Deus Ex Mankind Divided: the three best and worst things about Adam Jensen’s latest outing

For Deus Ex creator Warren Spector and his Ion Storm team, brains are just as important as brawn. He envisaged a cyperpunk universe where every action has a consequence – and where player intrigue is heftily rewarded.

Sixteen years later, Deus Ex has firmly established itself as the thinking person’s first-person adventure – the antithesis of linear, on-the-rails blasters – thanks to a near-perfect harmony of dialogue trees, XP systems, hacking and open-ended level design.

Ion Storm may be no more but Eidos Montreal - behind 2011's Deus Ex: Human Revolution – is back in the driving seat.

Some felt their last effort swayed dangerously close to an action title – so how does Deus Ex: Mankind Divided stack up? Aptly, we've come away from it feeling... well, divided.

Here are three things we liked about protagonist Adam Jensen's adventure, and three things we didn't.

1) It looks Ex-cellent – especially on PC

Too many games are unveiled at E3 with amazing visuals, but are plagued with chatter of visual downgrades come launch. Deus Ex is definitely not one of those titles – its visuals more than living up to their early promise a year or two ago.

The PC port we tested was handled by a team called Nixxes, who did a decent job on Human Revolution. Thanks to a plethora of graphics options – from advanced tessellation (making surfaces pop out) to a whopping 8XMSAA (reducing jaggy edges), there's plenty here to suit everyone from casual to hardcore PC gamers.

Main character models are richly detailed, especially during game-engine rendered cut-scenes, while lighting and texture quality is nearly photo-realistic. The first level in Dubai boasts the most impressive visuals – stop for a second to admire the view, and you'll be treated to sun-kissed waves lapping against dilapidated buildings. In the skies, hundreds of sea gulls caw and dart around while, in the distance, a sandstorm approaches.

It's all incredibly impressive, but be warned – even with the mighty Nvidia GTX980Ti's 6GB of VRAM, frame rate during these busier sections took a monumental hit on Ultra settings at 1080p, despite the correct drivers being installed.

2) Augmentations

Augmentations are a huge plus point in the franchise, and Mankind Divided adds another seven into the mix.

For those who are more action orientated, a Focus Enhancement mod can be used to slow time – clawing back valuable seconds to dive for cover - or perfect to treat yourself to a John Woo-style slow-mo kill.

If things get too hectic, Titan unleashes a thick shield of armour. For more stealth-minded players, the Icarus Dash can be used to quickly teleport from one platform to another - while Remote Hacking brings up a fun min-game to open doors and hack security devices from afar.

Praxis points, the currency that 'buys' upgrades, are usually plentiful – while an overheating system, where you have to manage how many augmentations are active or risk damage, keeps you thinking.

3) Level design

There is an unparalleled sense of freedom in Mankind Divided.

Prague, where the majority of the game is set, is a sprawling sandbox – teeming with possibilities, secret passages and details. There's never just one way of completing an objective, and individual levels boast numerous entry and exit points. Fancy going in all guns blazing? Blast through the front door. Sneak in and not hurt a soul? That's possible, too - just look out for a grate or open window.

With a well-balanced jump, rooftops and ledges are easy (if slightly fiddly - see below) to get to. Enemies are usually smart, and will flank if they spot you – but soon lower their alert status if you stay hidden for long enough. You're not punished for taking the most obvious path, but it's incredibly rewarding finding a less-obvious alternative.

1) Environments

Unlike the last game where you jetted around the globe, Mankind Divided mostly takes place in Prague. Although it's richly detailed, expect plenty of backtracking through similar-looking streets.

Creating a world as detailed as this is no mean feat, and day / night missions help keep it fresh, and far more impressive than the comparatively lifeless ones in Human Revolution.

But it still isn't quite right – the streets are free from traffic, while civilians wander aimlessly around with no sense of purpose, instead blurting out poorly-scripted dialogue. Brief visits to Dubai and a Czech ghetto called Golem City help add some variation, but are too short-lived to have a real impact.

2) Moving and shooting

There's something just not quite right with how Jensen 'feels' – he’s almost weightless, gliding around rather than trundling along on those big mechanical legs.

Jumping on to platforms and targeted leaps to ledges can prove incredibly frustrating, with the margin for error incredibly small. During shooting sections, third person aiming kicks in, but the camera feels too loose, which makes aiming harder than it should be.

For a next-gen game, the gunplay is very underwhelming, with a lack of blood and damage effects and noticeable bullet impact making all weapons feel incredibly underpowered. Move in for a melee kill, and the game awkwardly jumps to a semi-cut-scene, where you're treated to Jensen dispatching his foe (or two, if you upgrade hand-to-hand combat).

Spectacular? Sometimes. Jarring? Most definitely.

3) The story

Mankind Divided is set two years after Human Revolution and the Aug Incident - which saw a group of augmented humans to go on a rampage. Tensions are high and a 'mechanical apartheid' exists between augmented and non-augmented humans.

Whereas the game brings this discrimination to life through various blatantly obvious means, it's never really expanded upon – instead playing second fiddle to a much less interesting story that sees Jensen hunt down a rogue group of augs called The Illuminati.

It's fertile ground for compelling storytelling, but there's a sense, even early on, that Eidos Montreal haven't fleshed it out as much as they could have. Thankfully, some breath-taking side-quests go some way to make up for it.

Also out right now is Deus Ex GO – a turn-based infiltration game set in the cyberpunk universe.