The Failures and Triumphs of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
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- Опубліковано 17 гру 2016
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a game that has both fallen short and exceeded expectations. Today I go through why.
Chapter One: The Multimedia Problem [02:42]
Chapter Two: Corporate Interference [14:35]
Chapter Three: On the Disc (Narrative) [23:22]
Chapter Four: On the Disc (Everything Else) [36:28]
Twitter: / lhudsonx - Ігри
I don't mind Adam Jensen comics and books. I just hated the fact they remove VITAL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT from the game.
I liked Mankind Divided. Prague was a really nice open world and Jensen's apartment was also nice getting to wake up there, and getting to see him living his life a bit. And it was also good to be in that space of being both discriminated against and being the authority.
I think that your point on character development (or lack thereof) was spot on. The characters we spent the most time with didn't stand out, and their stories were never fleshed-out to the point that we really understood their behaviour traits or motivation.
Miller would have been an interesting character but for some utterly cringe-inducing voice acting. It was laugh-out-loud appalling to me at times.
The best voice-acting in Human Revolution (not to mention the most interesting characterisation) was from Pritchard and Sarif. It's such a shame that Stephen Shellen wasn't retained for Sarif, and equally sad that Pritchard had no involvement in the (non-DLC) main game. I didn't find that any of the characters in Mankind Divided approached that level.
At times I felt as though the developers overdid the route-options. Your aug choices generally don't matter, since irrespective of what you choose you are able to progress to where you like via another route (that is usually so obvious that it requires minimal effort to find).
The music is of course wonderful.
I kind of share your overall outlook on Mankind Divided. In spite of its glaring flaws (and cynical Sq Enix input) I find myself returning to it and wanting to discuss it, so it obviously did a lot right to have left such an impression.
If only it hadn't been split up into two, and had the time in development it needed.
THANK YOU for finally communicating my conflicted thoughts on this game. I played it years after release, so I didn't get caught up in the SE shitstorm at launch. I LOVE THIS GAME. It is one of my all-time favorite games, despite the obvious narrative flaws and characters that I wish had been explored with more depth. But the sheer perfection of visuals and gameplay, even little things like crisp, beautiful UI design, I could go on for ages about how they overshadow my gripes about the plot in every way. Your comment about wanting more Utulek Complex is SO GOOD. I wanted to return there like we did in HR to Hengsha. So much potential. My final thoughts are yours exactly: I WANT SO MUCH MORE of what Eidos Montreal gave us here, but I fear we will never get it.
"Books are shorter!" Man, way to make me feel like a slow reader...
Read faster! Just kidding, reading isnt a race. We all have our own pace. I tear thru books but I never bag on anyone who reads at a slower pace, take your time because comprehension is more important than pages per day or whatever.
22:47 PROBLEM: The fact that Mass Effect 3's multiplayer has an actual impact on the singleplayer (War Assets earned in singleplayer only have 50% of their full value unless you play multiplayer) is a major issue, since that means it's much harder to get the best ending once the multiplayer becomes a ghost zone - which it already has.
Oops.
This can be circumvented on PC via modding (i.e. doubling each Asset's value, so that the 50% cut results in 100% unedited value), but PS3? Wah-wah, outta luck.
26:15 Legit thought something started running up my screen there. Also this video is so much better put together than your more recent Dynasty Warriors 9 video. So much more on track, whereas on that one I had to check out as I figured you were never going to make it to the topic. That one turned me away, but this video would make me want to see more.
Great story dissection. Hope to see your next vid series.
God, your subheating titles are so SO well designed. You remind me a lot of Boston On in that way.
Stand aside, Hudson river, I have a new favorite Hudson! Well done!
I really enjoyed watching this. I put it on because I didn't plan on playing this game. I'd heard that it might not be worth my time, and since I've enjoyed your analyses before I decided to watch. I have to say I'm a bit taken aback by the difference between the tone and the content of your analysis.
I think you should have made it more clear that you overall like this game. Sorry but it felt like a "gotcha" that you spent so much time taking the narrative apart and talking about compromises, etc. then you're like "It might be game of the year!"
