Tom Clancy's The Division Reviews
You could say it's their destiny to be better, and so far that is proving so. I'll need more time to observe them in the future but for now there is only a good outlook for the future of the Division and its many agents.
Featuring one of the most remarkable and realistic video game environments ever created, The Division offers a disturbingly dystopian take on a ruined Manhattan. Its action is similarly brutal. Although much of it boils down to firefights and shoot-outs, most are very well executed to deliver truly exciting and thrilling gameplay. Add layers of RPG-like complexity and a really solid storyline, and you have a game that, while occasionally flawed, really does deliver the goods.
This is very much a game for friends to play, as you can play with up to 3 other people. Yes, you can play solo, and I have spent time roaming Manhattan by myself, but the best experiences I have in this game are those that I can share with my friends via Xbox Live. When you play solo, you feel very much alone. When you play with friends, even just one, you realize how much you rely on each other to complete a mission, whether it be reviving one another, or just having each other’s back.
One of the most promising new IPs of this generation so far. Massive, clever and addictive, The Division is Ubisoft at their best.
The Division is a challenging co-op cover shooter and a gorgeous open world diminished by bloated and unnecessary RPG tropes.
Smart, stupid and scrappy, The Division is an ambitious online RPG that delivers strategy and spectacle in equal measure.
The Division sets a new standard of excellence for shared-world shooters
They say that New York City never sleeps, and those who play The Division may understand the feeling.
The Division is an addictive entry in the shoot & loot genre with some quality visuals, but an afterthought story and lack of innovation hold it back from greatness.
Going exactly as far as the gameplay takes you, The Division hands you a New York you've seen before with enough extras to keep your eyes entertained, for better or worse, along the lengthy journey. Cover-to-cover gunplay forces you to get the drop on a small roster of enemies that, nevertheless, you should enjoy mowing down for hours on end on the strong back of the Dark Zone's originality and the many ways to build up your toxic avenger.
This collapse caused various factions of armed looters, rioters, murderers and thieves to pop up all over the city - along with stray dogs and scurrying rats - patrolling the snowy, litter-filled streets and killing indiscriminately, taking whatever they want. Fortunately, the government had set up an armed militia of cover-hugging sleeper cell agents, and they're sent in to restore order by... patrolling the streets and killing indiscriminately, taking whatever they want.
If The Division was without its Dark Zone, it would be an ignorable, banal experience - a soulless grind in a game created by committee. It's to the credit of the game that this one additional section elevates the experience from this, to something actively great. Contrary to advice The Division might give you, stay out of the Dark Zone at your peril.
With enough content to keep players busy for a long time, and a support plan from Ubisoft that should see the shelf life extend long past just the release window, you'll likely be playing The Division for a while.
There's definitely some decent meat to chew on in The Division, but it's usually surrounded by too much gristle to enjoy it for long. Both in combat and out, there are some clearly good ideas, especially the tense and dangerous Dark Zone. But they're not spread evenly or interwoven cleanly enough to form a cohesive, consistently enjoyable loop. Ultimately, The Division's overly busy, conflicted design philosophies drown its best ingredients in a bland slurry that never quite comes together into a cohesive dish.
Right now though, at launch, The Division is a well-made open-world shooter with lots of ways to keep you busy. It borrows from the right games and improves on them while still doing enough different to feel like its own game instead of a rehash.
The Division's MMO aspirations get in the way of its shooter fundamentals
A paranoid and misanthropic images of society
The Division doesn't have many ideas of its own, but the way it unites traditional open-world design with online multiplayer makes it an addictive social shooter. The repetition does wear thin after a while, and the end-game content isn't as robust as it needs to be, so there's a legitimate concern as to whether the game will remain engrossing in the long run. Still, Ubisoft has erected a solid foundation, one that can easily be bettered by impending content updates and expansions.
In its current form, "The Division" is an impressive newcomer in the shoot-and-loot genre, but success in the genre is defined by more than just first impressions. Games with no end need regular support from developers that adds new missions, gear and areas to explore. It's too early to tell how "The Division" will evolve in the coming months and years, but the current offering is an excellent starting point.
New franchises are always risky business, but Tom Clancy's The Division delivered on everything it promised and more, with only the occasional hiccup.