Running Blog: My 'Detroit: Become Human' Experience - Entry Three

ENTRY THREE

Welcome back to my running blog about my experience with the interactive thriller "Detroit: Become Human" on Playstation 4. This is a continuation of my two previous blogs, which can be read here (Entry One) and here (Entry Two).

Today, we begin with an ominous warning from the Home Screen A.I., who, as I selected "Continue" from the menu, abruptly cautioned, "Wait! Are you sure you want to continue? Maybe we should leave things as they are..." The game prompted me to select "Yes" or "No." I selected "Yes" and the game booted up, despite my newfound uneasiness.

MAJOR SPOILERS for "Detroit: Become Human" to follow.

When last we left the futuristic Motor City...

• Kara has been dead since the second chapter I played with her. Whoops.
• Marcus led a violent protest in Capitol Park. He followed up by leading an android march through the streets. The so-called Freedom March was met with great resistance from SWAT forces, forcing Markus and his army to flee for safety. Many androids were destroyed by the furious firestorm of bullets that day, and now Markus must decide how to proceed in his quest for equality.
• Connor and Anderson met with a man named Kamski, the founder of CyberLife. Connor's reluctance to obey orders allowed Kamski to see that CyberLife is, itself, deviant. Kamski also withheld valuable information about how to combat the deviance from Connor, although he did mention that he always leaves "an escape plan" in all of his work.

Chapter 23: Last Chance, Connor - Connor

Overview: Connor awakens in a snow-covered Zen Garden. He speaks with Amanda, whose relationship status has been downgraded to "distrusted" after the messy situation at Kamski's place. I had Connor ask Amanda about the picture he saw in Chapter 21 - the picture that showed Amanda and Kamski together, and which informed me that Amanda died a year ago. We learn that Connor is aware that Amanda is dead - and that Kamski created this ANDROID version of Amanda, his educational mentor, as a sign of familiarity. Amanda, who we now know is an android representation of a once-living person, also indicates that Kamski created the Zen Garden, although she does not specify what its function is. She berates Connor for not having succeeded with his mission. The world is on the verge of war, she says, and Connor is the only one who can stop it. He must find and take care of the deviant situation - and fast.

Back at the police station, Anderson and Connor have been taken off of the case. The FBI will be taking over, Anderson is getting sent back to Homicide and Connor will be sent back to CyberLife and deactivated. With some quick thinking by Anderson, Connor was able to break into the evidence lab to see if he could piece some of the clues back together. In the lab were many of the pieces of evidence the P.D. has gathered from Anderson and Connor's previous investigations, including some random objects like the encrypted diary from the pigeon deviant (Chapter 12), a clip of Markus' speech at Stratford Tower (Chapter 18) and the bodies of three of the destroyed deviants I'd encountered - Daniel (Chapter 1); the android who was apprehended and eventually killed Original Connor (Chapters 5 and 8); and Simon, the Jericho resident who was left behind by Markus and killed by cops on the rooftop (Chapter 19). If Connor could quickly piece together where the remaining deviants were hiding, he and Anderson might be able to stop the impending civil war for good...

Choices: Nobody buts Connor in a corner! Because Anderson had reluctantly become friends with Connor throughout the story, he decided to give this thing one last shot. Connor and Anderson aren't going down without a fight...

• Anderson created a diversion so Connor could sneak into the evidence lab.
• Connor ignored a guy named Gavin, who has shown up in a few other chapters - he's anti-android and tried to pick a fight with Connor before accessing the evidence lab.
• * Based on decisions in previous chapters, had access to the following items:
• The Attic Android that killed Original Connor
• Daniel, the android who was holding the little girl hostage in the first chapter and was ultimately killed
• Simon, the prominent member of Jericho, who was killed on the rooftop
• The encrypted diary from the Pigeon Android
• A statue belonging to the owner of the Attic Android
• A recording of Markus' broadcast
• Used spare parts from the Attic Android to reactivate Daniel
• Daniel was upset at Connor for lying to him and therefore refused to help in the investigation
• Deactivated Daniel
• Used spare parts from Daniel to reactivate Simon
• Simon could not see but did not recognize Connor's voice and therefore refused to help in the investigation
• Used the recording of Markus to mimic his voice, thereby allowing Connor to trick Simon into divulging the location of Jericho
• Defeated and incapacitated Gavin when he entered the evidence lab and tried to attack Connor.