I have to say this is the most positive opinion of this game I've heard, and it actually makes me want to try it. But I would have been happier if you'd summarized your opinion at the beginning, then gone in-depth
Cheers bud, will take that into account. Was taught to focus on the negatives before the positives when it comes to essay writing, but you're right :)
LHudson I think the structure of the video in terms of narrative is spot-on. I've completed the game a couple days ago and it was such a bittersweet experience what with all the opportunities being there and Eidos unable to take full advantage of them due to corporate meddling by Square Enix. Now because of those shady practices (and poor optimisation) the game underperformed sales-wise prompting Sqare Enix to effectively freeze the whole franchise which is both a catch 22 and a vicious circle but ultimately that Square Enix brought this failure on themselves. It's a shame that Eidos' efforts, time and resources went down the drain.
That was quite the excellent analysis. I just finished this game recently and found it to be an overall fun time although the ending was easily the most abrupt experience I've had in a videogame since vanilla Mass Effect 3. Here's hoping development on the 3rd game starts sometime within the next year because if there's one thing that always annoys me is dangling plot threads.
Great video, @LHudson. I really love Mankind Divided, but, as you, I expected more. This was my most hyped game of the year, and Human Revolution being one of my favourite games of all time, MD left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. I mean, the game is great, but it could be a lot greater.
I thought you missed out talking about the game's intensity... I felt that there were too few stealth/infiltration missions. I like the RPG aspect of the game very much, but I trully enjoy the stealth the most. Prague is an awesome hub, and sure we have a great level design there, so we can reach apartments and stores and take a look into the depth of this world, get to know personal stories and minor characters, but there could be more stealth. I believe the game suffered from cut content because of DLCs and stuff.
Also, I expected a lot more from Breach Mode. When I saw trailers, I thought it would be a good experience, but it feels empty and dull.
But the single player is great, the game is really immersive in a way only those Immersive Sims can be, soundtrack is awesome, I love the cyberpunk art and how this world, although much more technological than ours, is really alike with today's world in politics, society, prejudice and many more themes this universe brings to us.
Ah, I hope you get to play DISHONORED 2. This is a Deus Ex game set in a steampunk/XIXth century world. I believe you'll enjoy it a lot - I did, it's my personal game of the year.
Thank you for this video, and I'm using your videos to pratice my listening skills, you have a very good dictation, making it easy for a Portuguese speaker to understand.
Sorry for any language mistakes!
you said "meidos ontreal" at the end there, lol.
still a terrific video, though. I can tell a lot of passion went into this and I enjoyed hearing your opinions on the game
I cry myself to sleep everyday over that flub ;(
Also it really shows that they put little time into adjusting for keyboard and mouse users.
menu items don't react to mouse movement well and sometimes you have to click on something several times before it registers. And hacking could have been so much less annoying if they even slightly optimized for keyboard and mouse. even if the hacking only had either dragging with the mouse or zoom out so the whole thing fit's on the screen without something that you can accidentally click on, covering the nodes.
It's finally here.
I watch a lot of content before buying any game because I'm broke and can't buy many games. I want to make sure that a game is great before I buy it since I'll be spending weeks or even months playing it before I can buy another one.
After nearly six years, three playthroughs, this video aged like fine wine. Hope you're still doing alright.
@18:40 Yeah, I recall getting this game on launch and then realizing my graphics card (which, admittedly, was old despite the rest of the computer being new) was essentially unable to play it. I ended up not being able to play the game until just last year when I got a new graphics card. Though, once I did get a new card, it was able to play the game at max settings no problem, so that was nice.
I really enjoyed and loved Mankind Divided and i think this game is as good as Human Revolution and the Original game despite the cliffhangar ending and narrative problems.
This game is one of my favorites but I feel like they took on too much scope and couldn't integrate all the narrative parts together properly (basically what you said)
As an almost deaf viewer, I wish that you should add the subtitle as your voice in this video. Ask yourself that if the side-missions are more worth-taking to experience than the main mission in this game like cyberpunk 2077.
This was my GOTY alongside Dark Souls III and The Last Guardian
I feel like I heard only a few songs in the game, I wish there was a little more variety. I also wish fov was something I could change on console, and the breach mode is pretty weird, but it's a good game.
