Smeelia
Thousand Master
I've been playing Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, I'm probably about two thirds of the way through so far (I've been playing it quite a bit).
It's pretty good really, it's not hugely different to Human Revolution gameplay wise (especially since I haven't used the new augmentations) but that's not exactly a bad thing. I suppose the story isn't entirely different either, trying to unravel secret conspiracies seems to be expected for these games.
My biggest issue with the game is probably entirely me but it feels like the people (guards and such) I'm going up against are probably not really bad people and that makes it harder to imagine using all of my augments against them without feeling like the bad guy. I tend towards playing non-lethally but I feel bad even knocking people out so I've probably only knocked out just over ten people so far (and most of those were in the opening mission or needed to be dealt with for an objective). There are some gangsters in side missions but most of the main story missions have you bypassing police and people who are probably mostly just misguided.
The game doesn't punish you for knocking people out (it might make a small difference to conversations) but I don't remember having the same issue too often in Human Revolution. I think I just wasn't quite in the right kind of mood to play the game really, I'm still enjoying the vast majority of it but over-thinking the role-playing aspects detracts from the fun a bit.
Another related issue is that quite a lot of the game seems to take place in the central hub area but it doesn't feel like there's quite enough of a natural reason to go exploring. I'd say the flow in general feels a little off, it feels more like I'm working my way through a game than following a story and the side quests only occasionally seem to mesh well (being told about a hack by the IT guy is fine, randomly breaking into an apartment to find information about drug dealing is less smooth). I mean, I'm still randomly breaking into places to explore but if I was purely roleplaying then I'd probably have only done a couple of quests and missed more than half of the game.
This might also just be me but it does feel like the game is a bit more limited in choice than what I'd hope for from Deus Ex. There's at least one binary choice that seems to have a significant impact on some characters/events and I'd usually expect there to be a "third option", even if it requires doing a lot of extra work to access it. You could argue that having a "best" option undermines the aspect of having consequences to your choices but Deus Ex games have generally been more about exploring the story and seeing different possibilities than choosing between two distinct stories. It's a subtle distinction but an important one.
If nothing else, the possibility of discovering a better option encourages more thoroughly exploring and paying attention to how you deal with situations. There have been a few conversations where I thought my choices might impact how a character acts later but it seems like most of that is largely irrelevant and only a few select decisions (usually from two choices) really seem to have an effect. The game does recognise your methods in dealing with potential combat situations but seems less interested in how you deal with conversations.
That probably mostly sounds negative, I think that's partly because of the way I've been approaching the game (I suspect a different approach would work better) and partly because I have pretty high standards for a Deus Ex game. To be fair, the majority of the game is fine and the issues are the type that can be fairly easy to ignore but it's a shame that they exist in the first place.
I am enjoying the game and it does seem to improve as it goes along for the most part (even integrating side quests more effectively). I suspect I'll enjoy the game more on a second playthrough when I'm more familiar with how it works and can try playing slightly differently. It's still a very good game but it doesn't feel like a step up from Human Revolution so far (it may even be a step down, though that's a small step from a high standard). I have to admit, it does also make me wonder if nostalgia is making me unfavourably compare Mankind Divided to Human Revolution and if that's a factor (I'm also wondering if nostalgia is making me gloss over any issues Human Revolution had).
Most importantly though, you can still tap people on the shoulder and then knockout punch them in the face so... Best game ever?
It's pretty good really, it's not hugely different to Human Revolution gameplay wise (especially since I haven't used the new augmentations) but that's not exactly a bad thing. I suppose the story isn't entirely different either, trying to unravel secret conspiracies seems to be expected for these games.
My biggest issue with the game is probably entirely me but it feels like the people (guards and such) I'm going up against are probably not really bad people and that makes it harder to imagine using all of my augments against them without feeling like the bad guy. I tend towards playing non-lethally but I feel bad even knocking people out so I've probably only knocked out just over ten people so far (and most of those were in the opening mission or needed to be dealt with for an objective). There are some gangsters in side missions but most of the main story missions have you bypassing police and people who are probably mostly just misguided.
The game doesn't punish you for knocking people out (it might make a small difference to conversations) but I don't remember having the same issue too often in Human Revolution. I think I just wasn't quite in the right kind of mood to play the game really, I'm still enjoying the vast majority of it but over-thinking the role-playing aspects detracts from the fun a bit.
Another related issue is that quite a lot of the game seems to take place in the central hub area but it doesn't feel like there's quite enough of a natural reason to go exploring. I'd say the flow in general feels a little off, it feels more like I'm working my way through a game than following a story and the side quests only occasionally seem to mesh well (being told about a hack by the IT guy is fine, randomly breaking into an apartment to find information about drug dealing is less smooth). I mean, I'm still randomly breaking into places to explore but if I was purely roleplaying then I'd probably have only done a couple of quests and missed more than half of the game.
This might also just be me but it does feel like the game is a bit more limited in choice than what I'd hope for from Deus Ex. There's at least one binary choice that seems to have a significant impact on some characters/events and I'd usually expect there to be a "third option", even if it requires doing a lot of extra work to access it. You could argue that having a "best" option undermines the aspect of having consequences to your choices but Deus Ex games have generally been more about exploring the story and seeing different possibilities than choosing between two distinct stories. It's a subtle distinction but an important one.
If nothing else, the possibility of discovering a better option encourages more thoroughly exploring and paying attention to how you deal with situations. There have been a few conversations where I thought my choices might impact how a character acts later but it seems like most of that is largely irrelevant and only a few select decisions (usually from two choices) really seem to have an effect. The game does recognise your methods in dealing with potential combat situations but seems less interested in how you deal with conversations.
That probably mostly sounds negative, I think that's partly because of the way I've been approaching the game (I suspect a different approach would work better) and partly because I have pretty high standards for a Deus Ex game. To be fair, the majority of the game is fine and the issues are the type that can be fairly easy to ignore but it's a shame that they exist in the first place.
I am enjoying the game and it does seem to improve as it goes along for the most part (even integrating side quests more effectively). I suspect I'll enjoy the game more on a second playthrough when I'm more familiar with how it works and can try playing slightly differently. It's still a very good game but it doesn't feel like a step up from Human Revolution so far (it may even be a step down, though that's a small step from a high standard). I have to admit, it does also make me wonder if nostalgia is making me unfavourably compare Mankind Divided to Human Revolution and if that's a factor (I'm also wondering if nostalgia is making me gloss over any issues Human Revolution had).
Most importantly though, you can still tap people on the shoulder and then knockout punch them in the face so... Best game ever?
