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The Division is the hugely anticipated MMORPG/third-person shooter hybrid from the developers of Ubisoft Massive. Since its reveal at E3 2013, The Division has been slowly building up hype from players all around the world. Many were skeptical of the direction that Ubisoft were taking the game but many more stayed on the hype train, even through all the delays, and rode it out all the way to its release. A truly ambitious Ubisoft title as the scope of The Division is large enough that it makes some of their other large open world games such as Assassins Creed and Watch Dogs feel inferior in comparison.
Setting
The events of the game take place after the effects of a large viral pandemic during Black Friday, of which banknotes were contaminated causing widespread death and social collapse. You are one of the many sleeper agents planted throughout the United States that are the last line of defense to restoring social order and maintaining peace.
As you uncover the situation you discover that you are actually the second wave of agents to be activated. Upon this realization, you are tasked with finding out what happened to the first wave of agents that mysteriously disappeared. You assist the JTF who are the militarized section of soldiers who patrol the Manhatten streets and can sometimes provide you with backup as you engage in firefights with enemies across the map.
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| Central Manhattan with the Dank Zone. |
Central Manhattan, New York, is where the playable area of the game is located with the centre of the map dedicated to what is known as the Dark Zone; the area that was hit hardest from the pandemic and also the region that has lost communications with the outside world making it an extremely dangerous place to venture into.
Ubisoft has definitely made the world feel dead, in a good way. The streets are littered with trash and unowned vehicles due to the panic rush the civilians had during the outbreak. Buildings are burning, shops are looted, streets are a mess due to the lack of maintenance; the world just feels like chaos and Ubisoft have done a fantastic job in replicating what it would look like if an event such as this occurs.
Many recognizable locations are available for you to explore as Ubisoft's replication of New York into a playable game zone definitely matches with reality. One of the more iconic buildings you'll recognize will be the James A. Farley Post Office where the main hub of the Base of Operations will take place in.
Gameplay
The Division is an RPG/third-person shooter hybrid. Although not completely encompassing the MMO element it does have large regions of land populated by multiple players in which you can interact with. Co-op missions can be easily initiated with its simple and easy to use matchmaking system which teams you up with players doing the same mission or activity.
The Dark Zone is the area that is more akin to an MMO PVP zone where players are not limited by any rules and players can kill and loot as they please.
The RPG elements that The Division has is a leveling system, skill/talent system and loot. Weapons do damage based on numbers and weapons may also have additional perks that are defined by their rarity and attachments.
Along side the weapon modification system there is an equally important armor system. Though not as detailed as the weapon system, the armor system is where you'll mostly be getting the necessary stats of which there are three; Firearms, Stamina and Electronics.
Proper management and gearing of this system is used to fit certain playstyles. Gearing for Firearms increases general DPS damage whilst increasing Electronics can improve Skill Power which determines the effectiveness of your skills. Though there isn't a clear cut trinity system of tanks, healers and DPS there are slight playstyles that can place you into a certain role you decide and playing towards that role can yield more advantages in combat.
Alongside this RPG system there is an equally well designed third-person combat system. The strategic Tom Clancy kind of gameplay you'd expect. You are able to take cover behind walls and vault over objects to reach better vantage points. The movement in this game is spot on. Rarely does the game ever feel unfair when you are positioning your character but sometimes the terrain can be a bit annoying when you're trying to run away from enemies.
There is also a skill system in which you can choose 2 abilities and a specialization (ultimate) ability to use from one of the 3 tech trees though are you are not limited to one.
- The Medical skill tree filled with skills that supply ample healing to you and/or party members.
- The Tech tree which provides advantageous tools at your disposal such as turrets and enemy tracking grenades.
- The Security tree provides support abilities that help you or your party members when taking cover or when applying pressure to the enemy.
Along with these 3 skill trees you can also choose talents which are separate from the skill tree but are categorized the same and they provide passive abilities. By customizing accordingly to a certain style you can do a ton more work during firefights as you're abilities will compliment the talents and vice versa.
Content
PvE
The sandbox map is separated by leveled areas which serve as a warning only. You can venture from one side of the map to the other the moment you start playing of which the only thing that could probably stop you is the higher leveled NPCs. There are main missions scattered across each zone of which can be done solo or in a group of 4 players. These missions are more detailed in what they provide in terms of story and loot though most of the main story missions are usually just shoot at enemies and kill a boss. Although similar in scope, the experience of playing with 3 other players and providing backup to each other whilst taking on tough enemies can be an exhilarating and I find myself being able to do a lot of these missions more than once.
Across the map, in each leveled zone, there is a safehouse serving as a location to use the vendor to sell or buy and restock on ammo. Also in each zone there are Side Missions which serve as a small experience window in which you take on a task which can sometimes pit you against waves of hostiles and you defend a point or there might be missions where you help start a decontamination process of a highly contaminated area.
Encounters are mini missions which provide a basic objective based on which tech tree it is categorized under. For example, Security Encounters will most likely require you to protect fellow JTF members from hostiles forces whilst Medical Encounters task you with collecting supplies.
Each zone has a fair amount of these missions to do but can be quite repetitive as a lot of the missions are tasking you with completing the same objectives.
PvP
The PvP in The Division is limited to the Dark Zone only and is leveled separately from your PvE experience though it is recommended that you be a high level to competently deal with the threats.
In the Dark Zone players kill NPCs for loot which is contaminated meaning that they can't use it unless they call a helicopter to extract it. During these extractions other players may use this moment to go 'Rogue', this means that the player is marked on the map and have a bounty on them BUT the benefits of this is that if the Rogue Agent kills another player, they can take their loot. This mechanic creates an on the edge type feeling when you're extracting or even when you're just roaming around killing enemy NPCs.
Overall, the PvP in The Division is quite basic BUT Ubisoft said that they will be providing periodic updates to the game featuring new content and hopefully they add more activities in the Dark Zone.
Graphics/Presentation
Ubisoft have done a fantastic job with the graphics of The Division. The game looks sharp and believable coupled with the extremely well created map. New York feels real. Cars litter the streets, non-hostile NPCs walk about desperate for aid and enemy NPCs assert the dominance by killing and looting across the whole map.
The dynamic weather system and lighting system can make the whole world feel eerie. It is perpetual winter in New York and the sun's weak flare in the morning definitely sets the tone of a cold environment. The times when it snows or when a blizzard occurs can greatly reduce visibility and provide a more cautious experience as you make each step not knowing whether you'll accidentally run into and enemy or not.
Final Thoughts
The Division provides that MMORPG/third-person shooter hybrid and is one of the most fantastic experiences I've had to date. Going at the game solo or in a group provide vastly different experiences and playstyles. The RPG elements are definitely well-done, detailed but not too overly convoluted in information. Each weapon or armor upgrade always felt like it did improve your character as you leveled.
Though repetitive, this kind of gameplay only helps to improve you as a player as you tackle missions and enemies at a higher difficulty which provides a hard but fair fight. Sometimes the AI can be questionable but for the most part the game is well-balanced, extremely fun solo or in a group and a game that definitely feels like it has only more to give as Ubisoft add updates to it.
8.5/10
At launch the game would do with slightly more end game content as it is lacking in that department. The Division definitely has the core mechanics down to a T and it's been a while since I've played a game as close to this kind of balance at launch.
I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys RPG even if it is a third-person shooter, MMO loot grinding and tactical PvP.
