Villordsutch reviews Tom Clancy’s The Division…
Now I’ve been playing RPGs for quite literally decades and you can add onto that MMORPGs for close to two decades as I arrived at EverQuest a year or so after it opened its doors. In amongst the numerous other titles I’ve played Dark Age of Camelot, Warcraft, EverQuest 2, then moving to the console I’ve picked up ESO, Destiny and now Tom Clancy’s The Division has arrived. You could say I’m well-seasoned in this world and I should, if anything, feel a bit exhausted with these titles in which I’ve created characters within; investing numerous hours to both grow and develop my “toon” and eventually to become jaded with after years or in some cases mere months. However, Tom Clancy’s The Division has been on a hook in front of us for some time and I cannot let this bait go.
Ubisoft are putting quite a lot of push into The Division; we truly heard nothing for months other than dates of supposed releases, with rumoured betas, then it was all go, with a plethora of videos, a huge community based website, a meta-novel, a huge graffiti art piece in London and even an official line in Division clothing too! There is a lot of hope being placed on one game, especially an RP game which so far the two titles on the PS4 – which are supposedly the big hitters – constantly come with flack no matter the numbers.
Walking into The Division the first thing you notice is how graphically excellent this world looks; the thing is however merely an introduction, a before credits play. What the beta players got to run around in was the moments after the introduction; here we begin with the character creation which is unfortunately one of the few minor complaints in the game and it’s a shame it has to appear right at the start. You are extremely limited with practically everything in creating your Agent; with only gender, race and face, limited hairstyles, skin scars/tattoos and accessories you look fairly generic to be honest. The second issue shortly follows as you’re tasked with registering at the local Safe House. Given the numerous people all clambering to get into New York City and with only one laptop to register yourself in on, this is a bit of a nightmare as you cannot get close enough; you may have seen images on the web, with players forming orderly lines to the laptop. I wish people took this route on the server I haunted.
My Agent in the streets of New York City
Once you’ve passed these two hiccups the game opens up like a utterly beautiful flower in bloom. Granted this flower is mutated smallpox ridden New York City, however it is alive, bleak, yet glowing under the winter snow and the occasional white-outs that blind your world. Tasked initially with building your Base of Operations, this is where your specific perks and talents are developed at your own pace, though you are not forced down any specific path or route. There is a world and a story that unfolds via missions, ECHOs, intel, CCTV footage and discarded mobile phones. However encounters are based around Medical, Technical and Security, and it’s up to you to develop your skills. You are free to wander the streets of New York City, to gather resources to help the helpless, to go as you please and when you’re ready continue on with the story.
A rather impressive sight – If you ignore the looting and corpse’s.
With a number of factions running around the city you find trouble in most locations – some of these unsavoury characters you will find looting the dead or in the process of getting ready to loot the soon to be dead. Using cover, you take on these gangs that roam the streets and it has to be said that some are easy to take down, especially with a well-placed headshot. However a fair few are extremely difficult especially the flame-thrower carrying Cleaners; their one weakness however is a beautiful bullet in their fuel tanks and it’s amazingly satisfying when you manage to pierce one of these tanks too.
Moving from the streets into larger closed areas (in the older lexicon of RPG’s we’d call these “Dungeons”) here there are missions given which push the story forward. Each contain regular, difficult and “Boss” mobs which are truly soul crushing if you don’t have a team on comm’s to work together properly. Once completed the story plays out, however after this you can return to this area and play it through again on a harder level – if you wish – to unlock further loot and unlike Destiny loot is properly rewarded to the players.
The ECHO’s not only develop the story but also bring a eerily quiet moment to the game.
From killing on the streets, boss kills, PvP extractions and even crafting, loot is part of the game and you don’t have to be fighting for hours to receive nothing of any consequence. Even if the item is not up to standard for you, it can be disassembled and the materials used in crafting a new weapon, a modification for a weapon or even a brand new piece of armour. Ubisoft are making sure your time spent within The Division isn’t empty time and all this shooting and walking isn’t just pointless, you’re actually driving yourself forward to earn more to go back and defeat “X” boss in “Y” location.
Alongside the PvE world of The Division in which we quest you also have the Dark Zone – this is where the world gets really nasty. The Dark Zone, or the DZ as you’ll see it called across the web, is the PvP area though it’s also technically PvE too. Here you and your team scout the streets again taking on numerous enemies finding exceptional loot on these streets. It takes a turn for the vicious in the Dark Zone when you meet opposing players who have taken a step into the darker side and are more than happy to place a bullet or two into you for your well-earned loot; it becomes even more nasty when your team mates place a bullet in your back seconds before you go to extract your loot and they walk away with your new gear.
Taking on the Rikers – One of the Factions you’ll come up against in The Division
Everything about The Division for this “long in the tooth” RPG’er is almost perfect, from the fantastic representation of New York City which I can wander around in, not following any forced quests, just gathering resources and finding intel or unlocking the larger lore. We have minor details like closing doors on car, knocking over items in abandoned stores and kicking bottles on streets; it feels like the developers have really gone out there and wandered around New York City for days on end with a constant camera running. Along with this we have a story that doesn’t feel like it’s been written on the back of a beer mat and delivered with the same amount of effort. All we need to be added is a barbershop in the Base of Operations to start to alter of Agents appearance and I will feel a bit happier as that minor complaint will be quashed.
Ubisoft have already released a “Year One” video for us to see their upcoming plan with the game and we have player trading incoming in April, Tom Clancy’s The Division looks like it is on the right path already. You really need to have The Division in your machines today.
Pros
+ Graphically amazing landscape
+ Finally an RPG that works on the console!
+ The ability to explore New York is excellent
Cons
– The Character design screen really is poor
– One laptop at the beginning of the game for all the new starters is a bit daft
– Some of the enemies seem to be able to absorb a lot of bullets.
Rating – 9/10
