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Deus Ex: Mankind Divided's Near-Future Prague is Such an Amazingly Detailed Hub
- Thread starter Alpha Phoenix
- Start date
I think it's well-sized. Large enough to offer a fair amount of content for curious players but not quite too big that it feels overwhelming to explore.
yep really love the hub design especially as a person who lives in Prague for 6 years now, but i am realyl conficted about what they did with the language :-(
... so many "google-translate" level posters , theatre level dubon hobos, hobo-level language on policemen and worst of all russian accents on a lot of them :-(
... so many "google-translate" level posters , theatre level dubon hobos, hobo-level language on policemen and worst of all russian accents on a lot of them :-(
bati
Member
That's actually my problem with it. It has a completely different flow compared to the main missions (which is when the game works best) and yet it takes up like half of the play time if you add all 3 visits together. Ironically, this part in the new Thief (which is pretty much 1:1 to DXMD when it comes to how these two games are structured) was way better than the missions, partly because breaking into people's apartments and looking for secrets actually befits a thief. Prague to me felt like something I had to get out of the way before I could return to the good parts, and it damn near killed the game for me.
Of course the fault lies with me and my completionist nature, but still.
Ah, understandable. I generally don't mind busywork in games, so veering off the beaten path to explore or whatever typically doesn't feel like a detraction to me. (As implied, there are exceptions, such as the daunting task of thoroughly exploring Novigrad in The Witcher 3, which even I eventually cast aside.) The combination of the historical tourism foundation of AssCreed and Ubi's predilection for collectables is why it's probably my favourite series, icon overload and all.
alexanderftw
Banned
I'll have to replay this someday along with Dishonored 2. Stealth games always have the best level design/atmosphere.
texhnolyze
Banned
Oh yes, totally.
And it's even better at night. The lightings are sooo good.
And it's even better at night. The lightings are sooo good.
maximum360
Member
I didn't realize it was dead. Sad. I really enjoyed it. I'm finally now playing the previous game on Xbox One through 360 BC. It's scratching a good itch. At some point I may purchase again with the DLC I didn't get the first time and just take my time to savor it.
General Lee
Member
It's great in terms of being dense and interesting to explore, but I didn't like how the partitioning of the areas was handled, or rather how the game wanted you to juggle between the areas. The poorer part of Prague could've felt a bit more distinct too compared to the latter hub area.
What bothered me most though was that daylight Prague didn't really feel very cyberpunk, or Deus Ex. I think they could've used the night time more. Golem city was much better in terms of cyberpunk design, but it really should've been a second hub rather than a fairly constricted story mission. It's such a pity SE decided to gut the game and force in that stupid microtransaction mode instead.
What bothered me most though was that daylight Prague didn't really feel very cyberpunk, or Deus Ex. I think they could've used the night time more. Golem city was much better in terms of cyberpunk design, but it really should've been a second hub rather than a fairly constricted story mission. It's such a pity SE decided to gut the game and force in that stupid microtransaction mode instead.
It has very high highs and very low lows. Prague's dense, nonlinear design really recaptures the open-ended feeling of the first Deus Ex in a way that is special and unusual. As someone who likes the hubs in these games better than the missions, it was a delight.
But it honestly didn't spark my imagination as much as, say Hengsha from Human Revolution. As others have pointed out, it didn't feel very cyberpunk, especially in the day time. That kind of a grounded, subtle setting would have been a commendable change of pace had Prague been one of two or three hubs. But the fact that it was the entire game made it a tough pill to swallow. Also, as others have pointed out, the fact that it had to be divided into four sections with long load screens felt really antithetical to the immersive open feeling they were striving for.
But it honestly didn't spark my imagination as much as, say Hengsha from Human Revolution. As others have pointed out, it didn't feel very cyberpunk, especially in the day time. That kind of a grounded, subtle setting would have been a commendable change of pace had Prague been one of two or three hubs. But the fact that it was the entire game made it a tough pill to swallow. Also, as others have pointed out, the fact that it had to be divided into four sections with long load screens felt really antithetical to the immersive open feeling they were striving for.
mcwizardry
Member
Definitely one of the best hub-worlds in recent years.
