Music can compliment games. It can even define them. In Deus Ex, composer Michael McCann strengthened our belief in a futuristic world and carried that illusion where graphical hinderances failed. Where our eyes and cynicism told us tight city streets ended due to enforced developer direction, the music artfully pushed us past roadblocks and invisible walls to attune to the wider city beyond. We felt the pulse of the street, heard the march of government suppression and corporate control, felt our muscles tense as boss battles ensued. We absorbed an ambient soundtrack that took cues from neither Blade Runner nor Matrix in envisioning what the future sounded like, and bettered both iconic scores as a result.
