Deus Ex: latest instalment in a fantastic series
IT’S ODD that Deus Ex: Mankind Divided should be released to so little fanfare considering the calibre if the series. Since the original and revolutionary Deus Ex of the early noughties, the series has received a long-anticipated and wonderful reboot in 2011’s magnificent Human Revolution. Five years later, Eidos Montreal have given us Mankind Divided and it might very well be their best offering yet.
Mankind Divided sees the return of perennially moody protagonist Adam Jensen, again fitted with military-grade mechanical implants that let him turn invisible, punch through walls, and hack computers.
While Jensen is essentially a walking, talking death machine, his peers are usually augmented with non-violent prosthetics. Cybernetic replacements for a missing limb or eye.
But the ordinary citizens don’t see the distinction. To them, every augmented person is equally dangerous.
Mankind Divided introduces a handful of new augmentation abilities for Jensen on top of those introduced in the previous game, Human Revolution. Some of these new augs are more interesting than others though: Remote Hacking is invaluable for disabling automated obstacles at a distance, and Icarus Dash is a powerful tool for discreet traversal.
However, the TESLA, PEPS, and Nanoblade abilities achieve similar effects to some of the game’s more conventional weapons – they stun and kill enemies from a distance. There are some advantages to using them, but most of the time I wished I had spent points elsewhere.
One of the greatest things about Human Revolution – and, indeed, Mankind Divided – is the near-absolute licence afforded to you by the creators when it comes to how you want to complete objectives. Punching through a wall or simply stealing a keycard and using the door are both valid methods and the game is very generous when rewarding points, regardless of your preferred play style.
Manking Divided is a vast and stunningly well-realised title. The storyline and the choices you will make to advance it are unyieldingly morally ambiguous, making for a constant feeling of tension and release throughout the game. Deus Ex has everything from first-person action, many RPG elements, stealth gameplay and meaningful decisionmaking. This is one you shouldn’t miss out on.