Alpha Phoenix
Member
It's often on sale on Amazon. I think it was worth the original $60, personally.
Psychoward
Banned
You only needed the one connecting jensen's apartment area to the other major area.
Barrel Cannon
Member
Haven't played it yet but Prague itself is a beautiful city as is. You are making want to revisit HR.
Fahzgoolin
Banned
It's this game worth it by itself or should I go through Human Revolutions first?
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Great looking art, but it didn't pull me in at all. I was far more interested in the settings of the first game.
LizardKing
Member
Yeah I'm playing this game right now after being hesitant because of the wom and the game is awesome. I really have no clue why the hell it was bad mouthed as much as it was. It's truly underappreciated.
I'd definitely recommend playing Human Revoultion, but if you are not interested in it, there is actually a pretty nice summary as soon as you start playing Mankind Divided, so you won't miss out in the Story department.
Mankind Divided is definitely worth playing, as it has pretty nice level design and the gameplay is just fantastic. Story is a little on the meh side, but all in all it's still a great package.
I was gonna comment that it's one of the best hubs in recent years, then I tried to think of others and uhh.. I think it might be the GOAT hub tbh. What do you guys prefer over it?
I loved the castle in Suikoden 2 and the Normandy in ME games but in terms of gameplay they have nothing on prague.
I loved the castle in Suikoden 2 and the Normandy in ME games but in terms of gameplay they have nothing on prague.
Yeah I don't think that's a big factor in a quality of such game.
Alpha Phoenix
Member
You're right. I keep forgetting the northern districts are connected.
Not sure what you think that has to do with anything? Prague is VERY good in MD. That entire game's couple of hubs is probably about the size of Novigrad in TW3 in terms of just floorspace, but the verticality and explorabilty of every tiny bit of it....like, the size of the game is not that big, but it was easily a 30-35 hour experience the first time through, and I didn't even scratch the surface when it came to just randomly exploring the whole thing (though I did a fair bit).
Finished this recently, being a big deus ex fan i went into it a bit annoyed knowing it was the only hub. But whilst it is shorter than HR they did an amazing job with the world building here. Some of the finest detail I've seen in a game, and so many things to discover.
At the end of the game I wasn't dissapointed with it at all, everything I'd want from a deus ex.
I loved how the city changed when you come back to it at different times of day, though the last time
Always hoped the timeline would sync up to a full remaster or reimagining of Deus Ex, my favourite game of all time.
At the end of the game I wasn't dissapointed with it at all, everything I'd want from a deus ex.
I loved how the city changed when you come back to it at different times of day, though the last time
during the curfew, as fun as it was having to sneak around the streets (i was doing a no kill run), I was a bit miffed when it only triggered a mission when i was on the opposite side of a map, requiring me to sneak back across the map to a place id just been.
Always hoped the timeline would sync up to a full remaster or reimagining of Deus Ex, my favourite game of all time.
That was my issue with it too, especially in the last quarter of the game where it seemed that every quest began in one district and ended in the other. I got fed up of seeing that same animation of Jensen walking down a tunnel over and over again.
MaddenNFL64
Member
I have a crapton of issues with MD, even as a guy who put in over 90 hours into the game, and loves Deus Ex. MD's story is mediocre at best, the supporting cast is unmemorable, and the game ends way too abruptly. I'll give the game this though; Prague in MD is a well crafted interconnected map. There are endless ways to break into apartments, stores, storage rooms etc. I just wish there were more hubs. Revisiting Prague over and over got old for me.
Good game overall.
Good game overall.
Yeah took me 33 hours, it's more than Human Revolution. To be honest though, those damn trains. I don't have SSD so the train rides took a big chunk of game time =D
I H8 Memes
Member
Greatly detailed but far too small for a game like this. Still had to load between halves of the city.
This game needs to be set in 1 city. All those side areas do is take away resources from building a better main city. Loading going in/out of buildings only. Better combat AI and way better NPC AI. Residents need to be able to call into police and the police need to respond to bodies that are found/ take them away. The more police that get killed by the player the more police get more aggressive with citizens and in a tighter patrol around the police station area of the city. I'd go all in. Humans attacking augs or vice very randomly then massively depending on game choices. Too many AI challenges for current gaming I suspect. We should be there but we arent because few studios put NPC and enemy AI as their design focus.
