Certainly in terms of movement it is much smoother and more flexible. You don't feel restricted like you do in MGS. But it's still far from the best stealth experience, and beyond that there's not much else to it. The story is super dry and boring, although I will give them credit for understanding politics and doing some research on the locations they depict, unlike MGS and pretty much the majority of games that tackle the subject.

I think the graphics are the best thing about this game. Even after 23 years, they're still incredible. Because of how much they rely on shadows and lighting, you barely notice outdated models and textures. And the shadows and lighting here are superb.

I'll admit, I'm not the biggest stealth guy, but I found the game growing tedious as I progressed. It's a very linear affair. Sure, sometimes you get like 3-4 viable strategies, but normally it's 1-2. The locations are very restrictive. Often there are areas that seem accessible, but your character simply refuses to go there. There's also plenty of doors that are straight up not interactive, which seems weird in a game that otherwise advises you to be obsessive about the details of the environment.

I kinda had some fun with the first mission, but on the second mission the problems started to weigh me down. Alarms started getting triggered for seemingly no reason. It's bad enough that the level design can be confusing at times, but when this happens, it can discourage you from going in the one (and it's usually only one) right direction and lead to getting lost.

There was this one balcony that a small ledge led to, and when I tried to climb by it, it would trigger an alarm and Lambert would immediately tell me the mission is over. I couldn't tell why, there weren't any obvious signs. I ran around the location, examining every corner to see if I had missed something. Then I look up a walkthrough and the guy seems to be doing the exact same thing I was doing, but for him the alarm doesn't trigger for some reason. Okay, so I looked up the cheats, noclip'ed through that place. Later in the mission there's another place like that. I climb through a window the level design clearly encouraged me to climb through, and as I land on the floor, I hear Lambert going "Sam, are you out of your mind?! The mission is over" or some shit. Not even explaining what the problem is!

Anyway, I played the game for 2 hours 41 minutes, out of which most was spent being lost and confused on the second mission. I remember passing it in the past, cause my last memory is some kinda oil rig or something, but this time I guess I'm stuck.

Then again, it's not like there's anything else that is convincing me to keep playing. Maybe Deus Ex spoiled me, but I'm just not finding this stealth gameplay that engaging, and there's not any story or anything else that I find appealing. Also, the music is pretty annoying. I got so sick of that alert theme, whatever it's called.