Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Anyone else think this and HR were both hamstrung by being prequels? Or are they building up to a remastered/modernized/whatever version of the original game, preferably with an aesthetic that makes sense in light of the previous games'?

Not really?

I was impressed in a lot of ways with how original Human Revolution was able to be. I felt like it was a really good example and usage of a prequel, that was able to tie into the original for people who knew what they were looking for, while still being an independent entity in its own right.

I love the characters and the world of Human Revolution, and while I sorta feel like Deus Ex 1 is, as a game, more of a masterpiece for its time, Human Revolution demonstrates a lot of the ways games have progressed as an artform in the decade since the first game. Character writing, dialogue, presentation, all of those things that games as a whole have gotten better at in a lot of ways.

I mean, the only characters from the first game that make an appearance are Bob Page and Gary Savage, and, frankly, they're the ones that would.

As for aesthetics, the ghettos you visit in Human Revolution look pretty similar to the ghettos in the first game. Page Industries and Sarif Industries are at least comparable.

I've been playing the original game and HR back to back lately and I do feel they both have a similar feel in some respects while still being unique and good in their own ways.

That, and.

The thing with the first game is that the world was collapsing and going to hell. There was a plague, and there were riots and shit. The conspiracy was actively killing people.

The world of Human Revolution was at a very tense point where things could have gone either way. And Mankind Divided seems to reflect a lot of aspects of a downward spiral.

EDIT: Did I kill the thread?

Neat thing about the PS2 version of Deus Ex 1.

...I can't remember playing that much of it. I know it's on the PSN store in Europe. I want to give it a try at some point.

edited 1st May '15 9:32:13 PM by unnoun

So in the interest of continuing the conversation and posting new content for this thread, apparently there was a podcast with the director of Mankind Divided.

Also, B-Ball.

edited 1st May '15 10:52:45 PM by unnoun

I know this is a controversial opinion but I would love if their plan was to essentially remake the Deus Ex franchise [1]-style: follow the basic outline but do their own thing with it. We are already getting signs of that via their approach to the Illuminati, by turning them from an all powerful Ancient Conspiracy, to a more realistic bunch of rich assholes who fuck up more from their own conflicting agendas than anything else (one Mankind Divided interview even had one dev comment that she read Too Big To Fail and was amused how the bankers who crashed the economy were similar to their Illuminati in that they were just too arrogant to have a common purpose). Of course remaking the original's huge maps in modern graphics will be a tremendous technical challenge (and one that given the AAA's industry apparent slow motion collapse might never come to pass).

That may not be necessary. Didn't Majestic 12 come about because Bob Page and co. thought that the Illuminati was making bad calls (at least in their opinion) far too often and decided to strike out on their own?

Basically, yeah.

The Illuminati in Human Revolution don't really contradict the first game, per se.

Frankly, it helps the first game make more sense in terms of how Bob Page was able to succeed as much as he was.

That and there's the part where the Knights Templar were a completely separate and independent conspiracy.

And Stanton Dowd even said a thing about how "In my opinion, the history of the human race has been one long succession of conspiracies. To deceive ourselves, we call the successful conspiracies 'governments.'"

And specifically said that the Illuminati had been revived multiple times, more as an idea, as a name, as a brand than anything else.

"The order hasn't so much lasted as been continually revived...It's the IDEA that has lasted. The SYSTEM. Or the DESIRE, every thinking person's desire to give the world some decent organization."

A bunch of rich bastards who want to think they're part of some ancient order doesn't actually contradict that. Or, as Page said it, a bunch of pretentious old men playing at running the world. Not that he's much better, in all honesty.

EDIT: Y'know, maybe I'm just weird, but I'd be more interested in a remake of Invisible War than anything else.

edited 2nd May '15 7:27:38 AM by unnoun

As someone who is a fan just because of HR, I'm sure I'm not the only one, I too would like a series reboot. I mean Lara Croft did it

I mean, all of the games are available on Steam and GOG.

...The first game was never very good graphically, and hasn't aged very well, in a lot of respects, but.

I would think that it's worth giving a shot.

It goes on sale once or twice a year.