The main problem with this game is it felt like a DLC, a side story. The story went nowhere and there was only one city hub - there was no sense that this was an integral part of the overarching narrative and the main antagonist was a complete joke. Human Revolution felt so much more epic and complete. And they keep dropping the bob page and illuminati stuff in there just to keep the old school fans hooked even though it's just meaningless fan service that serves very little purpose.
i played the game a few years ago, and thinking back on it the game felt quite small, short story small areas and small amount of interactivity. Now, i might be remembering all of these things wrong but the game didnt left a big impression on me, it had its moments but overall was quite underwhelming. Vampires the Masquarade Bloodlines also has a small world but there almost every location in it had its purpose and it was a whole lot more memorable (the writing and characters helped a lot) than anything i have seen in this game. Mankind Divided is not a bad game, but to me its not a must play classic either.
Man, you just triggered me with that Halo stuff. Not because you're wrong, but because you're so right it hurts. Halo had some pretty solid expanded universe stuff, namely the books by Nylund and the first comic anthology by a number of talented artists.
Now there is so much random stuff of varying quality the barrier to entry is immense, and I say this as a guy who has read nearly every piece of Halo literature out there; at one point, EVERY piece of it. I was incredibly invested in the universe! I'd like to be clear - it's not the volume of expanded universe content that's the problem, it is the quality. There has been an immense drop in the quality of that content, to the point where one of the most recent books is truly one of the most boring, offensive and lazily written garbage I think I have ever read. It's not just a bad story, it's not just a bad entry into the universe, it is truly one of the most blatant 'I wrote this in an afternoon for way too much money and couldn't care less about the quality' 'contract' books I've ever seen. (And yes, maybe this is a little dramatic haha)
What was once a carefully chosen selection of artists creating stories in the universe with care and their own artistic flair (one of them was a cartoony, non-canon, and artsy short by Jean 'Moebius' Giraud, and I loved it) is now a series of random, jumbled, largely bland tidbits of uninteresting fluff. Of course there was stuff that was inferior, but it was because of coming up short, not because the goal was set so low a complete amateur could reach it.
So the fact that the Didact was literally f**king killed in some blah obscure comic makes sense to me. It hurts, but it makes complete sense. Because that's just a perfect summary of the state the story is in. Soulless, mass marketed damage control.
I would much rather the franchise just ended than this slow burn that has killed most of my past enthusiasm.
(Also, awesome vid!)
how do you disable a modern vehicle?
simple, you remove the battery cell which is accessible from the outside..............................
I mean, I guess that could kind of make sense, like how you can put fuel in your car from the side. Though it is ridiculous how easily he pulls it out and that it disables the the vehicle instantly.
@@jammydodger222Xxd dunno about your car but you need to unlock the fuel access port in my previous cars :D
I understand that Adam Jensen is a walking electronic warfare unit but a small animation of wireless hacking could have gone a long way.
@@IrrieldeCZ fuel port!! That's what it's called, I couldn't for the life if me remember lol. Yeah that's what I mean it should have been more difficult to remove
@@jammydodger222Xxd not sure if it is a port
i am not a native speaker of english
@@IrrieldeCZ I'm pretty sure that is what it's called, if not that's what I'm calling it now
Wow, COD Ghosts is quite litterally one of the longest COD campaigns. That point was weird.
I see deus ex I click
I've been going around asking people what their most disappointing game of 2016 was. This one was mine, and this video perfectly describes why, lol.
Good video man, agree with you.
Surprised you have so few views, its definitivle the only real critical look at Mankind Divided i saw on youtube, and lets not even fucking talk about the gaming media and its pathetic cover of this game.
I'd love to know your thoughts about games making compromises on graphics for scale now with games like red dead redemption 2 being released.
Wait. Hold the phone! You liked HR better than MD? I don’t see how that is possible considering all your criticisms about MD apply to HR. I mean literally all of them. Let me ask you a question. Did you play the OG Deus Ex before HR came out? And if you did, were you into it? Answering no to one of those questions is the only reason that I can see someone liking HR, and liking it more than Mankind Divided. I mean HR was such a disappointment. It literally inverted every design decision the OG Deus Ex ever made.
Pretty much summed up my thoughts why I love and hate this game. The gameplay and large hub area and music are indeed very, VERY good, but everything else just kills so much of that enjoyment for me. The story is boring and forgettable. The characters you meet are mostly dull and pointless. The micro-transactions, while not a huge problem, should not be in the game. Worst of all, the ending just feels so hollow, like very little was accomplished.
