Just a quickie: Square Enix has registered three more Deus Ex-related domain, this time for Deus Ex: The Fall. Superannuation reports that DeusExTheFall.com, DeusExTheFall.net and DeusExTheFall.co.uk. are now all in Square's hands, which could mean that a new game is on the way.

Or not. The last time Square Enix filed a Deus Ex trademark, it was for the movie, and every publisher wants a piece of the transmedia pie. This could well be the precursor for a novel, ARG, iOS title, comic or practically anything else (perhaps even a rumoured Wii U port of Human Revolution), so don't hold your breath just yet. More as we hear it.

Square Enix have filed a trademark for the title 'Deus Ex: Human Defiance' in a move that will cover all sorts of media, leading to speculation that they might be working on a new game in the series.

My first impression upon meeting Warren Spector for the first time is that he'd make a fantastic uncle: the sort of uncle who'd make you presents rather than buy them, and they'd always be thrilling and unique and fun. When we sit down in the cramped confines of a Gamescom business centre booth late on the Friday afternoon of the show there are no signs of the back-to-back interviews he's been doing for the last two and a half days. He's jovial, animated, and keen to discuss Epic Mickey 2.

"You have to remember that Disney approached me to do this game, and they pitched an idea with three killer pillars that still form the core of Epic Mickey today, one of which was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit comes back," he explains. "And I just thought 'Holy cow!', I mean think about this as a foundation for a story, whatever your medium, whether you're making a movie or writing an opera or a novel or making a video game: Older brother, rejected by his father in favour of the younger brother who steals the life that should have been his. Can you say Biblical? Can you say The Human Story? What better basis for a story can you get?!"

His eyes light up as he says, clearly still excited about the prospect for seeing how players deal with the underlying themes and moral quandaries of his game because, as he puts it himself, it's really all about the gamers themselves.

"Estranged brothers, separated at birth, have to reunite and form a family again. If I were making a movie, I would say 'Here's how I forge a family, what do you think?'. In a game, what I say is 'How important are friends and family to you?'. Every choice, every decision you make is going to help you answer that question for yourself. Take what you learn back into the real world, my friend! That's what I kind of like about games. The new game is about the possibility of redemption, but it's not 'Everyone is redeemable, don't you agree?', it's 'Do you think everybody is redeemable, or is there evil so profound that it's beyond redemption?'. Is the Mad Doctor legit? Is he really a hero? You have to figure that out, go. You can wrench emotions out of that, and by forcing the player to make those decisions, you can wrench emotions out of them too. No other medium can do that."

Junction Point lead and Deus Ex creator has hit back at suggestions that today's games industry offers less variety and innovation than around the turn of the millennium when we were privy to games such as System Shock, Thief, and, of course, Deus Ex itself. The problem, he says, is rather a certain tunnel vision from core gamers, narrow interpretations of what games should be, and a lack of reporting on the wider world of video games outside of mainstream blockbusters.

The whole E3 violence thing probably doesn't help either.

Warren Spector has once gain reiterated that although it might look like he's changed development focus in the last decade or so since his masterpiece Deus Ex, that he's really following the same processes and design philosophies that he's always done.

Asked what changed for him in between Deux Ex and Epic Mickey in a behind-closed-doors Q&A session with Dealspwn at Gamescom this year, Spector's response was relatively simple: on the one hand he doesn't see it as a huge change at all.

I want to talk about three buzzwords today, and I'll have to ask for your indulgence as I get slightly angry about the semantics of marketing doublespeak and the damage it's doing to our industry. So many of the press releases we get these days, usually pertaining to shooters or hack and slash titles, come bearing emphatic statements supposedly to do with quality. But a trend has arisen wherein, perhaps in attempt to move away from the somewhat childish connotations associated with the word "game", titles bearing 18-certificates now have to come with a blurb that spells things out. Just in case you weren't aware, folks, these are "mature" games, with "dark" subject matter, told in a "gritty" way.

This is all bollocks, of course, because nine times out of ten, what this actually means (and this is a direct translation) is "We've filled this game with guns, violence, and maybe some boobs, you'll shoot a lot of people in the face, and everyone will speak in a gravely voice and act like The World is at stake."

