characters (not someone you’ll see often). I personally think Trestkon sounds like a cross between Leo Laporte and the Postal Dude. All characters have voices, which added to my enjoyment of the mod.

tnm_shot_briefing

Graphics: 10/10
Everyone knows that the Unreal Engine is over ten years old now. The team still managed to produce a mod that looks good. The rain drops will actually hit the ground, rather than just disappear. I think the best looking part of the game would have to be the space station. The developers also used the shiny surface effect on things like tables and some floors.

Re-playability:9/10
This mod has lots of re-playability. As I said above, you can be good, or you can be evil. I forgot to mention above though that you can work for and then betray people at the last minute. It is fun to see their reactions when this happens. Without spoiling anything, at the end of the mod you will witness a cut-scene that explains how all your choices during the game have affected the characters in the world. Did you knock out that lady in the bar? Did you tell off the guy who just wanted someone to listen to what he had to say? Did you rescue the pinned down squad leader? There are many other variables that will alter this cutscene. It would be cool to see a mod like this with Co-op play though. Co-op was something Deus Ex didn’t even have.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this mod. I stayed up until 4:30 AM playing it a couple of times. You know that feeling where you tell yourself “Ok, I’ll stop after this section is complete.” and then keep on playing? This happened to me a couple of times. It is amazing how fast six hours can pass when you’re enjoying a game.

tnm_shot_goatcity