And as you said, the stuff you want more of isn't as fleshed out and expansive enough for it to feel the least bit satisfying. Mankind Divided truly feels like an incomplete game, which is the best for me to sum this game in a nutshell. It is indeed incomplete because of Square Enix's meddling.
Also, I couldn't agree more about the whole novel bit to fully appreciate the game's story and characters within it. Novels shouldn't have to be read to enjoy the plot and narrative. Those details should already be in the game. I understand they can't fit everything in a game due to time and space constraints, but they should at least put the more important details in and have the minor stuff they couldn't add in the novel for those wanting to understand the story more thoroughly.
At the very least, they should include a DLC option of being able to read the novels that are tied to the game that you can read from the game's content menu so you read it on the side for more info and still be able to play the game when done doing that.
The only thing I'd disagree with there is 'very little was accomplished' I liked the way they wove the choice into the story that whatever happens the Illuminati win a little, but if you've played the game well you do feel as though you've struck a blow and made a difference. You prevented aug terrorists from killing a bunch of people, and they'll be around to spread the story of who saved them, you've struck a blow and feel like you've stopped the decline for the moment and this is established with the use of the end credits which contain elements of DXHR's theme 'Icarus' which shows that the Golden Age represented in that game is not entirely lost and also that the struggle, doing what is right, has a beauty purpose and meaning all on its own.
I totally agree. It could have been a GREAT game. Instead it's a wasted opportunity... :(
Andrea Roversi It was great, you moron. Look at the gameplay. It's replayable as fuck, and the entire hub is incredibly dense. Sure, It's not colossal, like Skyrim or Fallout 4, but it's literally a miniature city. It's got tons of side missions, the game has WAY more depth than any of those shallow open world games. Plus, despite the potential discontinuation of the series, they helped it tie in with the original Deus ex story.
Mankind divided is a textbook example of quality over quantity. It's sad that all these autists have shit on this game for it's length. You're supposed to replay it, hence the inclusion of NG+
Chill out, man. It's only MY opinion.
And I played the game 2 times entirely, so I know what I'm talking about.
IconOfGin To be perfectly honest, as much as I'll agree, I also think it would've been cool to return to Prague after the main story finishes, so you can mess around without worrying about the narrative anymore.
I don't think you need to worry about red dead. Rockstar is pretty skilled at making great games
Yea I think red dead will be pretty good
If I were to rank the Deus Ex game, I would obviously put Deus Ex (2000) first. I mean that was magic in a bottle and is in a league of its own. So, what I really mean is ranking the sequels. Invisible War is definitely the best despite its faults. Mankind Divided is second. The absolute worst was Human Revolution which was like the anti-Deus Ex. That development team did not get Deus Ex at all. It wasn’t even a real immersive sim and its story was awful because it lacked any subtlety. I mean Mankind Divided had the same problem with hitting you over the head with “mechanical apartheid.” But at least that game was fun and a real immersive sim. Human Revolution had bad linear level design, your choices didn’t matter, and was such a disappointment compared to even IW. It did have good visual design though. Yet, it was uninteresting and antithetical to what made the OG Deus Ex special.
Personally I didn't like this game. Sure, the shooting was fun but the story was a bit strange. I hated the ending. Maybe just because I'm really bad at the game but the last boss was crazy hard. And honestly, you can find a thing that kills the boss just like that??? Yeah it's easier if you can't finish the boss but seriously that's just so lazy
My first Deus Ex game was Human Revolution. For the Wii U. That port was actually quite enjoyable, and didn't fuck up GamePad functionality. Pretty sweet; played it several times.
As for the game itself, I loved the narratives, though some of the augments were dumb. The locations were always interesting, and I never minded the boss fights (because I had a guide).
When it came to Mankind Divided, I was pretty disappointed in it; the locations and quests just felt duller, and the game wasn't as jam-packed with content. However, I enjoyed pretty much all of the augments. Haven't touched the game since a few days after purchase (and I never finished it to begin with), so my memory's a bit hazy.
I did go back and try the original Deus Ex, but it's aged far too much for me to like it. Meh.
My favourite Deus Ex game would be Human Revolution with Mankind Divided's augments, by far.