There's a lot of available mods.

edited 2nd May '15 9:39:44 AM by unnoun

If I can be assed to find the time, I might try to get my hands on the ps2 version of the first game. As it is, I couldn't give less of a shit about PC if I tried, so any mention of Steam, GOG, and mods - especially mods - is my cue to roll my eyes and move on to another topic.

edited 2nd May '15 9:42:10 AM by TheAirman

I get annoyed by a lot of PC gamers too.

I can't understand a lot of the installation stuff without directions.

I've been able to get plenty of games to work for me relatively simply and easily. Steam has installers and stuff.

...As for mods, well. Avoid the official twitter then.

Some mods have installers too. So simple even I can understand it. And pretty convenient mostly too.

And the first game is only 6.99 on Steam and I got it for less than that during a sale.

There are some PC games I'd consider worth checking out for their historical significance, if nothing else.

...Yes I am the sort of nerd that uses phrases like "historical significance".

EDIT: My point is ultimately that hating PC games makes about as little sense as hating console games. Games are games, whatever the platform, and there's advantages and disadvantages and stuff.

edited 2nd May '15 10:35:42 AM by unnoun

I meant a technological aesthetic that makes sense. I can buy it with the Star Wars prequels, the sleek, sports car-type stuff from The Phantom Menace becoming more and more gritty and blocky as we get closer to A New Hope, but going from cyborgs having feasible extrapolations of modern technology to cyborgs who, as Yahtzee put it, look like they'd spent a few years banging their heads on the Large Hadron Collider?

Guess that's just another one of those ways that the original shows its age. I'm all on board with a Hannibal-style reboot, as long as they don't do any Endingtron 3000 shit again.

Seriously, what was stopping Adam from just telling the truth...

I mean, I think part of it is that Gunther and Anna were quite definitely more along the lines of the Tyrants than Adam.

And everything in Deus Ex 1 looked sorta blocky.

There actually are a few mech augs in the first game that look a bit less ridiculous.

And, I mean. The game's graphics make it hard for me to tell how anything actually "looks" the way Human Revolution does without the official concept art.

edited 2nd May '15 12:22:00 PM by unnoun

Oh, I don't hate it. I get put off by the PC community a bit yes, but I have nothing against PC gaming in and of itself. If anything, I won't let myself take part in it as a choice of personal responsibility. I can turn off and lock away a console, and even go somewhere else altogether if necessary, but I need my laptop for school, and I don't trust myself with the temptation.

As for modding, as long as it doesn't violate the EULA and isn't used to provide unfair advantages, be fruitful and multiply if you so desire. I just don't like it when people try to shove it down my throat.

edited 2nd May '15 12:15:11 PM by TheAirman

If you have a PS 3, you can buy the PS 2 version of Deus Ex as a downloadable PS 2 Classic for about $10.

In Europe.

Damn Europeans, always fucking the rest of the world.

Well, looks like Amazon has it for $60, but I'm not in a position to spend that much right now. I could buy used for $13, but I've had bad experiences buying used before.

edited 2nd May '15 12:21:35 PM by TheAirman

I think I've been spoiled by Human Revolution's director's cut because I sorta dread playing the game without that wonderfully in-depth commentary.

I liked how they mentioned doing other protagonists in that podcast.

Dancing DLC.

Deus Ex predicted the future.

The biodome. Makes sense considering the devs are in Montreal.

edited 9th May '15 1:30:53 PM by unnoun

Hi Elias.

And whoever wrote that article is ignorant. Picus is not in the Biodome. It's in the Olympic Stadium's tower. The Biodome is a separate building adjacent to the stadium (In the foreground of that picture), while the thing with the tower in the background is the stadium.

The biodome is a zoo so not exactly something one converts into offices :-P

edited 26th May '15 2:28:18 PM by CobraPrime

Shows what I know about Montreal.

Beautiful.

So, who wants to pre-order this one now?

( /raises hand. )

Might interest some to know that of the announced titles that Square Enix have(not counting KH 3 and FFXV since they're not going to show them at E3 since they prefer to show news on old stuff at more fan based events(like Gamescom, TGS and D23) rather than journalist events like E3 where they show reveals to make hype usually) they're putting Deus Ex and Just Cause as their poster boys for their pre-E3 marketing on posters and ads.

I'm getting some hands-on time.