Breakdown: It was relatively evident in this chapter that the story is trying to steer me one way - it wants Anderson and Connor to work together to solve the deviant problem. At one point, I accidentally chose a dialogue option that had Connor insist that all androids be deactivated, which temporarily hurt my relationship with Anderson, but the game basically auto-corrected itself and put me back on the right path. It was really cool to see the evidence I'd collected over the course of the game so far - and it was also painfully obvious that there could have been a lot more evidence there if I had made different decisions. It would be interesting to play again to see if I could get more - or simply different - evidence. Looks like Connor is heading for Jericho, setting up the showdown I've been waiting for...

Chapter 24: Crossroads - Connor and Markus

Overview: Things are about to get interesting. Connor is making his way to the freighter known as "Jericho" - which he soon discovers is rigged with explosives. Meanwhile, Josh grows increasingly resentful of the way Markus is running things. North continues to advocate for additional violence. She has obtained the detonator for a dirty bomb rigged on a truck in the city. She gives the detonator to Markus, just in case. ... but Connor is hiding right outside the door!

At the Zen Garden, Android Amanda, still "distrusted," congratulates Connor for finding Jericho, then orders him to bring Markus back alive...

Connor enters the HQ room high atop the freighter to confront Markus. Markus attempts to convince Connor to join the rebellion, which I was able to do without having to shoot Markus. They come to blows but Markus abruptly stops when he hears the sound of helicopters...

The FBI followed Connor to Jericho. They begin boarding the ship, forcing Marcus to act on the fly. He orders all androids to abandon ship and jump into the river. He is going to blow up Jericho! Connor is now tasked with incapacitating the deviant leader. He is stopped by an armed member of the FBI, but I had him lie - claiming to be a human - to avoid being shot by the anti-android officer. Connor makes his way deeper into the ship to try to stop Markus.

Connor tracks down Markus and holds him at gunpoint. They scuffle and Connor's gun is knocked free. The screen prompts me to repeatedly press the "X" button, which I obediently do and then immediately regret. Markus shoots Connor in the head. As his now-defunct android body falls to the ground, Connor utters, "We'll meet again, Markus. This isn't over."

Markus fights his way through the ship, saving his Jericho followers along the way, including Josh and North, and reaches the control room. He activates the detonator and causes the Jericho freighter to explode. He, Josh and North leap to presumed safety in the river as the FBI can only watch.

Choices: Well, freak!!!!!!

Connor:

• Spotted the explosives.
• Confronted Markus.
• Decided to remain a machine rather than join Jericho.
• Failed to reach the gun before Markus.
• Machine Connor was destroyed.*
• CyberLife will send a New Connor.

Markus:

• Accepted the dirty bomb detonator from North.
• Shot and killed Connor.*
• Intervened to save androids while attempting to escape.
• Saved Josh and Lucy.
• Detonated the bomb at Jericho.
• Jumped into the river with Josh and Lucy.

Breakdown: That was not what I wanted to have happen. I was hoping I could reach a neutral compromise with Connor while remaining hostile with Markus, but I wanted Connor to win. I bet Anderson will be devastated. I'm not sure how I want this to play out, moving forward. But the show must go on, and we've got couple chapters left to determine the fate of Detroit.

Chapter 25: Night of the Soul - Markus

Overview: Markus visits his owner Carl's grave. He expresses concern over the gravity of the decision at hand. He is shown later at New Jericho - what looks like an abandoned church (the end-chapter flow chart refers to it as "Sacred Ground") - where he talks with North and Josh before addressing the survivors. He learns that several hundred androids were able to flee Jericho, but is distressed by the knowledge that humans are now shipping their remaining androids off to camps, where they are being disassembled and destroyed. Markus steps up to address his people...

But in the meantime, Android Amanda activates a new Connor model and gives him one final assignment - destroy the leader of the deviant androids.

Choices: Simple, straight-forward and easy chapter.

• *Because Jericho was attacked in Chapter 24, Markus re-established Jericho at a new location.
• Markus chose to fight for his people instead of planning a peaceful protest.

Breakdown: Well... it's all coming to a head now. We've got one final showdown ahead of us, and it's going to have to wait... for now...

TO BE CONCLUDED...

Keep reading:

Entry Four