I attended the NYCC Square Enix party and during that awesome weekend I was introduced to this wonderful action RPG by Eidos-Montreal! To be honest this is the first Deus Ex game I played. It is a sequel to the critically acclaimed Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I thought I was going to get lost with the control scheme or story but the recap 12 minute video was all I needed to catch up. Eidos-Montreal is going all out to provide Deus Ex fans with yet another great story. Deus Ex will also enhance the experience with extra narrative DLC taht wll come out in the near future.
Deus Ex :Mankind Divided has the player take the role of Adam Jensen, the protagonist of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. He’s an augmented, a race of humans who have cybernetic enhancements. During the prologue, you are in a mission in Dubai where basically things take a turn for the worse and Jensen ends up in a coma for many months. As he wakes up in his home in Prague, Jensen seemed to have been experimented on, and has been given even more augments. The city also seems to be locking down on the augmented, since humans have been paranoid about them due to high tensions and current events. You can choose how to react to certain scenarios, where you can add your own sense of “morality” in Jensen himself. The story keeps you invested in the weight of the choices you make throughout it.
The augment system has been expanded upon since Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The prologue basically “reboots” Jensen’s augments which you have to further advance as the story progresses. New “experimental” augments have been added where you can create nano-shields or tase some bros. These special augments come at a price as it requires you to deactivate other augments to keep you stable or you will overheat. You can also choose to keep everything at a cost of glitching, which does get very annoying as you progress in your missions. Later in the game you will find ways to reactivate the disabled augments and become a COMPLETE Adam Jensen.
So far I am enjoying the TESLA taser augment, which zaps enemies to incapacitate them. An honorable mention goes out to Remote Hacking , since it gives you range to hack pretty much everything, which is a quality of life change.
Along with the regular cast of augments, like super strength and enhanced vision, the weapon selection is also quite attractive. You can choose the nonlethal route, using tranquilizer rifles and close quarter combat, or cause destruction armed with handblades and assault rifles. Deus EX: Mankind Divided gives you the freedom to engage any situation with head-on action or stealth, but leans more on the stealth approach. Sneaking your way through objectives reward more experience points and achievements. There are small puzzles through hacking computers, doors, and others that are quite challenging. I can reassure you that I was not good at it.
Nevertheless, I find both sides of the coin equally as fun, even though I more enjoyed rushing in and going augment crazy on fools. The amount of environmental interaction is quite robust, from throwing cardboard boxes at baddies to dropping stoves on dudes. I also find the story quite immersive and Adam Jensen to be pretty badass. The gameplay as a whole is quite addicting.
Square Enix and Eidos-Montreal really have a bright and shining gem in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. The journey is quite an exhilarating experience and the world-building of a near future is intriguing. Deus Ex’s world, its inhabitants, and levels look wonderful running via Eidos Montreal’s Dawn engine. Hopefully, the positive feedback from it’s fans and other gamers will inspire the team to further developw more entries and content to the awesome Deus Ex franchise. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is currently available for PlayStation 4, XBOX One and Windows PC.