The hype has well and truly started: The next game in the Deus Ex series has been announced by SquareEnix.
It’s name is Mankind Divided. And it’s bringing back Adam Jensen, the likeable augmented main character from Deus Ex Human Revolution. I couldn’t be more pleased.
It’s been confirmed for PC, PS4 and Xbox One (not last-gen support which is no surprise) but no release date has been given. It apparently takes place two years after Human Revolution in a society where augmented citizens are starting to push back against their non-augmented oppressors. Apparently, Jensen is part of an Interpol-like organisation that is tasked with tracking down augmented terrorists.
Yes, this is a cinematic trailer but, my God, it looks so damn good (much stabbing, many bloods) and has me hyped for the next game in the series. Hopefully, developer Eidos Montreal have learnt its lesson from Human Revolution and won’t outsource the boss battles like it did originally in Human Revolution, which had to be fixed with the Director’s Cut release.
Fingers crossed, Michael McCann is doing Mankind Divided’s soundtrack, too: His work on Human Revolution is next to brilliant. Update: I just watched the credits at the end of the trailer and McCann is doing the soundtrack on Mankind Divided. Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!
Deus Ex Human Revolution was a game that I loved, apart from the boss fights, that is.
The boss fights were completely out of character compared with the rest of the game, and we all know why: The boss battles were outsourced to another developer.
Now, SquareEnix, DXHR’s publisher, is making amends with the Director’s Cut edition, which promises to offer better graphics, includes the enjoyable Missing Link DLC (which makes more sense being incorporated into the main game rather than making you play it once you’d finished the story) and improved boss battles which let you complete them the way you want, rather than be forced to face off against other augmented characters front on. If you want to hack your way through it, you can. If you want to take them out all-guns blazing, you can, it seems.
You can find more information about The DIrector’s Cut here but nicely, SquiareEnix has a number of ways you can buy the new game: if you don’t own Human Revolution at all, it’ll cost you £12.99/€19.99/$US19.99; if you own the game but no DLC it’ll set you back £6.99/€7.99/$9.99; if you own the game and the Missing Link DLC it’ll cost you £3.49/€3.99/$4.99. Seems pretty good value, actually, although I’m not sure how much that is in New Zealand dollars (less than $10 perhaps if you own the game and Missing Link DLC?)
I’ve already got the game on Steam (PC) and Xbox 360 so think I’ll “augment” my Steam version and have another crack.
On today’s gaming chat on Kiwi FM with the fine chap that is called Glenn “Wammo” Williams we did a bit of a round-up of some of the games coming out over the next few months. It’s going to be hard on many gamers wallets, I can tell you. There are also a lot of games coming out before Christmas with the number 3 in them.
I mentioned games like Assassin’s Creed Revelations, Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Uncharted 3, Resistance 3, Skyrim and Gears of War 3 but just now realised I forgot to mention one of the games I’m excited about the most: Batman Arkham City. How could I forget that one? Alzheimer’s maybe?
Xbox 360 meet Samsung monitor
Tonight, I hooked up my Xbox 360 to my Samsung 22-inch monitor so I could play Deus Ex Human Revolution while my wife watched the Grey’s Anatomy/Private Practice. I’ve done it before in the past but thought I’d do it more regularly at the moment given how many games are starting to pile up on my computer desk calling out for me to review them.
Everything worked well – I’ve connected the 360 to the monitor using the DVI connection – but I bought the wrong audio connection (one of those Y-cables with a read and white RCA connection on one end then a 3.5mm connection at the other) as I should have got one with two male/one female connection (to connect my speaker connection to) but got one with three male connection. Doh! I’ll look out for another cable on the weekend as I’d like to be able to connect my headphones to my speakers so I can actually have the volume turned up!
It felt good playing games while the girls watched the evening soaps.
Resistance 3: not like Resistance 2 – and that’s a good thing
I’m playing through Resistance 3 (PlayStation 3) as well and despite only having played a small amount I’m already liking it more than Resistance 2, which to be honest I didn’t really like that much. It plays a lot like Resistance Fall of Man, which I liked a lot, and I like that R3 has bucked the trend of current FPS games and doesn’t have recharging shields for the game’s hero, dishonoured soldier Joe Capelli. Want more health? Find a health pack and use it.
Those of you who have played Resistance 2 will know about Capelli: he was on the same squad as Nathan Hale. If you finished R2 you’ll know what Capelli did and what happened to Hale.
So far I haven’t come across any weapons that haven’t featured in previous Resistance games: the magnum is a personal favourite, especially with its explosive secondary fire, and the auger, which lets you shoot through solid objects without losing the line of sight, is great as well. I’ll play some more this week and give a verdict later on. I hear there is a particularly creepy section involving riding down a dark river on a boat. Creepy …
That’s me for the week. Deus Ex Human Revolution and Resistance 3. Although, Driver San Francisco just arrived today and I hear it’s pretty good. I’d better find some time for that this week as well.
Yes, the game’s called Deus Ex: Human Revolution but I couldn’t help make a little bit of fun out of Glenn “Wammo” Williams’ pronunciation of Deus Ex: it’s OK he hasn’t played any of the games in the series so he’s forgiven!
In today’s gaming segment on the Radio Wammo breakfast on Kiwi FM, we talked about Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which I’m playing through at the moment. I’d so far put about seven hours into it and have hit the game’s first boss fight, the augmented bad guy, Lawrence Barrett, who is proving a bit tougher than I expected: think a man tank who soaks up a lot of bullets and you’ve got Barrett in one.
The thing I like about Deus Ex: Human Revolution is that for the most part you can play it how you want, either stealthily, moving from cover to cover and taking out guards silently, or aggressively, using ranged weapons and your cybernetic augments to inflict as much hurt on foes as possible. Sometimes, you have to do a bit of both.
I’m liking Deus Ex Human Revolution, liking it a lot, and if you get the chance check it out. Check out the video, too.
