Executive Narrative Director at Eidos Montreal, Mary DeMarle introduces 'Deus Ex Mankind Divided' during the Square Enix press conference at the JW Marriott on June 16, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo : Getty Images/Christian Petersen)
"Deus Ex: Mankind Divided" is a darker world than its predecessor, "Human Revolution", set in Prague in the late 2020's where augmentations have become the enemy after they went on a global genocide when a hack was activated. People's legal rights have been obliterated, and there is a looming danger of being sent off to a place called "Golem City".
Adam Jensen returns as the protagonist, joining an anti-terrorism task force subtlety related to the Illuminati. It religiously follows suit of its predecessor, in which it is a first-person game with third-person cover, with the actions being shooting, exploring, conversing, walking stealthily, and hacking.
The protagonist has augmentations himself, such as momentary invisibility and emotional intelligence for social engineering and conversations, according to The Verge. He has also received a new amount of unique skills, such as near-teleportation and a fortified armor shell.
Aside from the gameplay mechanics, one interesting thing about the game is its narrative and storyline. The developers of Deus Ex had gotten into trouble when they began using controversial terms, such as "apartheid" and "augmented lives matter", which is a bit of a play on "Black Lives Matter", according to Polygon. There certainly are racism issues when it comes to the game, but it felt a bit unnecessary for some to include these terms.
When it comes to human relationships and emotions, Adam has become past his angst which was his particular trait in the game's predecessor. He had cut ties from virtually almost everyone in the previous game, all for his evolution.
In addition to all of this, there are a lot of side quests in the game, some of them having quite interesting stories. Ironically, they are sometimes more compelling than the actual plot of the game itself.
Overall, the game is simplistic and well-executed, along with social and political commentary to add to the cut, yet keeping itself balanced by not being too deep. The player can do anything he wants and still enjoy the whole process. The game will start to become available on Tuesday, August 23, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PCs.
