I purchased the Deus Ex Complete Collection on sale for $5 about a month and a half ago and, trying to play through the first game, I feel like I'm missing something. The inventory system is very odd. I can't seem to even stealthily kill enemies very well because the guns don't have nearly enough ammo and the way you improve your accuracy is odd, coupled with the fact that trying to melee kill enemies is like trying to cut a rock with a butter knife. the levels are very bland and tend to be poorly designed (though the music is expertly composed for each level, in my opinion). And overall, even on the easiest difficulty, the game is fucking difficult. Does the game get better later on? I'm at the 'Ton hotel right now, so I'm only at the 3rd level, but does the game get easier to handle or more interesting? Because the game just isn't clicking with me very well right now.

If I remember properly, you become more capable of managing trouble later in the game, but it's still a difficult game.  Playing games from 10 years ago suddenly brings reality crashing back to you, you go "oh yeah... games used to be like that.  Hmm."
 
I found the only viable option in the early game to be stealth and the knife.  And then later it's stealth and the laser knife.

I've had a lot of trouble getting into Deus Ex in the sense that I've never played the games.

Yeah I played the game and beat it for the first time not too long ago....the beginning is a drag and pretty hard but the game gets a lot better and easier later on.

Getting back into old games is always more difficult than picking up something modern. Conventions have changed, the way your character handles, and interacts with the world around them has changed. This especially creeps through in Deus ex's dated fps gameplay. Although it was awesome at the time, and broke a lot of barriers, it's not as easy to hop back into as, say, No One Lives Forever. I find it's like trying to play Daggerfall again after spending a lot of time with Oblivion.

I'm still on the first level and have given up for now.

I played it for the first time this past June and finished it on July 3rd.  I fucking loved that game.  I didn't have much trouble at all, except for in the beginning where I tried to approach things a bit too stealthily.  If things went bad, I just took my pistol out and everybody around me was dead.  I don't get people who complain about the shooting because, for me, it was pretty responsive and effective. 
 
The inventory system didn't cause much trouble with me because a lot of the stuff you collect is useless, but sometimes I did wish I had more room.  Approaching things with melee weapons was never fun for me, so I rarely did it except for in the beginning. 
 
I also leveled my heavy weapons skill a couple of times late game because bosses will die with literally one hit with a GEP gun and a level 1 in heavy weapons. 
 
I'm not used to playing dated games like that, but I still loved it more than a lot of the recently released games I've played.

It's like playing StarCraft 1 after playing a newer RTS.We grow acustomed to small little touches in modern games that are not present in older games,and so,we find them very alien. 
The difficulty is what weirds me out.Todays games are walks in the park compared to Deux Es. 
KEEP THAT HAND ON THE SAVE BUTTON SON!    

For the time, the inventory and skill system were revolutionary. Not so much now.
 
Still, one of the best settings and story lines in gaming history. How can you not love secessionists shooting it out with the authorities in the middle of New York City?

I still can't get into it even after numerous tries and graphical upgrades, which makes me feel like a bad person. I loved STALKER and VTM Bloodlines, but Deus Ex is a chore to indulge in.

Turn on the cheats. The game gets a LOT more fun with cheats enabled.

I sympathize.  The first time I tried playing through Deus Ex was back in 2006, and while I really liked the setting, I couldn't stand the gameplay.  Tried it again the next year, and found myself engrossed in it.  
 
The thing to do is to make sure you get past the first few levels.  New York is a DRAG and some of the pacing feels way off.  Stick with it until you start globetrotting, and if you aren't into it by then, you can say that you honestly gave it a fair chance.

I can imagine, being an older game now, it's even more difficult to get in to than it was a few years ago, when I played it the first time.
 
I also had some problems to get into it, but once I did , oh man... I loved it! I remember I didn't really specialise in any type of weapon or skills. I tried to level them all step by step, which of course, makes you a little better in everything, but it also never makes you a specialist in anything. I have finished the game in a few different ways. Being like a invisible stealth fighter (sneaking, hacking, etc), being a long-ranged master (sniper, etc) and being a walking tank, that cannot really be harmed by anything. :)
 
Of course, this takes time, to actually become this specialised. So... try to take it a bit slow in the beginning. The powers will grow step by step and this will also make the game more fun, if you like this kind of game. And remember, pretty much every level can be played in mutliple ways.

It doesn't hold up, sadly.

System Shock 2 and Deus Ex are two brilliant games, but both are rendered nearly unplayable by the passage of time.

I played the second one before playing the first one and i just cant get into it at all, there's too much stuff going on for my taste, i know i  would feel different if i had played  it nearer its original release.

If it works for you, that's great :)  I just can't play games from the late 90s/early 2000s anymore, the 3d graphics are so awful to look at. 
 
I much prefer 2D, sprite based games from the early to mid 90s.

Bought it for the PS2, and played through the first level.
 
Haven't touched it since, but I've been meaning to. Like people said before, I'm just too used to newer shooting conventions.

I couldn't even finish the Let's Play of it that I was watching. Granted, the dude doing commentary was really annoying.

I actually bought it a while ago too. Any game where I have to rely on a dice roll to see if I shoot someone in the head or not is not a game I like.

" I actually bought it a while ago too. Any game where I have to rely on a dice roll to see if I shoot someone in the head or not is not a game I like. "

"I just can't play games from the late 90s/early 2000s anymore, the 3d graphics are so awful to look at."