To be honest, I think  the game that first started to really make mme angry about this was Kane & Lynch 2: Dog  Days, the insinuation being that a bit of wobbly-cam and buckets of grime would make for an intense, dark, and gritty adventure. Except it didn't. It made for a nausea-inducing standard third-person shooter. There was talk of Inversion featuring a relatively gritty and mature storyline. Of course, it had about as much bearing on the action as an ant might have on a football match. The  obvious current talking point is Visceral's take on Army of Two, which is literally described as "intense, mature and grittier" by EA.

According to Warren Spector, Epic Mickey 2: The Power Of Two will have more in common with Deus Ex than some players might believe.

No, there won't be any cyborgs. Or Dragon's Tooth swords. Or insane AIs. Stop asking!

Eidos Montreal's general manager, Stéphane D'Astous, has suggested that rebooting an old IP with new "flavour" can lessen the need for new IP.

With D'Astous' studio having released Deus Ex: Human Revolution to critical acclaim last year, and with a Thief revamp on the way, he suggested that a familiar brand - if used in conjunction with innovation and new ideas - can lead to increased sales.

With the original Deus Ex consistently hovering around the top spots in any site's Best Game Ever list, Human Revolution had much to live up to. However, the designer of the original game, Warren Spector, is certainly one of those people who think Eidos Montreal's title lived up to expectations...even if it did "drive him nuts" at times.

The Guinness Book Of World Records revealed their choice for the best ever videogame endings last week, which was apparently canvassed from over 13,000 gamers. And we weren't happy about it. Numerous bizarre decisions prove that democracy sometimes doesn't work, so to combat this travesty, we've exhaustively argued, debated and thrashed out a list of our very own.

Gameplay and story are both equally important here, but they pale in comparison to one deciding factor: emotional impact. This can be anything from the exhilaration you'll feel after besting a massive boss or hectic final encounter, the joy of a happy ending, heartbreaking revelations or the satisfaction of seeing plot threads sewn tightly together. We hope you approve - and want to hear from you regardless.

Honourable Mentions (no particular order): Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, Modern Warfare, Golden Axe, Final Fight, Kingdom Hearts II, System Shock 2, Halo: Combat Evolved, Uncharted 2, Silent Hill 2, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Hitman: Blood Money, Black Ops, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Marathon Infinity, Heavy Rain, Half Life 2: Episode 2, Braid

Note that this list is full of unavoidable spoilers. You have been warned.

Green Man Gaming continues their month of deals with a new batch to temp you to part with your money. While Homefront can be bought for a lot cheaper over at The Game Collection, there are some great savings on some of today’s offers. Hightlights from the bunch are Batman’s latest adventure in Arkham City, which comes with a nearly £10 saving, and Renegade Ops, which comes with a saving of £7.50 (but it’s worth noting that this particular offer is only valid to those in the UK.)

While you can pick up Deus Ex GOTY Edition for 97p if you reserve and collect at PC World, those that don’t want to venture out can pick it up for less than a price of a pint and save £3 on the next best offer. There are also savings on Hitman, the Penumbra Collection, and Worms Reloaded. See the full list below.

• Batman: Arkham City | £11.98
• Renegade Ops | £2.49
• Deus Ex: GOTY Edition | £1.48
• Hitman: Codename 47 |  £1.49
• Penumbra Collection | £3.74
• Worms: Reloaded | £ 8.97

Platform: PC (reviewed) | PS3 | Xbox 360 (tested)

Developer: Eidos Montreal

Publisher: Square Enix

How can you follow a game like Deus Ex? Invisible War failed to satisfy our expectations despite actually being a capable game in its own right, leaving us to wonder if the original could ever successfully be complemented by a sequel. After all, it's probably the best game ever made. Eidos Montreal, however, made the brave decision to develop a prequel and a stylistic reboot to the series - and as it turns out, the decision has paid off with one of the finest games you'll play this generation.

After security consultant Adam Jensen's company is attacked by a mysterious group of cyborg commandos, the reluctantly augmented hero is catapulted into a dystopian web of conspiracy, corporate espionage, paranoia and the far-reaching implications of human augmentation. Shades of grey and no clear boundary between good and evil define the experience, resulting in a thrilling mature narrative that's packed with revelations and fragile alliances.

KrebsOnSecurity. a website offering in-depth security news and investigation, has reported that hackers broke into the the Deus Ex and Eidos websites, defacing them with the banner 'Owned By Chippy1337' and possibly '[stealing] information on at least 80,000 Deus Ex users' along with 9,000 resumes.