The art design of nearly everything about the game is so incredible that it seems entirely plausible. I could absolutely seeing the fashion of these last 2 games being something people would wear.
This game needs to be set in 1 city. All those side areas do is take away resources from building a better main city. Loading going in/out of buildings only. Better combat AI and way better NPC AI. Residents need to be able to call into police and the police need to respond to bodies that are found/ take them away. The more police that get killed by the player the more police get more aggressive with citizens and in a tighter patrol around the police station area of the city. I'd go all in. Humans attacking augs or vice very randomly then massively depending on game choices. Too many AI challenges for current gaming I suspect. We should be there but we arent because few studios put NPC and enemy AI as their design focus.
The art design of nearly everything about the game is so incredible that it seems entirely plausible. I could absolutely seeing the fashion of these last 2 games being something people would wear.
Freshmaker
I am Korean.
You need them, but you also get treated to Jensen walking down the tunnels alone loading screens once they shut the train service down.
What? Loading going in and out of buildings would be 100 times worse than what we have (Which is loading the two different halves). While everyone knows the load times were WAY too long, it still meant within each section you have full immersive reign to sneak into places a million ways, break out windows and go in, etc. That would all be lost if buildings were separate loads. I just don't think losing the side mission areas would add much, maybe they add another say, half of one of the current areas in size to Prague, but you'd lose all the diversity the mission zones added.
Alpha Phoenix
Member
If you're the explorer type, you could easily break 10-15+ hours without advancing to Golem. However, keep in mind that certain quests and locations won't be available until after you're back from Golem. For me, Prague #2 is where the game really shines, because then you have the entire map available for exploration.
BLUElightCory
Member
I think you're gonna love Prey when you get around to it.
Exactly. Separating interiors and exteriors is the quickest way of murdering the game. At that point you may just call it sth else, not Deus Ex.
i love this game. im on my 3rd full playthrough, new game + (trying to max out everything). everytime i play this game i discover something new. someplace i havent been, some corner i havent explored. there are times where there could be up to 5 different ways to entire a building, its crazy.
ps: Anyone play the recent DLC "A Criminal Past"? i did not expect it to be that deep, it felt like a 3rd of the game was added to MD.
ps: Anyone play the recent DLC "A Criminal Past"? i did not expect it to be that deep, it felt like a 3rd of the game was added to MD.
I H8 Memes
Member
You had to load to go into buildings in Detroit in Human Revolution.
This game just needs to be bigger in scope. Bigger city. I doubt the team that had to split Prague in half could manage both a bigger no-split city and fully enter-able buildings. Especially if you do it right and put your materials out to the public and crowd source apartment designs in exchange for an in game rewards. Now you have fully designed apartment buildings. With doors that work this time.
CertifiedFP
Member
Oh no, something far more sinister.
IIRC, just out of frame in that screenshot there's the VersaLife logo at the bottom of the poster and it's an ad for some PILLS.
Remember kids, don't do drugs, but do get doped up on Big Pharma's PILLS.
I think it's a huge factor if every text everywhere sounds like random words mashed together by a 10 year old who got a bit crazy with Google Translate.
Cheever
Member
If it was called New Orleans, then there'd be a camp of people saying how it wasn't like the real NOLA. With a fictionalized version more features could be modified.
Other games used New Orleans --
Infamous 2 called it "New Marais"
http://www.gameinformer.com/games/infamous_2/b/ps3/archive/2010/06/18/creating-new-marais-city-design-in-infamous-2.aspx
https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2011/02/recreating-the-world-of-new-orleans-in-infamous-2.html
Assassin's Creed Liberation --
http://metro.co.uk/2012/11/02/assassins-creed-iii-liberation-review-down-in-louisiana-612318/
Fun trivia...
- Infamous' first city was "Empire City" Their second city was "New Marais"
- Mafia's second city was "Empire Bay" Their third city had a district internally called "West Marais" (completely coincidental)
Which is one of many reasons why the original Deus Ex remains a decidedly superior Deus Ex title and game in general.
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