A player could complete each level with speed if desired, or instead spend hours exploring every nook and cranny. But what really seperates Deus Ex from other great games is the actual content of it. Most video games are meaningless. At the end of the day, they are ultimately about nothing. Deus Ex is different.
The player is presented with a world that has the same problems as ours, only exagerated. A ruling elite, a violent underclass, terrorism, national security. The ending of the game allows one to make a choice. Do I compromise with the system and try to improve it from within? Should I conquer the system and force peace and prosperity with my gentle, yet iron, hand? Or blow it all to hell, destroying civilization but ensuring human freedom?
I natually chose the latter, but the beauty of the game's three endings is each choice has it's ups and downs. Joining the system, as your in game brother warns you, will lead to a return of "20th Century capitalism" a system of monied elites protected by the tax code and the like. But it is the safest option. You know what will happen.
Installing a worldwide ruler is a scary, off putting idea. And yet, if I were that ruler, couldn't I make it work? And preserving human freedom by destroying civilization en masse sounds good, but would likely cause death and suffering on a massive scale in the short term.
If our main moral principle is to do no harm, the "Anarchist Ending" is out. Too many people would be inevitably hurt. Trying to do the most good for the most people would likely lead us to the benevolent dictator route, as most people suffer deprivation and worse under "20th century capitalism". Respect for autonomy means we would have to refuse to make a choice, because all options involve affecting others without their permission.
But which is the just option? An argument could be made for each ending. And that is an amazing thing for a video game.
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