This game could have been epic, but sadly it was fucked up by stupid and greedy decisions.
blatant lies from Sean Murray is what killed no man's sky...
Right, lies cause hype which enhances disappointment when the game turns out to be shit. But hype and disappointment aside it was still shit, same story with Cyberpunk.
Didnt like Mankind Divided, felt too slow and too disjointed compared to Human Revolution and and OG Deus Ex.
its really exhausting to listen to someone speak for 50 minutes when they are constantly upset and ending every sentence in an upward infelcted outrage.
Dreamfall Chapters craps on this game so hard. Storyline, Gameplay and Soundtrack included.
the racial narrative is getting tired. It saturates art to a point that is has become boring and banal. it's not interesting, original or insightful. Can we stop beating this obnoxious trope of a dead horse.
Samuel Carlson it is fine as long if it is done well.
like with the order (but at least the criticism was thankfully negative) you completely IGNORE the basic IDIOCITY of the premise.
while in the Order, being "magic" fantasy, can be as idiotic and childish as possible (after all fantasy is kinda for that).
this is Sci Fi, and even worse CYBERPUNK.
a genre built on politics and "believable premise".
the cyber-apartheid? bullshit. unbelievable. impossible.
why? Cybernetics aren't a genetic/social definition. the "social" definition of cyber-ware is based on it's intrinsic economical value...
cybernetics aren't even a religion, but basically IT'S A PRODUCT. as of now, in reality, the industries holds huge political power, in the future it will only go worse, NO COUNTRY EVER (unless a theocracy based dictatorship in a less economically strong country) would EVER apartheid something that means MONEY.
Cyberware are pretty much limbs made of I-phones. not socio-cultural diversity. a product that make you more "expensive" and more "controllable"...
this premise is an idiotic attempt to try to be socially and politically relevant from people THAT DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE HELL THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT...the same people that make Communist propaganda of "1%" the main theme of "Thief reboot"...
or how cyberware made you a "abortist/lesbian/tattoo-ist" in Human Revolution.
the game also do not really look that good. graphically is rather underwhelming and "plastic" looking, the art style is rather out of place and unrealistic, animations are bad (facial animations are worse than some PS3 games...even some PS2 games have better facial animations...), gameplay looks very rigid (as the game before)
the only true positive is that is uses a very colorful palette compared to the past gaming generation "trendy" criticism, but now every game uses the very same colorful palette and presentation, so it's pretty much the same derivative situation that will be criticized in the future because it's a "standard".
you also act as Final Fantasy 15 and Battlefield 1 wasn't out this year, especially final fantasy 15 that IS the most advanced game technologically out there, and is also one of the more complex game aesthetically speaking.
the obvious fanboy-ism and positive prejudice to this title makes you very biased.
only expecting a game generate hype, actually only knowing a game is being produced generate hype... and not looking up anything only worsen that hype (as your expectations aren't defined on actual information and realistic expectations)
and after hyping something up so much a person is compelled to have a positive opinion to the product. our brain hates being "wrong" about something. it's why most games now are hated by default(on weird premises or JOKES) or the "best-est" thing ever(for no bloody reason, or again, for JOKES).
pretty much ignorant "belly" criticism.
BTW. I know you will not read this comment...it's always simpler to ignore criticism.
Guess again. Got a few things.
1. The premise is certainly very "out there" in terms of realism (can't imagine a world where Golum City can be built between now and 2027), but it's one I can suspend my disbelief for. Two years is a short time between a huge massacre caused by augmented humans from around the world and the start of this game, and I highly doubt anyone except for a select few would be welcoming to them. Like I said, would you want to be anywhere near them? And the game establishes that the Czech Republic has elected a government with a hardline approach to augmented civilians, but I did wish the game explored the theme more through mechanics, as I have said in the video.
2. I said that the game is "one of" the best looking games of the year despite facial animations being the worst aspect of the technology (except for the loading times which I admit I missed out on). I normally take into account the art design, direction, and technology as a whole. It is rather subjective, but I am not discounting other games that are indeed more technologically advanced (like FFXV as you said yourself).