" @josty81 said:

"I just can't play games from the late 90s/early 2000s anymore, the 3d graphics are so awful to look at."

What a shame. "

"But yeah, it's a shame, honestly.  I see this thread and it just sucks that many of you are spoiled by modern games that you can't revisit old ones.  I had absolutely no problems with the graphics; they actually hold a certain charm for me.  I'm used to playing new games and I'm only 16 so it's easy for me to dismiss the older ones as archaic, but all of those that I've played in 2009-2010 (MGS, Half-Life, Deus Ex...) were fantastic and comparable to recent games, for me. "

Yeah it's archaic, I uninstalled it after the demo and I own the game afterwards. I'll play it one of these days, yet it's inventory system is so different than what we have today, we take what we have today for granted. I just crawl my way through the level, your invisible most of the time that way.

It's easy to dismiss older games as being archaic, especially at the rate video game technology advanced since the idea first came about. I'm a fan of the history of video games, and I can objectively look at older games with the impression that "this game was made in XXXX, I should expect these things and not expect other things".  Unfortunately, it's much easier for people to retroactively apply today's standards to yesteryear's games because that's just the thing to do.  You don't see movie buffs going "well, Citizen Kane is shitty because Avatar is finally out" but you do see people going "well, Wolfenstein 3D is shitty because Modern Warfare 2 came out".  This is also the reason you'll never get anybody outside of "gamers" and "game journalism" take the medium seriously for any reason whatsoever. "

I'm going to join the chorus of posters who point out how dated the game looks, but I gotta stand up for its design. With the exception of some of the later parts of the game, every part is designed so you can go through it in a number of ways.

The Liberty Island opening is tough, yeah, because you're totally green. JC's got few skills and a really light arsenal. Unless you're really good, you basically need to take a stealth approach for the first three large missions if you play on anything besides the lowest difficulty. That's really tough in the beginning, but you have a choice: you can use three lockpicks to open that vent or you can chance it sneaking through a hallway full of guards. By about half-way through, if you've gone the combat route you're a mean lean killing machine and if you've gone stealth you're the fuckin' Predator.

You have to go into it expecting to learn, and you'll learn very quickly. It's a very good game.

I can't seem to even stealthily kill enemies very well because the guns don't have nearly enough ammo...

Sad true: Video games don't age well

I just started my third attempt at this game and I'm actually getting into it this time. I'm only a few hours in now, but I did things differently this time, hopefully it will help others.

Play the tutorial, it's very short, but useful, especially in teaching what does and doesn't work in sneaking around.

Don't worry about conserving resources/ammo, as long as you are looking around you'll find enough to keep up with what you need.

Killing is a lot easier than sneaking around.

Save often.

Don't turn right when you first enter the island.

Protip: watch the quicklook of the first level and go to the spot with the forklift and the broken generator spitting out electricity. There's a laser sight weapon mod in one of the containers. Put that on your 10mm pistol and remember to turn it on every time you pull it out (default ] or } ). even with untrained pistol skill it makes your first shot nearly 100% accurate even with your weapon bloom up all the way. Headshot like a champ and profit.

I genuinely can't imagine the game on easy being terribly difficult as long as you concentrate on putting points into either rifles or pistols or both.

The only trouble I've had with this goddam rotten suck ass game in the past 4 days is getting away from it. It's eaten up a hell of a lot of my time...

I plan on playing them before Human Revolution comes out, hope all the praise doesn't effect my enjoyment with the first one though.

I'm actually playing through Deus Ex again now for the first time since it originally came out. It's definitely a rough game to play in 2011. But something I find much more annoying than any of the game's faults, is how people put this game up on a pedestal. I don't know if they've got nostalgia goggles permanently bolted to their head, or if they're intentionally glossing over the weak points of the game, but there's a lot of Deus Ex that's kind of shitty.  I really couldn't blame anyone one bit if they're just now playing it and having trouble getting into it. 

What's so hard to understand about the inventory system?

I know what waits for me at the end of the tunnel, but the starting areas put me off EVERY TIME. I can see exactly how much better it'll get, but it's just too difficult to get past what's now rather archaic mechanics.

The big problem is that without a lot of skill points and a fair number of augmentations you kind of suck at everything in Deus Ex. Once you pick a style and gain a few levels things start to get a lot easier.

For anyone having difficulties with the game, I've got the same advice:

1) The opening level (liberty island) is a horrible/wonderful mess, wherein every possible skill option is utilised. It's confusing to navigate, the map doesn't update with your location and I found the objective to be vague at best. However, it also seems to be a trial by fire, those who get through the opening should have an easier time with the rest of the game.

2) Make sure you're upgrading skills throughout the game, it doesn't prompt you to, but they're quite useful. They'll be in your inventory/journal menu, under the 'skills' tab. Took me half the game to realise I could upgrade them.

3) Stick around and search for hidden stuff in each level, it makes progression much easier.

4) Save frequently.

5) Depending on your skills, it's very useful to try and find a scope early game and apply it to a stealth pistol, giving you an accurate silent weapon with plenty of ammo through the opening. Make sure to stay in the shadows as well, the game doesn't indicate whether you're in stealth, but you can still hide in darkness.

6) Download The Nameless Mod now. Just do it. It's in many ways better than Deus Ex.

If all else fails, just make sure you get the Dragon's Tooth Sword in Hong Kong as well as maxing out the 'Power Reticulator' and 'Invisibility' augs. From then on it's a massacre.