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Recent reviews by Gregio

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1 person found this review helpful
150.5 hrs on record (47.0 hrs at review time)
As I did not have access to the PSP version, I can't really compare to that, so my comments will be related to the PS1 version.

In a nutshell, I'd say I found the game to be quite a bit easier than my first playthroughs of the original, but a lot more annoying. And that's considering in my very first playthrough, an enemy stole Aloser's revivify, so I went the whole game without.

Pros:
- The voice acting is quite good, though very wordy and I was often skipping dialog once I'd read it later on.
- The new classes (compared to PS1) were fun, though I found the more free use of heals for example trivialized some early encounters, i.e. too many characters could heal in a pinch.
- I played through the C route and the first CODA so far and I appreciate the new story additions.
- The soundtrack is phenomenal, but it was that already, just improved in quality.
- For those unfamiliar with the original, the depth of class, gear and squad customization are sure to be a big plus, but it was mostly what I expected as a player of the old one.

Cons:
- The buff cards. A thousand times the buff cards. Atrocious. They clutter the game screen, bosses are unfairly buffed later in the game by just coming with a full set of cards, and get some 2/3 cards on the right character and a whole battle becomes trivialized anyways.
- Archers. What have you done to archers? Yes, I understand archers were very powerful in the original, but this goes too far in the other direction. The simple existence of equipment restrictions already makes it so you can't plop a bow on everyone so why nerf arrows so hard?
- Level sync/cap. For using the wheel of time and doing the other timelines, I understand level syncing, but the constant level caps per chapter and the syncs toward the end of the game are just frustrating. A solid tactic in most RPGs has always been to go and overlevel if you're facing some difficulties and this just prevents that. It doesn't even prevent you from becoming overpowered anyways since you can farm permanent buffs easily later on, just takes a different kind of grinding than grinding for levels.
- The chance of hitting attacks going for a more RNG feel with the activation of passives is kind of annoying and reduces the value of stats. No more AGI/DEX Haborym parrying everything but magic.
- The fact that there are multiple levels of spells instead of simply scaling off your stats means you don't really feel like your character is becoming more powerful, you're simply buying better gear. The AoE range being dependent on the equipped spell level rather than your stats, or (what I hoped for) something you can choose before you cast also restricts your options.
- Tankiness. Battles take far too long because of the availability of heals and generally bigger HP pools, even sped up, and the buff cards don't help. No one likes bullet sponges.

Conclusion: The game is still fantastic. For anyone who hasn't played the original, I can easily recommend getting this for the fantastic story. The graphics are much nicer, and the spells look alright, though I prefer the pixel style of before rather than the current particles based effects.
For those who have played the original (and maybe the PSP version) this is a much harder sell. This is basically not the same game, the gameplay changes are too big and, in my opinion, few of them are for the better.
If you're new to Tactics Ogre, buy the game. If you aren't, buy it on (a deep) sale.
Posted February 26, 2023.
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1 person found this review helpful
5.4 hrs on record
Can't decide if I like it or not.
I started playing it but it has a really slow start and I lost interest. The plot is cool, if somewhat generic, but I'm sure it's one of those things that makes more sense 40 hours in and I didn't get that far.

Combat was alright, but the animations are a little janky and as far as I got with the sidequests and such, it feels like MMO fetch quests in a single player game.
Posted November 24, 2021.
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3 people found this review helpful
45.1 hrs on record (34.1 hrs at review time)
DRM that freaks out when your internet turns off and shady last minute addition of microtransactions are bad. Always.

Even still, Mankind Divided is a great game.

Now, for a more in-depth review, spoilers may follow.


- The world and maps are excellent and well designed, most areas have multiple points of entry, information that can be bought for points of interest, and now on my second playthrough, mini-stories ongoing if you butt into people's lives (and houses).


- The story is also great, but far less interesting than Human Revolution, it's well written, but it's not unpredictable or surprising at any point, you can see what's coming from miles away, and the ending, well, more on that later.


- The augments and guns play well, after a few upgrades to your staple guns and augs after the initial phase of the game and it's business as usual with a couple fun new toys, though the Tesla often misses. More love for playstyles is nice, such as the Typhoon being usable with non-lethal ammo, though I still dislike that, no matter what, you get more experience for being merciful, always. It's not a huge difference, but it's there.


- Stability of the game, up until the August 2nd patch, I had a huge game breaking issue of 100% crash chances on the subway in Mission 14. It has since been patched and I've encountered no further game breaking bugs. Generally the game performs very well, only sometimes dipping under 60fps in crowded areas, and never under 30 for me, though I have a powerful system.


- Graphics are not a huge deal for me, but, that said, this game is beautiful. It really is. Well done.


- Story, Part 2, Spoilers will follow, you've been warned.
- - The game feels like it's been cut short for the sake of selling DLC. It's story is nowhere near as long as Human Revolution. It's ending sequence is the equivalent of dealing with the last Detroit mission in HR and hearing about Panchea on TV, but only being able to go there on the next game or DLC.
All the suspense it's built up, Adam's memories have clearly been altered, or perhaps even created, maybe this isn't even the real Adam, many interesting twists you can optionally discover by extensive exploration and following the Orlov side mission with Sarif, it just doesn't matter, because his role as a plant for the Illuminati to catch Janus, however it works, was designed as not part of the main game, most likely sold as DLC in the following months or whenever the next Deus Ex game comes out.
Yes, Mankind Divided is still tens of hours long, and the story it does tell is well told for the most part, but compared to it's predecessor, whose DLC was mostly extra information to the story, not it's continuation, it fails. If HR ended when you took out the three mercenaries that attacked Sarif industries, would it have been as good a game? Certainly not.



TL;DR
A great game, spoiled by shady business practices and which feels like it was cut in pieces to sell DLC.

It's still great, and I will probably buy the DLC to finish the story so I would recommend this game, but if you are a more patient person than me, buy the Director's Cut or GOTY edition later down the line and get the full, patched experience.
Posted September 6, 2016. Last edited September 6, 2016.
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1 person found this review helpful
10.0 hrs on record (7.4 hrs at review time)
Great game, like old RPGs, but with a much faster pace and less japanese cliches. The story is solid and relatively fast, it's good enough that it makes you wish for a sequel in the same universe, if not with the same characters.
Posted February 23, 2014.
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Showing 1-4 of 4 entries