Krebs say they obtained the information having lifted the logs of the hackers' 'online chatter', which reveal discussions pertaining to the leaking of 'src', believed to refer to source code, although it is not yet clear whether that alludes to that of the site or Deus Ex or other games.

Randy Pitchford rocked the boat a little last month when he called out developers for shoehorning multiplayer elements into their games, and the Mass Effect 3 delay has led to plenty of chatter again this month on the appropriateness of adding multiplayer to certain games. With that in mind, we thought we'd cast our eyes back a little to a few games of the last decade that really didn't need multiplayer at all. Some are in here because it just felt tacked-on when lined up against the rest of what was on offer, some are here because they're so broken they might as well have jettisoned the whole thing, one or two are simply shrugs. Whatever, the reason, here's our top ten games that could simply have done without multiplayer...

10. Bioshock 2

Like several others on this list, Bioshock 2 was a game that we never thought really needed multiplayer in the first place. Heck, several of us didn't even think a sequel to Bioshock itself was worth making. But the improved shooting mechanics and dual-wielding actually made the sequel a better FPS. There's nothing actually wrong with the multiplayer aspect of the game. But then you really that all 2K Marin really did was nick a load of ideas from Call of Duty and dress it up in a Big Daddy suit. Which was fine for a couple of weeks...and then everyone just went back to Modern Warfare 2 as if nothing had happened.

9. Brutal Legend

Tim Schafer's paean to all that is metal was roundly criticised for its RTS-lite stylings, with the game's expansive open world, colourful assortment of characters and the designer's imaginative vision saving it from being anything more than just a shrug. As such, designing a multiplayer component around the worst parts of the game seemed strange. Limited, one-dimensional and, worst of all, no real fun to play at all. Instead of making the RTS components playable online, one would have thought it would have been a good idea to prioritise making them better and actually enjoyable to begin with.

• What: Deus Ex GOTY Edition
• Where: Get Games
• Current Price: £0.75
• Deus Ex GOTY Price Comparison

Calling Deus Ex a “Game of the Year” is an understatement of incredible proportions. It’s like calling the Pyramids the ‘rock piles of the week‘. It’s one of the best games ever made, with a literally perfect blend of nonlinear exploration and tight storyline that has arguably never been topped. It's most likely that you've already played through it countless times... but if your disc is wearing out, it might be a good time to grab a digital backup. Oh, wait, you haven't played it? What's wrong with you?!

• What: Deus Ex GOTY Edition
• Where: Games For Windows
• Current Price: £0.75
• Deus Ex GOTY Price Comparison

Calling Deus Ex the "Game of the Year" is an understatement of incredible proportions. It's like calling the Pyramids the 'rock piles of the week'. It's one of the best games ever made, with a literally perfect blend of nonlinear exploration and tight storyline that arguably hasn't been bested. The fact that it's on Games For Windows will probably turn  a few people off (though the service is currently much better than it was), but the fact that it's 75p makes the proposition difficult to refuse. Thanks to TALON1973 at Hot UK Deals.

• What: The Deus Ex Collection
• Where: Steam
• Current Price: £2.99
• Deus Ex Game Of The Year Edition / Deus Ex: Invisible War PC price comparison

Sure, both of these games may be several years old now, but this deal from Steam is still awesome and/or ridiculous. Getting the collection will net you Deus Ex Game Of The Year Edition, and its sequel Deus Ex: Invisible War. The first game may be a better instalment but there’s no denying that re-living the nanotech futuristic dystopia FPS/RPG hybrid with conspiracies galore for £2.99 is worth every single penny (and probably a lot more.) It’s also a great chance to get ready for the prequel which will be out next year, but be quick as this deal is set to expire at 6pm today.

We've had our eye on this one for some time and yes, it might be stirring up some controversy with the new regenerating health model and the switch to mechanical augmentations and distinct and separate ammunition types, but we're still excited...mainly because of this:

Yeah.

If that got your blood pumping, you might like to know that you can currently pre-order the game for £34.95 from Zavvi, saving yourself a couple of quid on the nearest competitor over at ShopTo.

