Real Talk By: KJ

Interpol’s special agent Adam Jenson is back.  Experience the aftermath of Human Revolution.  Mankind Divided’s plot centers around past and present evils.  Attacks have taken the lives of many.  Jensen must uncover the source.  Eidos did a great job of keeping fans interested in the how and why.  The resentment held by Humans and Augmented is strongly felt.  This is helped by the stand-out voice acting, and intel sprinkled throughout.

Choices must be made.  When these situations come up, it’s usually some heavy pondering scenarios, where any decision has big pros and cons.  That element alone will encourage repeat play.  Outcomes are immediately felt.  Still, I wish the long-term effects would have had more impact on the main plot.

Much about MD looks good.  The main character and key supporting ones, are rendered well.  Their robotics are shiny and detailed.  Technology in this game looks good with great design choices.  However, some areas and NPC’s lack the same detail.  Some dialogue exchanges would feel lifeless if the vocals weren’t so outstanding.  Character faces could show more emotion, and voices aren’t synched well at all.  These issues shouldn’t exist in a high-profile franchise like Deus EX.

As you uncover the mysteries, it can be done in multiple ways.  Jensen’s augmentations have increased so much that players must alternate between their favorites, or Adam will malfunction.  Major actions still use battery power.  Get close and personal with melee attacks.  You can still decide to go for the kill or KO.  Either way the animations look great as Jenson throws guys around like ragdolls.  Energy consumption does prevent ability spamming, making the player think about their next move.

Hacking is a big tool.  Enter a compound full of enemies.  There’s a few ways to go about a particular mission.  Run-in guns-blazing, shooting everything in sight, with alarms blaring in the background.  This method works.  The alternative, just as satisfying.  Open up a vent, crawl into locked rooms.  Shut off alarms, cameras, and other devices.  Send the machine-gunned walkers against guards, have them do all the dirty work.  Observe through security cameras.  Grab a cool drink and popcorn.

Upgrading augments certainly widens your gameplay options.  Areas filled with gas, can eventually be made tolerable with the right upgrade.  This in-turn could be the path to a secret or shortcut.  Fun as hacking doors open can be, looking for weak walls provides an alternative.  Jenson can smash the bricks, making another way for himself.

Firefights are more satisfying.  Ultimately, lethal action seems to be the secondary way to play, but it still feels smoother than in Human Revolution.  Enemies try their best to put you down.  Using cover and taking advantage of your augments, can make things easier.  The flaw I noticed in the AI was during the stealth.  Getting caught in Deus EX is something I tried to avoid, since giving goons the slip feels satisfying.  When it did happen, I found it very easy to get away, with the guards having no clue of my location.  The enemies should try a bit harder to find me.  They give up too fast.

When you beat Mankind Divided ( it took me just under 15 hours), another difficulty level opens, and a New Game Plus.  I was able to keep my equipped weapons and upgrades.  There’s day one microtransactions that can help you upgrade quickly, or you can play the game, and earn the upgrades yourself.  This is done by completing main and side missions, and the sub-objectives as well.  Hacking computers, and picking up memos, trying new things in-general give you the experience points needed to upgrade Jenson properly.  No need to spend more of your hard-earned cash on a quick boost.  There are legitimate Reasons to try Mankind Divided a second time.  Speaking for myself, I did a lot of exploring and still didn’t get fully upgraded in my first go-around.  This time I plan to get Adam maxed-out.

Game Mode Breach focuses on hacking.  Levels are designed like puzzles, as your character downloads all the data, and escapes before time runs out.  You’ll level up and get various loadouts, better weapons, improved cooldown rates, ext. There are bonuses for playing it daily as well.  Breach adds extra life to the game, but it should be viewed as simply a bonus.  Players will find more enjoyment out of the main story.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided rewards players regardless of their style from beginning to end.  Another playthrough of campaign on higher difficulties, and strategies is welcomed.  While the main plot was solid, be ready to end the game with lingering questions, that need to be answered in the sequel.  Human Revolution had a harder hitting story overall, but the latest in Deus EX made progress in its gameplay.

Deus Ex Mankind Divided Gets

4 Out of 5

What’s Legit?

+Diverse/Rewarding Gameplay

+Voice Acting

+Fun Missions

What’s Perpetrating?

-Inconsistent Visuals

-AI Has its moments

-Greedy Microtransactions

@PlayLegit