What now for W
HEN it comes to bars, the one set by Human Revolution was pretty damn high. By the end, I felt like I’d been through the wringer and could only hope that (spoiler!) by blowing us all to hell I’d made the best choice for humanity.
Five years later, and I’m about to do it all over again. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is set two years after the events of Human Revolution. A recap video (‘last time, on Deus Ex...’) brings you up to speed with events – although, you might want to break out the popcorn as it weighs in at around 12 minutes long.
Having sent every person with an augmented body part into a murderous rampage – the repercussions have been swift and merciless. Augmented people – or Augs – are now on the fringes of society, something controversially referred to in game as a ‘mechanical apartheid’.
And that was one of the first things that struck me about this game. The story roots itself deeply in prejudice and discrimination – not something the character of Adam Jensen ever really encounters. Yes he’s hassled by police, threats are made and he’s called names – but when the script draws thinly veiled parallels to the actual issues facing victims of bigotry in real-life, it all comes off flat.
The action predominantly takes place in Prague – dripping in golds and neons, the city is gorgeously rendered to give an incredibly rich environment to explore. The thing you’ll come back to time and again with this game is choice – you have almost too much.
You are given so much free rein to explore the capital your Breach is a jarring addition to the main game head will be spinning with where to start. A plethora of side quests pull your focus away from the main storyline, some of which branch off into multi-part tasks themselves.
This vastness of choice, by necessity I suppose, also makes the controls a tad more difficult than they need to be.
Remembering which combo triggers which weapon/action can be a nightmare – especially if you’re trying to think quickly on your feet and have the dexterity of a hippo brandishing oven gloves. While not as tight as in Human Revolution, the fighting mechanics are still a lot of fun. However, there’s a much stronger emphasis on stealth and negotiation as a way to complete your missions – a fact I found a little irksome at times, but then