Torn about Mankind Divided

I wasn't even sure if I really wanted to purchase Deus Ex:  Mankind Divided.  I planted it on my wishlist and left it there while I periodically checked on the reviews to see what people were saying.  Many of the reviews mentioned some things that immediately turned me off--day one DLC; an in-game store for purchasing one-time use items (and in a singleplayer game!); and various performance related gripes.  Other reviews painted a much more positive picture.  In the end, I decided to take it off my wishlist--it just didn't seem worth it to get sucked into the kind of game that seemed to be mostly oriented toward the money-grubbing end of the spectrum.  I didn't think twice about my choice until I saw it (and all its DLC) up for an extremely low sale price ($9.99).  At $9.99 I was willing to risk paying for something that might not turn out great.

A beautiful view of Dubai.  One of the few missions outside of Prague.

Deus Ex:  Mankind Divided is the follow up to the highly enjoyable Human Revolution.  Like Revolution, MD stars the highly augmented Adam Jensen as he fights the forces of evil.  This time around Adam is in Prague working for TF29, a secretive branch of Interpol that is focused on investigating terrorism.  The events from HR have highly influenced the world in MD.  Augmented humans have become persona non grata and in Prague, many of them have been sent to live in segregated ghettos far from the city.  Those who haven't been sent away are treated as second class citizens--harassed, feared, and left to suffer from the debilitating effects of Neuropyzene withdrawal.  Society has been divided into two clear and completely unequal classes--natural and augmented.  It's in this highly divisive environment that Adam is compelled to become involved in an investigation into augmented terrorists.  This investigation isn't a simple matter--hackers from the Janus Collective believe that there is a complicated conspiracy between some of the largest and most powerful corporations in the world and that they are manipulating TF29 to create a crisis that would be beneficial both politically and economically.  The main storyline follows Adam as he attempts to unravel the possible threads between the Illuminati, TF29, and many other groups.

Enjoyed:
--The highly detailed city of Prague.  I would hesitate to call it open-world, but it's large and there is plenty to explore.  Much of my playtime was spent exploring the city and trying to find all the little hidden corners.  There are plenty of vents to crawl through, apartments to hack into, and sewers to much about in.

In general, the game is very beautiful and you'll often find yourself gaping at a scenic vista.

--Character design and detail.  I can't say there are many games where I just want to walk around and look at what people are wearing.  The futuristic design of the clothing is stylish and beautiful.  Even the haggard augs who have a paltry existence on the streets have a high level of detail.  The police uniforms are armored and militarized, but they also have a sort of medieval knight feeling.  Even on my low, low graphics setting I was astounded at the textures.

--Not having to kill anyone.  It has always irked me that some games will allow players to choose a non-lethal playstyle but will insist that bosses must be killed.  HR was guilty of this and I was happy when I realized MD would allow players to incapacitate bosses.

--Multiple paths to success.  Part of the challenge in Deus Ex is figuring out the best way to navigate undetected through levels filled with patrolling guards, security cameras, laser grids, and various other defenses.  Finding vents, maintenance tunnels, sewers, or any other handy, hidden routes is fun.

"Naturals Only."

--A world filled with prejudice.  From the first minute you walk Adam out of his apartment you are faced with a society that hates augmented humans.  People call you names--clank, hanzer--there's anti-aug graffiti spray painted on buildings, and there's enforced segregation in public places.  It really hit me when I was exploring the city and I saw stores and park benches that said "naturals only."  I made it a point to avoid the police because they would ask for identification any time I walked by them when I was exiting the subway.

--Breaking into stuff.  I'm not really sure what this says about my personality, but I could spend the entire game just hacking into keypads to get into apartments and stores.  It's fun to hack into computers, read e-mails, and learn about the people who live there.

--Movement system that makes being stealthy feel very fluid.  Rounding corners and rolling flow together rather than being awkward and difficult to control.

--Easy to modify weapons and swap ammo and mods.  Simply hit Y and you can remove silencers, change the firing pattern, or switch ammo types.

--Augment skill tree that is easily adaptable to playstyle.  I usually opt for a stealthier playstyle so I tend to take talents that contribute to hacking, sneaking, and navigating through difficult to reach or hidden places (rebreather, leg mods for higher jumping).  It's nice that the skill tree is completely flexible and that you don't have to take some talents to unlock others.  The addition of experimental points throws a little bit of spice into the mix and adds some great abilities (remote hacking is one of my favorite).

--Music.  It's not quite as good as the soundtrack for HR, but the music still has a great futuristic vibe.

--Breach Mode offers up a single player challenge mode that revolves around infiltrating and stealing data on the Neural Subnet.  It offers you a chance to test out your skills and see how they stack up against other players around the world.  (It's also a thinly veiled reason for microtransactions)

When it comes to the DLC (Jensen's Stories), they can be hit or miss.  Desperate Measures is very short and generally uninteresting.  System Rift is a lot of fun and has a great story--it involves breaking into the Palisade Blade and hacking into a heavily secured mainframe.  You meet a new character, ShadowChild, and get to spend some time with an old one--Francis Pritchard.  If the rest of the game had been written the way that System Rift was, it would be much, much better.

A Criminal Past offers an interesting premise--Adam is undercover in a maximum security prison for augs, but it features one of my least favorite story elements--stripping you of all your powers (granted, you do have the option of activating your powers).  The story features more conspiracy-based mumbo jumbo and, for me, it was eclipsed by the annoyance of having no augs.

Did not enjoy:

--One of the absolutely worst endings in a game.  There's basically no closure to the entire storyline and you're left with a feeling of confusion.  "Now I'm going to catch the bad guys!"  Wait, wasn't that the point?

--Very little character development.  I felt no connection to any of the characters that were supposed to matter.  They were simply props who gave me missions to complete.  The most interesting character was a nobody in the TF29 office (Aria Argento).  It was more interesting to check out their outfits than to talk to them.

--The almost open world design of Prague.  It's big, but it's not open world.  Prague exists in two halves that require the use of a cleverly disguised loading screen in the form of the subway.  Travelling back and forth between the halves got really old--especially toward the end of the game.

--Short main storyline.  So much time is spent in Prague that it didn't feel like there were many missions that take you to other locations.  At least HR saw you travelling around the world and facing large, elaborate levels in various places.

I can't say that I didn't enjoy playing Mankind Divided--the simple joys of being stealthy and completing missions without being detected is very satisfying.  The gameplay has been improved and is definitely the highlight.  It's really frustrating that they created such a beautiful and flawed world and then completely dropped the ball with the main storyline and characters.

In the end, I would give Deus Ex:  Mankind Divided a cautious recommendation.  It's not as good as Human Revolution, but there's enough to enjoy to make it worth playing.  If you're going to buy it, I'd wait for a sale.