"It's A Video Game!" - Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Next up for the month is a return to something cool. Back in 2011, Deus Ex: Human Revolution was released. It was a first-person shooter/stealth RPG that was heavily influenced by cyberpunk. Imagine someone mixes Robocop, Blade Runner, and a few other sci-fi properties together. I heard good things about it and tried it out one day. I’ve tried it out a few more times since then.  I even have it’s predecessor/sequel, Deus Ex, on my computer. If I had a good game controller to play the thing, I’d be set. A couple of years ago, I talked about DE: HR here and I had good things to say about it.

Around the time of my review, I heard that a sequel was finally coming down the line. Of course, I was hyped.  Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was eventually released in August of 2016. I didn’t get to play it until a couple of weeks ago. It takes place two years after the events of Human Revolution. At the end of that game, the Illuminati (yes, The Illuminati) wanted to halt human progress, so they created software to cause all augmented people to go mad. The event was known as the “Aug Incident.” Don’t get it mixed up with Marvel Netflix’s “Incident.” You (as Adam Jensen) were able to stop them before they did any more damage. Afterwards, something happens and you’re out of commission.

The game picks up with Adam two years later. Because of the Incident, Augs are now outcasts to society and treated like crap. Adam is now working for Interpol in Prague. He’s also secretly working for the Juggernaut Collective, a hacking group who’s wants to take down the Illuminati. When a terrorist bomb goes off in Prague, Adam has to do what he can in finding the true culprits. Not only do you have to deal with anti-Aug problems, you also got Augs stirring up trouble. Adam also has to deal with things related to some new upgrades he mysteriously gotten to his body.

Favorites - Ten Favorite Prequels

Prequels tend to get a bad rep, don’t they? I guess I can’t blame folk for not liking prequels. There are some that are pretty bad. They tend to be of low quality and not capture what the original was all about. I guess I can say the same thing about reboots, but that’s a list for another time. Today, I’ll be talking about my ten favorite prequels. Why ten? Well, there aren't that many good ones out there.  I won’t be including reboots like Batman Begins and Casino Royale on here simply because they aren’t prequels. I’ve see some lists include them and that’s pretty annoying. Now, there are some I’ll include that are sort of reboots, but they are meant to be prequels.

10. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 

ToD is probably my least favorite of the Indiana Jones Foursome. It’s down there with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. While it’s not my favorite, it has its moments. Of course, Harrison Ford rules any role he’s in. Short Pack was cool. It also had some nice quotes (“You betrayed Shiva!”)

9. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith 

Yes, I know. It’s a general fact that the Star Wars prequels suck. Luckily, I’m not a general person. There were good things and bad things in those movies. ROTS was the best of the three prequels. It helped set up things in the original trilogy and isn’t a bad movie in of itself. It’s far from perfect but I do like it more than the other two prequels. I will say that the Clone War TV series (I’ll get to it later) did more to expand the universe than the prequels did.

"It's A Video Game!" - Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Since I’ve looked at the Mass Effect Trilogy, I wondered what other games I could talk about. Then, I remembered a game called Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Now, I had sort of heard about the Deus Ex series before I found out about the game. I just never got to play any of them. Back in 2012, I was looking for games to try out and I heard that Deus Ex was a good one. So, I got it at a Gamestop and tried it out. What did I think? Well, I’m writing about it, so you know I think good things about this game.

For those who don’t know, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is actually a prequel to the original Deus Ex. It’s a first-person- shooter/stealth RPG that’s heavily influenced by cyberpunk.  The game also carries also carries a noir detective feel. It’s like someone decided to mix Blade Runner and Metal Gear Solid with elements of Robocop. It takes place in the “futuristic” year of 2027 and it’s primarily set in Detroit, Michigan. The story covers a bunch of topics that’ll talk about below.

In the game, you play as Adam Jensen, the head of security of Sarif Industries (as well as a nice Batman impersonator). Sarif is one of the leading companies that specialize in cybernetic augmentation. One night, it gets attacked by mercenaries and Jensen is seriously injured to the point of death. He’s brought back to the land of the living sporting a heavily augmented body. The main thrust of the story is figuring out who attacked the company. Also, you’ll have to deal with certain situations the pop up every now and then.