“‘Tom Clancy’s The Division” is a true testament to the advances in video game technology and provides players a chance to live out the classic last man standing, end-of-world fantasy.
After years of anticipation, developers Ubisoft Massive and Red Storm Entertainment released the latest offering of the Tom Clancy series for Xbox One, Playstation 4 and Windows March 8.
In this third-person shooter, players are transported into the not-so-distant future New York City where a peculiar smallpox virus has run rampant, killing a large portion of the city’s population.
Those remaining in the city are rival gangs, civilians, the Joint Task Force and the player controlled Division agent.
The game’s mission? Assist the JTF on finding the source of the virus and restoring order in the city. While each player does follow a main story line, the path each user chooses can be made up entirely on their own. Players can progress through a variety of storyline missions, but the game also offers unlimited side missions and encounters that are equally as rewarding.
What truly stands out in this installment of the Tom Clancy series is the attention to detail and accessibility for all skill levels.
The setting is a realistic model of New York City with many landmark locations including Times Square and Hell’s Kitchen. Each branch of the real neighborhoods comes to life with hundreds of accessible buildings, subway stations and sewers.
The setting, though quite large, is only a small part of what makes this game so immersive and genuine. Dispatch relays incoming missions, and players also find hundreds of useful intel including phone recordings, lost files, missing agent reports and Echos. These elements give a realistic interpretation of what occurred during the outbreak, and allow the player to investigate its causes.
Gameplay itself in “The Division” follows mostly a duck and cover approach where the agent hides behind objects and returns fire against the many gangs and their leaders. While the stealthy, precise movements are easy to learn, it takes lots of time to truly master the art of taking the best position possible. Simply hiding in one spot is a sure way to get killed at any level.
The agents are equipped with three guns that can be modified, armor and abilities such as a turret or enemy seeking mines. Each mission also provides the player with supplies that help rebuild the JTF’s base of operations. Each time you rebuild a section of the base you gain a new ability that can be used in gun fights.
The validity of “The Division’s” gameplay is its ability to be enjoyed by any type of gamer.
For more casual players, the storyline missions should provide sufficient entertainment that challenges them to develop their skills while completing missions. More advanced players can enable a hard mode option to make the missions more challenging.
The game, however, is far from over once the missions are complete and the user reaches the max level. The Dark Zone delivers an enemy-controlled territory that acts as a multiplier zone where players can compete against each other to find the best weapons and gear. Along with the Dark Zone, level 30 players receive daily missions against much more challenging enemies.
Despite a few minor flaws in the Dark Zone gameplay and map redundancy, “The Division” delivers on its much deserved anticipation. This game is an amusing time killer and will have a long lifespan — especially fans of games like “Fallout 4” or “Destiny.”
