Imagine a world where humans can choose to augment themselves with mechanical upgrades, whether it be a mechanical limb or a mental upgrades via subdermal implant.
For: PS4, Xbox One, PC
From: Eidos
Rating: ★★★★+
Deus Ex Mankind Divided is set in such a world.
The game kicks off with augmented people (Augs) being segmented against by humans after events in the previous game Deus Ex Human Revolution. America in the mid-20th century is an obvious influence.
You play as Adam Jensen, augmented to within an inch of his life after being blown to smithereens at the beginning of Human Revolution, uncovering a wide-reaching scandal and attempting to end the battle between the Augs and humans, as well as save mankind itself.
Deus Ex Mankind Divided is a shooter at heart, but gives you the option of going about it stealthily. Crucially, it doesn't crucify you for trying to be stealthy and failing, or by giving you sections that are impossible to do stealthily (a cardinal sin in video games).
You can adjust your load-out to suit your preferred method of terrorist disposal, and then upgrade your augmentations accordingly.
I usually find stealth games to be difficult - attempting stealth and failing makes me feel as if I'm missing out on the experience the game is tailored towards, and therefore missing out on the enjoyment of playing it. Thankfully, this didn't happen with Mankind Divided.
Want to go in all guns blazing and leave no-one alive? Want to get in and out without anybody seeing you? This game has got you covered.
It's part linear, part open world. There are various hub locations to travel between, but the levels themselves follow a more linear format, often with a stealthy way through grates and behind crates, and obviously, the direct method straight through all the heavily-armed terrorist types.
I enjoyed this aspect as there is a fine balance between open world but also being interesting, and Mankind Divided finds this. There's no point in creating a vast open world if there is nothing of interest within it, and likewise a game should reward exploration and player creativity.
In terms of how it looks, Mankind Divided is a bit of a mixed bag, really. Yeah, everything looks great and some of the characters look great and very alternative, but the animation is a bit stilted, nothing spectacular and it's not bad by any means, but there is little in the way of wow factor.
All in all, Deus Ex Mankind Divided is worth a look.
It has a hardcore following, and those people will already have the game, but for those on the fence or new to the series, you can wrap your mechanical mitts around this and it'll be a blast.
- by Simon Bishop
