Theres an invisibility cloak, smart vision for seeing through walls, a set of rebreather lungs for gas immunity, a social enhancer to open up more conversational options at certain points in the game, and lethal and non-lethal weapons aplenty.Photograph: The Guardian Lavishly depicted near-future thriller Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
Deus Ex Mankind Divided Review Series Where AlmostDeus Ex Mankind Divided Review How To Get TherePhotograph: The Guardian Sam White Mon 22 Aug 2016 08.33 EDT Last modified on Thu 16 Apr 2020 09.29 EDT S ince its debut 16 years ago, Deus Exs primary weapon has been choice: where to go, how to get there, who to speak to and how to speak to them are all up to you in a series where almost every scenario has multiple outcomes.
After releasing 2011s Human Revolution a lavishly depicted near-future thriller to widespread critical acclaim, developer Eidos Montreals follow up, Mankind Divided, picks up the exact same threads that its predecessor left tantalisingly unanswered five years ago. This is a tall order and its makers clearly recognise it, front-ending the games campaign with an almost laughably long 12-minute recap to bring you up to speed on everything Deus Ex. Protagonist Adam Jensen returns still half-Lagerfeld, half-Motorola Razr working as a special agent at Interpol two years after the events of Human Revolution. Like many, hes coming to terms with the devastating aftereffects of The Incident a cyber-attack that deliberately caused the bio-technologically augmented population to turn violent against their will, leaving millions dead. Mankind Divided is undeniably beautiful, soaked in the neon golds and vibrant lights that made its predecessor such a striking spectacle, but its weak opening results in a slow start that never quite gains the momentum it needs. ![]() After a pre-credits mission in Dubai sets up the games central conspiracy, you relocate to Prague. Photograph: The Guardian Worse yet, it offers very few notable opinions on its focal prejudices, and the best it seems to do to force home its messaging is interrupt you with annoying documentation checks between metro stations. Theres racist graffiti on the walls, slurs get shouted as you walk through the streets, but the overall result is a social commentary that feels, at best, lacking conviction. After a pre-credits mission in Dubai sets up the games central conspiracy, you relocate to Prague; a rich, multifaceted hub full of apartment blocks, a bank, abandoned theatre and underground anti-terrorism facility. Prague never imposes the same visual impact as Human Revolutions depiction of Hengsha or Detroit, but it is explored and revisited several times in different visual states over the games 20-25 hours, and its a veritable playground of stuff to do. Between the various metro stations that transport you to each corner of the capital, youll find multiple side quests that are multi-part branching path adventures in themselves. Theres a bank break-in to dig up dodgy info on one of the games main mega-corps, and an investigation into an underground cult finding every possible side story is a completionist dream, and the game makes pursuing these optional plots worthwhile with some great moments that rival the main story. ![]() Despite these four locations, each far larger than anything in any Deus Ex previously, Mankind Divided doesnt feel half the grandiose globe-trotter that Human Revolution was. In some ways, this works in the games favour, grounding itself to focus its story. In others, it results in a game thats half-baked, especially after proceedings arent so much cut short as they are forcefully cauterised, resulting in the most telegraphed setup for a sequel since 2004s Halo 2. Despite an improved control scheme, combat is still the least enjoyable way to play. Photograph: The Guardian But, despite its terrible non-ending and the uninspiring boss fight that triggers it, the game still frequently finds immense strength in its moment-to-moment play. Deus Ex Mankind Divided Review Upgrade Points IntoMankind Divided retains the series mechanical tri-force of stealth, hacking and combat, but it does a much better job of blending these different styles even if you want to play stealthily, for example, youll benefit from investing upgrade points into combat and hacking abilities to benefit from different routes that these styles allow. After setting up a narrative hard-reset of Adams abilities, the resulting blank slate lets you experiment with the huge variety of augments and weapons.
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