I don’t know about you all, but to me, this has been a rather lackluster year in gaming. We’ve had a few standouts like Uncharted 4, Doom, and Far Cry: Primal, but for the most part I haven’t played much that has excited me in the way games from the recent past have. Enter Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the first game I have played in 2016 that could save the year from being a complete bust. Though I have only played a few hours of this massive RPG, it has been enough to make me strongly believe this could be a game of the year.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution was one of the best games I played last generation. Like many console gamers, this was my first experience with the franchise since it had mostly been relegated to PC. The game dealt with a lot of issues: primarily those surrounding what it meant to be human and of the nature of free will. It was a bold game that left a lasting impression after I put it down. It was brilliant.
When it came to the sequel, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, I wasn’t worried about whether or not it would live up to its predecessor. I expected it to be every bit as good. The more I saw of the game, the more I knew the team at Eidos Montreal were on the right track. Human Revolution had a very deep story and this one seemed to be taking things in a more provocative and engrossing direction.
I played just enough of Mankind Divided to let me get a sense of how the in-game world had changed since the last one. I also got a taste of the new gameplay mechanics, and got to check out two of the main locales: Dubai and Prague. This is a huge and multi-faceted game, so five hours is just the tip of the iceberg. However, even with that short amount of time I can tell that this has the makings of being another spectacular title, and yes, a game of the year contender.
In the last game, people with cybernetic augmentations (Augs) were treated the same as normal humans. The technology had been ubiquitous for decades in the fictional world of Deus Ex and wasn’t anything people saw as unusual. Things changed when all of the world’s Augs were hacked and went on a killing spree. By the beginning of Mankind Divided, Augs are viewed upon with suspicion, contempt, and downright hostility.
The first level takes place in Dubai and serves as painless way to get players acquainted with the control scheme. I should actually say control schemes as there are four different options available. The first is called “Mankind Divided,” which is the default setting. “Human Revolution” controls like the last game. “Standard” is more akin to control set ups of modern FPS games. Then there’s “Breach,” which I’ll talk about later. I began with Mankind Divided, but after finding it too weird (Triangle as the sprint button? Madness!) I went with Standard.
Human Revolution was a game I put a lot of time into so playing this one felt natural. I did notice the controls, particularly aiming and going from cover to cover, were much improved. The only drawback — and this was true of the previous title — was the wonky first person platforming mechanics. I forgave this the first time around because no first person game I played had done platforming right. However, after playing titles like Dying Light and Doom, I can’t be so forgiving anymore. Regardless of the clunky platforming, the game felt right and I didn’t encounter any major issues.
One of the improvements that stood out right away was with the character animations. Even though this series centers around cyborgs and robots, having NPCs move and behave robotically was off-putting, and sometimes dragged me out of the experience. Don’t get me wrong, character animations are still far below what is expected from a modern game, but when compared to Human Revolution, things are much better. The voice acting has thankfully remained as strong as ever. Couple that with better animations and the overall presentation was top notch.
I completed a few main and side missions, and all allowed me to finish them however I wanted. I have played enough games where you shoot first and ask questions later, so I purposely took on missions in the most stealthy way possible. Being that I was so early into the game, I wasn’t able to take advantage of the full array of stealth options, but I could still (mostly) do things covertly. Knocking enemies out silently and hacking into computers to open doors was very satisfying.
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When things went south, I resorted to using firearms. Aiming and shooting in Mankind Divided doesn’t require one to play hand-Twister on the controller like with the previous game, so I was able to just concentrate on hitting my marks. I will admit that the game’s auto-aim borders on being too helpful since it tracked enemies with unusual precision. I didn’t get into too many shootouts, but the few I did engage in were very enjoyable.
The city I spent the most time in (and am still currently playing through) was Prague. I appreciated the mix of old-world and futuristic buildings. Graphically, the city looked gorgeous, though I did feel a sense of claustrophobia within the tightly packed edifices and narrow streets. Littered throughout were numerous air vents, manholes, and locked doors just begging for me to discover where they lead to. This city feels like just a small taste of bigger locales that’ll pop up later in the game.
After messing around with the campaign, I tried a little bit of Breach. This is the game’s multiplayer mode and it certainly stands out because of its visual design. Eschewing the realistic aesthetics of the campaign, Breach mode features a world composed entirely of old-school looking polygons. I only played the tutorial level, so I wasn’t able to upload results to the server and compare my score to that of others across the world.
There is also a pseudo-gambling system in place where you can bet how well you’ll do in a mission. If you win the bet, you get money and experience points used for upgrades. Fail, and you’ll lose any items you put up as a bet. This is a neat mode that I look forward to spending more time with.
Before I wrap this up, I wanted to talk about the way I felt about how the world treated Augs. I have played games where characters discriminated against others, but it didn’t have the same effect as it does here. Seeing Augs being pulled over and threatened by the police was unsettling considering some of the things happening in the real world. Playing as an Aug, I also felt as if everyone I encountered hated me thanks to their snide remarks and disgusted stares. This wasn’t a great feeling, but it certainly went a long way toward pulling me into this fictional world while reminding me that there are actual people being treated this inhumanely.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided has renewed my hope that 2016 still has exciting titles to offer. I will admit to speeding through some of the game to take in as much as possible, so I plan to start over and do things in a slower, more methodical manner as a second playthrough.
Mankind Divided is all about choices and that is what makes it so great. If you liked Human Revolution or just love deep RPGs, this is one game you need check out.
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