• Click here to buy Deus Ex: Human Revolution for £34.95 from Zavvi [PS3]
• Click here to buy Deus Ex: Human Revolution for £34.95 from Zavvi [X360]

Unfortunately neither Warren Spector nor Harvey Smith, the creative directors behind the first two games, are having anything to do with this, which might flash up a slight warning sign. It's not out until Spring 2011 either, which might make you want to hold off a little bit too. But then again if Eidos Montreal deliver even half of the stuff going down in that trailer, we're in for a wild ride. I've jumped in the queue for it already.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the original Deus Ex's release, Steam have dropped their prices for both Deus Ex and Deus Ex Invisible War down to £1.49, or you can pick them up together in the Deus Ex Collection pack for £2.98. This offer only lasts 24 hours, so you'll need to get on Steam and download the games today before the price returns to normal. Also, you'll be making a saving of almost £3.50 for Deus Ex, and almost £8.50 for Deus Ex Invisible War, which is a combined saving of almost £12.

• Click here to buy The Deus Ex Collection Pack from Steam for £2.98 [PC Downloads]
• Click here to buy Deus Ex GOTY edition from Steam for £1.49 [PC Downloads]
• Click here to buy Deus Ex Invisible War from Steam for £1.49 [PC Downloads]

Deus Ex is a masterful mix of first person action, multiple story threads, and vast character customisation. The story is full of twists and turns and it's incredibly easy to drop one course of action for a new one that appears out of the blue. The great thing about this game is that you choose how you play the game and that's thanks largely to the huge range of skills that you can alter as you see fit. Another plus is that the number of repeat play throughs is almost endless because you'll always get something new from the experience.

Deus Ex Invisible War is a true sequel because you'll quickly become lost as the story begins to link itself back to the original. As you travel around the world, you'll be asked to help out loads of rival factions and it's up to you to decide who you're going to side with. Your decisions won't necessarily become permanent alliances and if you choose to betray a faction you've agreed to do some work for you won't completely write them off, as it seems that they're all desperate for your help. The adjustable skill system is gone in this instalment, instead you'll get the option to improve your abilities using biomod canisters and purchasing extra parts for your weapons.

Both games are thoroughly enjoyable and still sit among some of the best titles that have ever been released, which you'll discover if you visit Steam and download them today.

Thanks to Cuddy @ HUKD

Deus Ex is one of the Best Games of All Time. It's a perfect ten; a shining example of what games should aspire to emulate. It's fun, deep, involving and replayable... and now it's dirt cheap. Steam are charging £3 for the Deus Ex Collection that includes the GOTY edition of the original game as well as its sequel (which would set you back around a tenner to buy new). Put simply: this is a thing that you want. Unless you already own it.

• Click here to buy the Deus Ex Collection for £3 from Steam

Deus Ex was great... and I'm going to have to explain why in a couple of hundred words. Sure, it has massive expansive levels that reward exploration and stealth. It has three endings and multiple storyline decisions to guarantee replayability. It offers rich character customisation that let us choose exactly how we want to play. But the main draw is that it gives the player genuine choice even in the smallest decision.

Let me show you what I mean. Encounter a locked door? Most games make you scamper off to get the key or flick a switch, but here are a few options that Deus Ex provides you with.

1. Find the key.
2. Pick the lock
3. Blow the bloody door off (sic)
4. Enhance your strength with an implantable augmentation and chop it down
5. Hack a computer and unlock it remotely
6. Swim around behind it though a hidden grate
7. Just find another way in.

This element of free choice (coupled with a tight story) makes for an experience that's both well-scripted and refreshingly open-ended even today. The graphics have aged, but you simply can't call yourself a PC gamer without playing Deus Ex. Fact.

Deus Ex 2, on the other hand, is... not as good. It was developed for a simultaneous multiplatform launch, but the limited console hardware forced the sprawling level design and story scope to shrink dramatically. The enormous levels have been replaced by tiny hubs separated by lengthy load times, and exploration has given over to action for the most part.

However, that's not to say that Deus Ex 2 is bad. It's still a reasonable game replete with devastating weapons, a cracking story and supportable factions. You'll probably want to play through it simply to find out what happens after the end of the original! Oh, and it's £1.50 (which is worth paying just to mess around with the awesome fire physics).

There you have it. To reiterate: this is a thing that you want. Here's hoping that the sequel's going to deliver!

Thanks to Mafuzzer at Hot UK Deals