The character model graphics aren't great by any means for a "next-gen" game, though I feel this fault is minor compared to the rest. It just feels unnecessary and you don't feel like a "badass" as the enemies themselves aren't challenging. When I reached the end, I still had plenty of Augs I could have unlocked but chose not to as I wanted to see how the next stage of the game panned out so I could make the best choice, and that shows another huge problem - I'd reached the end of the game on the hardest difficulty and basically used no Augs other than the "passive" ones such as strength, hacking, smart vision etc. It's purely there to set you up for the next installment, but it seems to reek of a game rushed to market uncompleted. But no, the end is sudden, abrupt, presents you with no meaningful decision in comparison to previous games, and leaves you with a huge feeling of indifference. I reached the end of the game feeling as if I was half way through, and during the final cutscene I felt it was setting up for the next act. You reach what turns out to be the end of the game, and still aren't sure why this person or this plan is that big a deal.Īnd that's the main fault of the game - its length. Speaking of immersion, various characters are introduced, supposedly ones that seem to be important and will play a big part in the game, and they are then barely in it or explained who they are and why they're a big deal or why they have their vested interests. ![]() Considering previous games take you to Asia, Paris, secret labs, underground labs, Area 51 etc, this dearth of environments really affects the immersion of the world. ![]() Other than that, there's three (3!) other areas that you visit (4 if you count the tutorial), and they're relatively short. The downside is, however, that most of the game takes place in one city, although it does change a bit later on in the game. Most of the game is set in Prague, and the creators have done a good job bringing the city to life and the atmosphere of segregation and suspicion of augmented citizens is well done. ![]() Sadly, Mankind Divided seems a step backwards in almost every area, but the main failure is in the story itself. The combat has never been great, though you can forgive this as the series excels in so many other areas, and for a game based around choices the option is still there if you want it. Had really high hopes for this following on from Human Revolution, which had excellent world building, characters, locations, and of course the gripping and paranoid story that Deus Ex is known for. It's a good game overall, with plenty of replayability value, and I am satisfied with my purchase, but I really wish they had dedicated less budget to fancy cutscenes and take down animations, and more to crafting a fully fleshed story with more explorable areas. Mankind Divided on the other hand is mostly set in just one city, Prague, with only two brief exceptions (or three, if we're being generous and counting the introduction), all of which are single-building combat missions with very little to offer in the way of exploration, NPCs and side quests. The relative dearth of explorable areas also feels somewhat disappointing: the first Deus Ex took the player from New York to Hong Kong, Paris, an underwater lab and Area 51, and even Human Revolution had more variety, as the main quest took you from Detroit to Shanghai. ![]() Unfortunately though, a couple of issues give the distinct feeling that this game was willfully sold in an unfinished state to pressure players into purchasing future DLCs: Mankind Divided does not even attempt to wrap up the plot, leaving many questions unanswered and, in fact, raising even more questions with the final cut scene. The game is fun and enjoyable: with the usual abundance of air ducts, hackable terminals and hiding spots that one has come to expect from this franchise, the player always has several paths to choose from, and the satisfactory amount of weapons and augmentations gives even more freedom to take a creative approach to problem solving.
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