Even as an RPG it was much worse than many competitors at that time. It is (basically) linear, your choices don't influence the ultimate ending (you get a final pick), which, at that time, some pure RPGs already provided.
But you basically reiterate my point: Deus Ex did enough great things to cover the bad things. So it's perfectly fine to give it > 90%, while you can still find strong critique in almost any part of it, without even nitpicking.
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Even as an RPG it was much worse than many competitors at that time. It is (basically) linear, your choices don't influence the ultimate ending (you get a final pick), which, at that time, some pure RPGs already provided.
But you basically reiterate my point: Deus Ex did enough great things to cover the bad things. So it's perfectly fine to give it > 90%, while you can still find strong critique in almost any part of it, without even nitpicking.