Dues Ex: Mankind Divided – Initial Impressions

The first thing I noticed when jumping into Deus Ex Mankind Divided, after just finishing a playthrough of Human Revolution, especially on the Xbox One, is that it’s not as good looking as I hoped. I was hoping for smoother frame-rates and crisper textures. Maybe its the whole concept that you’re looking through augmented eyes, and a lot of things are outlined, that takes away from the real-world views, but it just doesn’t appear to be that much of a step up over its predecessor, from 5 years ago; could be the Xbox One’s fault too.

Some of the larger open areas I did find frame-rate droppage, dipping below 30fps and holding me back from running ahead. The load times, if you die, or load a save, can also be cumbersome. Transitioning between city hubs is not as bad, as the game hides the loading by showing you riding the train.

The rest of the game thus far feels very much like Deus Ex. The city is a boiling pot of Humans who fear the Augs. There are separate entrances for Augs on the train, and police will perform random identification checks on you in the street. And at all times you feel watched and judged for being different. There are a lot of different side-missions to tackle, and these are refreshingly detailed and lengthy in design.

PS4/ Journey / Uncharted: Nathan Drake Collection

I recently purchased a PS4 and renewed my PSN account. The reasons for this are twofold: firstly, so I can own a PS4, so that I can play some the Sony exclusives coming out (The Last Guardian, Uncharted 4, Horizon-Zero Dawn), and secondly, in November for the Extra Life campaign, I’ll be hosting a simulcast of God of War. Both my girlfriend and I will be racing through it to see who can complete it first. Haven’t quite figured out the logistics yet of capturing both streams, but it’ll likely involve the backwards compatible PS3 and the PS Now version on the PS4 or PC. Unless I can gather up a 2^nd capture card. Luckily I got two months to worry about it.

With the PS4 I purchased the Nathan Drake Collection (previously I had played all 3 on the PS3, but it will be good to play through them again before I play #4), the new Killzone, and through the PSN monthly free games, finally got the chance to play Journey.

Journey was a lot of fun to play through. Not at all complicated, but very good looking with lovely, lonely scenery and sand physics. It’s also quite the emotional trek put to a fantastic score. Sitting in at just 2hrs to beat, I expect I’ll play through this game a few times.

GTA: V / The Division

In multiplayer/ Co-op, with Illestrader, we’ve been playing a lot more GTA V and The Division recently. In anticipation and preparation of Extra-Life, I’ve been recording my footage and recording all the audio, to perfect all the settings. So I might splice together some gameplay clips. Make a Youtube thing of it. I had fun putting together the Ben-Hur Achievement Hunt, so this will just be more practice.

GTA V can be, at times, a very frustrating game to play Online. A lot of the time trying to figure out the little intricacies of the new mechanics, like VIP, and CEO, and then only realizing that this makes you a target for everyone else, and the rest of the time sitting in lobbies waiting for the host to start the game, while they wait 5 minutes for the 16^th out of 16 person to join, when 15 is FINE!. The stunt races have been a blast though.

Free Weekends – Titan-Fall 2 Tech Test, Forza 6, and Battlefield 1 Open Beta

Over the past few weekends I’ve been lucky enough to get to play some games for free (Forza 6), and those that have not been released yet (Titan-Fall 2 and Battlefiled 1).

Forza 6 was a lot of fun over the weekend. The game is, as expected, gorgeous, and the rain effects and puddles are splendid. I like the way the campaign is structured now, where it jumps around from tier to tier, showing off different types of cars and years and game modes, so that it doesn’t get stale. I’m holding out for Forza Horizons 3 though. If I did get it, I’d probably waste all my time in the photo mode.

In-Game Photo Mode :3

Titan-Fall 2 Tech Test was a lot of fun to play. I really like the grappling hook, and the new game mode, Bounty Hunt, really mixes up the gameplay. The titan’s this time around take a while longer to spawn, and don’t seem to last very long at all when you’re piloting them. Left to their own devices on Guard or Follow though, and they seem to last a good while longer. Maybe I’m just too aggressive when I pilot them, thinking I’m invincible.

Battlefield 1 is a gorgeous game to behold, and sadly only one map was made available during the beta. The WW1 theme is an interesting setting. Lots of tracer bullets and the mortars and tank shells take huge gouges out of the earth. More often than not, I’d find myself climbing out of sand craters. The level of destruction is so obvious at the end of the match, but so subtle throughout, you’d think that the map actually started ruined. It’s a nice touch. It feels a lot like Star Wars Battlefront, but then again, it should: same engine, same developer. I’m excited for what the campaign has in store.

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Games that have taken a seat on the back burner are Just Cause 3, and Homefront, The Revolution – although, Homefront received a huge update, fixing hundreds of issues, notably graphics and loading, so I should jump back in since those were the issues that plagued my earlier experience.

-iRogan