The original Deus Ex is one of the most critically acclaimed shooter/RPG hybrids of all-time. In 2011, Eidos-Montreal resurrected the dormant franchise with Human Revolution, giving the series an updated look while remaining true to the player choice-driven gameplay. Eidos-Montreal knew its game wasn’t perfect, and has worked to improve the series' combat systems and boss encounters for the latest entry in the series – Mankind Divided.
Set in 2029, two years after the events of Human Revolution, Adam Jensen returns and joins forces with an Interpol-funded task force aiming to hunt down and capture augmented terrorists in a world that now hates and fears transhumans. Jensen has a new suite of augmentations that allow him to cleverly navigate stealth, combat, and social interactions, but how Jensen chooses to solve every problem is entirely up to you.
At the end of Human Revolution, the Illuminati caused every transhuman to go into a fight-or-flight response and attack anyone near them. In the next issue of Game Informer, you can find out how this event caused humanity to hate and fear those with augmentations. We spent two days in Eidos-Montreal's studio, talking with the team and learning about how they build a realistic future. We go in depth on some of Jensen's new augmentations that help improve the stealth and combat systems, such as the ability to remote hack electronic objects, fire off his nano blade from a distance, and surround himself with a nearly indestructible nanoshield. We also got some great examples on how the game will be as open ended as ever, allowing players to carve their own path through the world. You can only get these details in the latest issue of Game Informer.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided doesn't yet have a release date, but it's headed to PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Takes place in 2029, 2 years after Human Revolution
Listed as single-player, no mention of multiplayer
Jensen is part of a covert, goverment-sponsored task force called Task Force 29, a new bracnh of Interpol, to combat a new breed of terrorism
Jensen doesn't full trust Task Force 29, also feeds intel to another covert organization called the Juggernaut Collective
In true Deus Ex fashion, you often receive conflicting missions, neither can be fully trusted
Boss encounters are designed in a way to allow players to approach any way they want (stealth, full combat, etc)
Eidos won't comment on which ending it considers canon but is trying to string together different parts of each ending for the overall background of Mankind Divided
Story is in many ways a story of redemption for Jensen
The story they're telling is building to events that take place in the original Deus Ex
With Mankind Divided, they're exploring the original game's past; "Is the depiction of past events from the original Deus Ex true? Will we discover stuff we never knew?"
Added a lot of diversity to the environments
Females are also now part of the regular enemies in the game
One of Jensen's missions takes him to Utulek Station in Prague, now a ghetto for augmented individuals
It is nicknamed "Golem City", based on the real life Kowloon Walled City
Shops line the streets, temporary housing units stacked on one another reaching upwards toward the sky; claustrophobic atmosphere
Mission to track down a leader of an aug group, but police have captured the informant
Can choose to butter up the informant's wife for clues or cause a scene with the police
Alternatively Jensen can bypass this area of the game altogether and find the leader's hideout on his own
Mentions Jensen engaging in tense conversation with the leader, resulting in a diplomatic solution or violence
Transhumans (augs) referred to as "clanks" by police
"You can go full combat or full stealth throughout any part of the game"
Side quests meant to be more meaningful; ex. players can choose to make deals with criminal organizations and its mob boss might call in a favor later interrupting main missions
Doesn't want fetch quests, the team sees the extra quests as a way to explore the main themes of the game more deeply
Features twice as many augmentations as Human Revolution
Aug examples:
Tesla: little darts pop out of Jensen's knuckles allowing him to tag enemies and take them out quietly
Silent Run: Allows Jensen to move quickly across any floor without making a sound (can combine with cloaking)
C.A.S.I.E.: Allows Jensen to analyze the mental state of individuals, helping him to respond adequately in conversations
PEPS Gun: Non-lethal weapon that pops out of Jensen's bionic arm and fires a concussive blast allowing him to knock an enemy out, kill him or flee
Augmentation features can be assigned on the d-pad for quick selection
Augmentations consumed a fixed amount of energy, when Jensen stops using them he regains a portion of it
Can still refill his augs completely with bio cells, Eidos wants the recharge mechanic to encourage using augs more liberally
New remote hack augmentation allows Jensen to activate shortcuts through areas to pass enemies
No plan for Human Revolution saves to carry over, but Eidos is planning for a franchise now, want to expand further after HR's success
No plans for a Deus Ex MMO
Eidos noted fans who played stealthily enjoyed the game more so spent several years iterating on gunplay
Mankind Divided's moment-to-moment action plays out like a series of set-piece moments, a 'remarkable feat' considering nothing is scripted
Jensen can adjust his weapons at any point mid-battle, changing ammo type, firing pattern, scopes, etc
Some enemies have external tech like exoskeletons and mechs to combat Jensen
Variety of enemies have a diversity of weapons, augments, or other high-tech combat tools, some have high-jump abilities, etc
Focused on making A.I. more aggressive, flanking, etc
Certain elements of the environment now react to combat
many people might disagree but i really like adam jensen's voice. they're are bringing the voice actor back, right?
the main menu music was simply incredible
They would have to bring back the voice, its awesome and makes the character, choosing to go with another voice actor for reasons other than the original voice actor being dead or just not wanting to do it, would be bad for the game
"Eidos won't comment on which ending it considers canon"
it sure as shit wont be the "Press the button that makes EVERYONE DIE" ending now will it
Hopefully it's not a "Press this button to watch this ending then save and reload and pick another one" situation anyway - not much point claiming to have important choices if it's just a multiple choice cutscene at the end
Hopefully it's not a "Press this button to watch this ending then save and reload and pick another one" situation anyway - not much point claiming to have important choices if it's just a multiple choice cutscene at the end
That and the boss battles were my only complaints with that game, hopefully they've both been given the boot.