The Division – Our Review
What a gorgeous mess.
The two of us, Mr. Game and Bulgolgi, are lying in wait at extraction point in the Dark Zone. We’ve managed to stay alive long enough to collect a small arsenal but that’s meaningless unless we manage to chopper-lift it out of here. The flare was already shot, escape chopper en-route, now we just have to survive.
We’re not too worried about the respawning enemy soldiers that march repeatedly into our crosshairs. No, what’s got our interests piqued is the squad of human players that have arrived when they saw the flare. So far they’re taking aim at the enemies but we’re doing our damnedest not to turn our backs on them. Any minute they could decide to open fire on us jeopardizing our prized loot we’ve collected so far. Can we trust them? Should we open fire first as a preemptive strike? The tension is killing us. Here’s our review of The Division.
“Wow, this is the road I used to walk to get to work years ago” I thought as I murdered someone with a sniper shot to the face
The Division is the latest in long list of action cover-based shooters that get the Tom Clancy stamp applied to the title which tells you two things: the game will adore the military-industrial complex and counter terrorism and security threats are best met with machine guns and explosions. The Division picks up some time after a fatal virus exposure unleashed on currency during a Black Friday sale that leaves New York (and presumably the rest of the world) in smoke and ashes of the countless dead.
You pick up as one of many sleeper “agents” scattered throughout New York tasked to restore order when all other measures have failed. (Inexplicably there are hundreds or thousands of you that survived the Black Friday plague.) You’re primary focus is to run missions around a meticulously rendered NY landscape and battle with the remaining gangs bent on destroying what’s left or aggressively purging the virus by burning anyone they find (the cleaners).
“Wait, you guys are agents too? Huh, so am I! Small world!”
The game feels like many other sandbox games in which you unlock checkpoints and fast travel points as well as some basic skills and special abilities by conquering sections of the map. Each part of the map also contains a level or two wherein you invade a stronghold, executing enemies from various forms of cover, and resulting in a final boss fight of some sort. The run & gun and cover mechanics work well and can provide from some extremely intense shootouts though enemies are bullet sponges and, especially earlier on with weaker weapons, can sustain repeated headshots for a laughable amount of time.
The game is all about the grind though much like Destiny and you’ll end up replaying levels for better loot or the unlock the end game raids (aka incursions) for the highest level gear. Alternatively you can venture into the Dark Zone in the center of the map with PvP gunfights suddenly become an option. You’ll find some of the best weapons possible in this combat arena but you’ll have to evacuate it out through the fore mentioned helicopter airlift option which basically puts a target on your back for all nearby players that you must have some good loot worth stealing.
The Dark Zone: where random encounters are put to test
The tension of evacuating goods from the Dark Zone is one of the most interesting experiences we’ve had in a game as alliances can switch without warning. I had experiences where players hunted me for city blocks just because to situations where random players would even revive me during a chopper sequence to ensure I got my goods out safely. You never really know how it’s going to play out.
We should also mention that as our name suggests we are always on the hunt for quality coop experiences and The Division offers arguably the best we’ve seen this year. The entire campaign can be played cooperatively and actually is significantly more enjoyable when done as so. The game allows you to fast travel to and from your partners no matter where they are in NY at any time and revives are always an option provided someone on your team remains alive.
The game has its fair share of problems. Overall the story is paper-thin and your character has absolutely no personality. We couldn’t tell you any other characters name from the game but we do remember the missions that we played. The grind of leveling up and getting better gear is addictive but guns miss the color and feel of weight you’d find in games like Destiny – it doesn’t help that enemies can soak up bullets no matter if it’s shotgun at close range or sniper shot to the temple until you get to the highest level weaponry. Still, for an original property and the cooperative experience, The Division is surprisingly well done.
What works well
Thank God for coop as this game shines when you play with a buddy or two. The Dark Zone is an interesting social experience worth exploring and the potential for what could come in a sequel is interesting. Also it’s worth mentioning that New York is insanely well designed here that the fact you never revisit areas seems almost like a waste of so many hours designing it.
What doesn’t work
As mentioned, early combat feels weak as guns function largely the same and enemies shrug off most shots for a long time. The end game content has been lackluster too so far but you wouldn’t notice that until 20-30 hours into the main campaign. Also we’re not sure we’ve enjoyed a Tom Clancy story since the original Splinter Cell. Maybe it’s time to retire that moniker?
Overall: Worth a Rent
The Division feels unique enough as a third person shooter MMORPG and makes enough brave choices with its design to merit our vote, but we do hope the developers tighten up the combat and make the gunplay a bit more interesting in time for a sequel.
If nothing else, the game could be a tourism sim as the entire city is rendered in painful detail
