Ubisoft wowed everyone during E3 2013 with “next gen” gameplay footage of Tom Clancy’s The Division that you can watch here. After some delays we’re finally nearing the game’s release across PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on March 8. I spent quite a few hours with the open beta for PS4 to see if the game lived up to the hype and the expectations originally set by that E3 demo. It’s important to note that this is a beta and not necessarily indicative of what the final game will be like, although I’d imagine it’s a fairy accurate representation this close to release. What we have access to here is (hopefully) a very thin slice of what the overall game will offer when it launches. Unlike, you know, Destiny which felt like the beta with a few other missions. With that said there some aspects of The Division I love and others that I’m concerned about. Let’s break them down.
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What I Liked
- Upgradable Abilities. You start out in a new base of operations with three wings, Tech, Medical, and Security that need to be brought back online by upgrading them through completing corresponding missions. Each wing starts out at zero and once it reaches one hundred percent is then fully online and operational. Every time you upgrade a wing you unlock a new ability, two of which you can assign yourself at any given time. One such ability I unlocked, for example, was from the tech wing that allowed me to deploy a mini turret that rained bullets on enemies until it was destroyed or it died.
- Upgradable Weapons. A lot of people are drawing comparisons to Destiny, and I can understand why, but I feel like The Division is going to offer considerably more depth in almost every category the two games share. Weapons is an excellent example of that. In Destiny weapon stats are predetermined and can be only be slightly modified, and if a tool in your arsenal isn’t cutting it anymore all you can do is infuse it with a higher weapon to raise the damage output or break it down for parts. In The Division you can buy, sell, break down, and swap modifications between weapons.
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RPG Stat System. Speaking of weapon modifications, each one carries its own set of attributes. One scope I had increased my zoom to 4x and raised my accuracy by 17 while another came with a 12x zoom and no other perks. I was also happy to see that modifications aren’t permanent and once I obtained a better base weapon I could strip modifications for my other weapons and add them to a better one. These same principles also apply to armor but not to your characters clothes as they appear to be strictly for looks. I can see Ubisoft setting up a micro transaction based system for clothes. Hopefully if such a system exists it\’s strictly for cosmetic pieces and not stat based equipment.
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The Environment. Stepping outside into the abandoned streets of New York is both dismal and beautiful. Cars lay empty throughout the streets, each one abandoned by by what may have been a family or couple or teen who just got their license. Garbage bags litter the streets and outnumber people. This bleakness is amplified by a constant blanket of snow and a lack of human interaction. Sure, there are soldiers and miscellaneous homeless NPC’s throughout the city but you’ll primarily be confronted by looters who care only about themselves. One mission has you go underground into the subway and it was something to see tents along the tracks where trains used to run. The visuals are gorgeous with really impressive lighting and reflections.
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More Realistic Physics. Most other games I played simply showed white flakes falling unconvincingly but in The Division you can see actual patterns in each snowflake and some will fall really close to the camera while others fall far in the distance adding a real sense of depth. Even more impressive was to watch snow build up on your hat, backpack, and on top of whatever gear you may be wearing. As someone who’s played games for years I’m used to objects either showing standard bullet holes or not reacting at all when shot, however, this game bucks that trend in that materials react differently when shot. Birthday balloons explode, different types of signage react differently, lamps shatter, vehicle windows spiderweb while regular glass windows shatter, and LCD TVs reflect damage differently than a CRT display. One time while I was in the middle of a shootout I ran past a tree and snow flew off the tree while I was being shot at. That’s cool.
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PvE Missions With Friends. In my opinion the strongest portion of the game and what really sunk its claws into me was playing through missions with friends. When we were communicating and pushing through enemy territory and completing objectives the game really clicked. Not only that but seeing one another flanking, landing a perfect grenade toss, or pulling off a last minute headshot was badass. When you’re all in sync the game really flows.
What I’m Concerned About
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Variety. Granted, the beta is just a small slice of the whole game but there weren’t a lot of enemy types. The game was mainly full of thugs, flamethrower equipped baddies, and brutes. None of them felt especially memorable and I really hope there’s more diversity among them when the game hits retail.
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Story Missions. Blame Destiny but I’m worried The Division will have a heavy focus on the multiplayer side of things with the Dark Zone and not enough story based missions to play through with friends. These missions were the strongest part of the game for me and I hope there’s an abundance of them at launch.
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Sense of Emptiness. I get it—New York City is abandoned and a lot of people have died. And while I loved what I played and am going to buy the version with the season pass I can’t help but shake the feeling that the city won’t be as populated with enemies as I’d like. Other than the main missions when I played with friends we only ran into a few groups of looters scattered throughout the city. It felt like we were simply roaming through the streets without a real sense of chaos. If there’s not more enemy encounters or randomized enemy events the game may quickly grow old.
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Grindfest. I don’t have an endless amount of time to sink into one game constantly. I have a wife and there are other games I’d like to play, so I’m hoping I can enjoy the RPG upgrade, looting, and crafting systems of The Division without having to only play The Division.
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p>Welp, there you have it. My impressions from my hands on time with the beta. Overall I really enjoyed my time with it, but it’s definitely better with friends. I’m pretty excited to pick up my copy when it releases on March 8 and am crossing my fingers for a more densely populated city and a to of missions to complete with friends.
