Recent reviews by Lou_S

Pretty much everyone you hear protesting this account link thing is going to go through with it because this is a good game.

You don't have to use your real name or put a credit card on file when creating a free PSN account. Just make an account, then never sign into it again once you've linked it.

Seriously though, this game has been really fun.

Great game but the experience can be ruined when you get paired up with randoms who might be new to the game and don't understand the tactics which are required (I.e. Call of Duty Bros). Also it can be problematic when players don't have mics because calling tactics before entering a room requires constant communication every step of the way.

Something it seems most people I've played with haven't figured out is that you can force non-compliant NPCs into complying using melee (default mapping = B). You can also disarm armed hostiles by doing this as well but you will need to stun them using gas, flashbangs, or some other form of non-lethal tools in order to safely get close enough to do this.

Another thing it seems people need reminders for is that you can pick 95% of locks and just quietly open the door. It seems like every other player I've played with seems to think that the only way to open a door is to kick/shoot/blast it open. If you are one of those plays then please stop, you are alerting enemies to your location and setting yourself up to be ambushed.

Again – I cannot stress this enough – this is a team game and requires team tactics to survive. A mic is almost mandatory to play this game right. If you don't have a mic then at least fall in line and try to follow the tactics of someone else who can call them out.

One other suggestion I might offer is to players is to clear the mapping for "quick grenade" (G) because it's right next to "action" (F) which can often result in accidental grenade throws if you aren't careful. Grenades are used more as a tool for clearing rooms so it's never been an issue for me to just select and equip it like a normal weapon to use before swapping back over to my firearm.

Overall though, if you get a good team of people to play with this game is absolutely an amazing experience and I can't wait to see where the devs take it.

As a long time Deus Ex fan since the original game I went into with apprehension based on the mixed reviews but after completing my first play-though I must say that Mankind Divided just might be my favorite installment in the franchise.

As far as graphics go, there's not much to say other than that this game is absolutely gorgeous.

When it comes to game-play, Mankind Divided is a big step up from previous titles. As with all Deus Ex games stealth is still the encouraged approach but the few times I've found myself openly fighting groups of enemies were probably among some of the most memorable engagements I've had in any video game. Movement and combat are both very fluid and enemies are no pushover in open fights, especially some of the heavily armed and/or augmented foes you will cross paths with. Expect a challenge. Even the hacking mini-game introduced in Human Revolution has been improved upon making it far more complex and interesting while being less clunky.

As far as the maps go, Mankind Divided isn't quite as expansive as previous installments as probably around 85% of the game takes place in just one area (the city of Prague) which contrasts a bit with previous Deus Ex games which saw you constantly jet setting around to different places though it's not so bad because this game is DENSE. There's no shortage of content and there's always new secrets to uncover. There's a few times where you are sent out to other areas to complete a mission only to return to Prague afterwards but each time you return things change which effectively refreshes the city with new secrets and things to do. The city and locations also feel very much alive as there's plenty of people walking the streets and interacting with each other making it actually feel like a city.

As is typical for the Deus Ex franchise there's a lot of ways to approach every single situation and the choices you make can have significant (though often unforeseen) impact on events which unfold later in the game. That being said, Mankind Divided really takes this aspect to a whole new level by providing even more options of approach to each situation than previous games gave you. There are several moments where the game makes you feel like you are being forced to choose one thing or another (such as choosing between saving someone or completing an objective) but often times there are secret ways to do both if you are clever enough.

Story wise, I thoroughly enjoy this game. It follows up on the events of the previous installment Deus Ex: Human Revolution in a way which cleverly allows for any of the possible endings of Human Revolution to potentially be considered canonical. You don't really have to play Human Revolution to understand the story in Mankind Divided as they retell the entire plot of Human Revolution in a fair bit of detail via a lengthy prologue when you start a new game but I personally think it's worth playing Human Revolution first as it lends well to the immersion and will help you appreciate the main character's story far more than you probably would otherwise.

I've heard people complain about how the ending felt jarring and as if the story was incomplete but I didn't quite get that feeling. As of the time of this review I have only finished one play-through but the ending I got seemed satisfactory enough to me for that particular story arc. Yeah, the climax came sudden but for the most part it felt resolved while being open ended enough to leave room for a direct sequel which I really hope they give to us. In my play-through I found a hidden solution to the final part of the story which made the final confrontation hilariously anti-climatic yet it still felt satisfying nonetheless.

Basically if you pay close attention there are multiple hints to there being a literal kill switch to the final boss and you can find it if you follow the clues.

Something else that should be said is that I'm sure a lot of people new to the Deus Ex series will pick this game up and play it like an action shoot-em-up or just rush through missions but that's NOT how this game is meant to be played. Veterans of the Deus Ex franchise such as myself myself can tell you that this series is best enjoyed if you take your time with it. The game never spoon-feeds you the story outside of the main plot points. You will have to discover much of it yourself by doing a LOT of reading. Hacking into people's computers, reading their emails and text conversations, picking up pocket secretaries (data pads), or even reading e-books all reveal a ton of important information which provides you with so much more context and often times give you hints on alternative ways to approach certain situations which you otherwise would have had no way to know about. It's also good to eavesdrop on different characters too as often times you will hear them talk to each other about things which provide important clues which may come in handy later on. I can't stress this enough; if you rush through this game then are going to miss out on a lot of the what makes the Deus Ex series so good. This is a game you need to take your time with; not run-and-gun through.

Also, yes there are some micro-transactions which allow you to do use real money to get things like "elite" versions of weapons or get extra supplies/credits/upgrades/etc. which can only be used once. So like, you buy extra "praxis kits" which are used to unlock abilities but once you use them they are gone forever and will not be available in a different play-through. This admittedly looks bad on the developers at first glance but there is literally nothing important locked behind these transactions. They simply serve as shortcuts for players who want to rush through the game and ignoring them makes the game feel like any other Deus Ex title. The "Elite" weapons do remain available to you each time you start a new game but honestly they aren't that great and if anything feel like somewhat of a downgrade from the vanilla weapons anyway. They are just gold plated and have certain differences from their vanilla counterparts (i.e. The Elite 10mm pistol has a 3-round burst mode and slightly different upgrade potentials).

My only complaint is that there's a few weird bugs that occasionally happen every once in a while so just save fairly often (F5 for quick save) and you should be OK.

All in all I would highly recommend this game and I will definitely be playing it through a couple more times.