3. You seem to completely miss the point of the first 30 minutes where I criticised the game to no end. The overarching narrative is what drives the game forward and is a huge aspect of the game, and I essentially said why it is objectively broken. I hated it, the narrative was one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game because it was simple and knew it's limitations (bullshit ending and boss fights aside).
4. I normally go into games wanting to like it, after all I spent money on the product and to see it be trash makes me hate myself. It happened with Colonial Marines, Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires (doubly so since it's one of my favourite franchises of all time), and of course The Order: 1886. If I think a game is crap, I'll say it is crap while acknowledging some of the more positive aspects and vice versa.
5. Yeah, Thief was hot garbage.
If a game is zero star to you, then it is a zero star game. If a game is a five star game to you, then it is a five star game. Absolutely nothing wrong with that,
1)
suspension of disbelief is partially a cop-out. mainly because it's totally subjective to what you can "suspend".
in fact "suspension of disbelief" is a "mechanic" that our brain uses to enjoy a narrative without continuously guessing if the more obvious impossible elements are possible (at the moment. subsequent analysis on something).
for example it's "suspension of disbelief" never guessing why there aren't kids on the game's streets, why there are few hundreds people visible and not the THOUSANDS of people that would live in the game setting, and why nobody ever have a realistic hysterical reaction to violent situations.
the technological show is not realistic (for example Cyberware should not be physically rejected by the organism, we ALREADY have a huge medical documentation on the topic of using artificial materials inside the body, there could be infections and various conditions, but not physical rejection), and most of the "technology" is underused and "not tactical", but that's what Suspension of Disbelief is already ignoring... but main plot elements?
also, Guns Regulation Laws.
even if many countries have leaders strongly against the unrestricted circulation of guns, gun sales and presence in the world is constantly rising, and gun(and similar) development is the FIRST FOCUS of technological production and research.
and guns are BUILT for killing, while Cyberware can just be a way to give an arm-less person new arms...
or even cure senile dementia or other "conditions"
2)
I think the graphics are rather "standard-ish".
sure, you could argue that today "standard graphics" are rather amazing and near photo realistic, or can express much better art expression (that somehow became more and more standardized and less original...) and you would be 100% right.
today gaming technology is amazing... but also it's "excellence" became more and more complex.
3)
you did criticized some part of the narrative, but you criticized the structure of the narrative, not the narrative itself. you lamented that some characters aren't interesting, and that some character arcs are much more interesting yet completely rushed and mostly ignored by the narrative structure.
that's surely true, but the narrative problem is MUCH more complex than that. it lack understanding of society as a structure made by human people, and it defines complex social issues ignoring the moral/cultural/religious/economical influences of those issues.
it pretty much do not consider humans as humans, but as blank "roles", programmed to be "racist" or "victims".
just like Human Revolution, making "cyberpeople" an allegory without any analysis of the structure of the world is just a cop-out. a cyborg is not a feminist, a transexual, an physical phenotype or a religious member. and those things are COMPLETELY different between each other in any case...
so the premise of the world makes everything in the world "bad"...it's just a "X-man" comic book without the social relevance.
4)
I instead try to analyse games as neutral as possible. I try to ignore even what my own taste are like. it's very possible that I find many games "fun" and I enjoy them, but they aren't defined by this in my analysis.
for example I loved Binary Domain, but the gameplay IS flawed. I loved Vanquish, but the game IS unfinished.
of course those are solid titles, more relevant than many "more polished" titles, but they are flawed non-the-less.
also I find important to focus on what the developer wanted to focus, I'll give you an example:
in Bayonetta the story is a "light-narrative" fantasy spectacle, so there is not honesty in analyzing how structured is the story, the focus of the game is obviously something else: the aesthetics and the game-play of the "Combat System"
In the DmC:dmc reboot the focus is obviously the narrative structure (as it takes 1/3 of the game time in a normal play-through), and the narrative structure is NULL, and that's a kind way to say it.
so the gameplay of the combat system and the gameplay in general take a step back.
there is some research on interesting aesthetics(but somehow they censored themselves the more interesting designs...), but they are contrasting the narrative structure of the game so they loose value.
Not sure why, but this comment chain is hidden from public view. Will try to fix that.
I expressed criticism to something, so I guess UA-cam consider me a monster to be censored? :/
that said I hope you manage to make it public. I appreciate enormously the exchange of opinions, the more the better.