Thursday, March 10, 2016
The Division - Early Impressions
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So, The Division.
First off, I
want to say that although it was really inconvenient for review purposes, I do think
it was a good idea for Ubisoft to hold all review copies back until launch day.
The Division is not playable without an online connection, and either there was no way to turn on the servers early for critics, or perhaps someone at Ubi didn't think that early access would give an accurate impression without the expected number of users online. Either way, I think they made the right call in this instance.
Personally,
I'm a big believer in not reviewing a game with significant online components until
it's open to the public… Sometimes games can look or feel very different when there are only 100 writers playing, as opposed
to 100,000 people who paid $60. (Let’s not forget about day-one patches as
well.)
I know a lot
of writers are still locked into the “have to be first, have to publish on day
one” mentality but I think that's becoming less of an option these days. If nothing
else, reviewers owe it to their readers to give the most accurate and thorough
impressions possible, and that's just not a thing we can even do without access to the full game in an
environment that matches what paying customers will get.
So, what
about the game itself? I'm about nine hours in at this point, and I have to
say, I really, really like it.
The Division
is a third person, real-time cover-based shooter with heavy multiplayer integration
and progression elements, but it's entirely possible to go through the game by
yourself -- although that's not the ideal way to do it.
Basically,
you create a character and jump into a New York that’s been devastated by a
virus. Lawless gangs have taken over, and you are one of the few people trying
to keep order. Although there are named characters and NPCs, this is not a
story-heavy experience… Basically the plot is "take back New York"
and I haven’t yet seen much more than that. If you're looking for a very
story-rich, character-driven experience, The Division is not that.
After
starting, it's pretty overwhelming at first… There are a lot of menus and a lot
of stuff going on, and although the tutorials do a fairly decent job of
explaining things, there are inevitably a lot of questions that will only
become clear after experimentation. That said, I figured things out pretty
quickly, and it seems like a good system.
The player’s
home base is a hub that has three areas: Tech, Medical, and Security. Each one has
their own questline, and completing these quests unlocks upgrades and abilities
for your character. Resources are also needed to earn some of these upgrades,
and missions out in the world will award these necessary things.
New York is
a totally open world and the player is free to go wherever they wish, although
the map clearly shows that some zones are recommended for certain levels. The
zone around home base is for players level 0-4, the next zone is for levels
5-8, and the furthest parts of the map are for levels 18 and up, and so on. You
can go in there if you like, but you're probably going to get your ass shot off
in short order.
Getting back
to the quests for a moment, they're roughly divided into three sizes -- the
story quests are the biggest, there are side missions which are kind of
middle-size, and then there are encounters, which are small-scale. Players can
look at these and decide what kind of experience they want for the time that
they have, and self-regulate.
So far, the
multiplayer has been excellent. It's really easy to find friends and to join
them, or to invite them to join you. It's also easy to meet randoms and join up.
I haven't done any of the PVP stuff yet, but it’s important to note that PVP is
limited to The Dark Zone, a very clearly marked and separate location on the map.
Players who don’t want to participate in PVP 100% don’t have to. It is purely optional.
However, I
have done a lot of co-op, and it’s great. The thing I'm most impressed with is
the difficulty scaling -- I did one specific mission by myself and it was a
cakewalk, I did it with one other player and I noticed a ramp-up (but wasn't
too hard) and then I played the same mission again with four people and it was
quite a bit tougher, this time requiring team tactics, supporting each other,
and making sure we all had each other’s back. Although it was the same mission
all three times, it felt very
different playing it with different numbers of people, and so far it feels like
the difficulty scaling is right on.
As far as
the gear goes, enemies will drop stuff as a player makes their way through the
world… There are a whole slew of armor pieces, some cosmetic pieces, and of
course, weapons.
Although
it's not entirely based on reality, The Division certainly skews towards
realism, and in that respect (so far anyway) I haven't found any gear that
seems really crazy or anything that doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the
world. Apparently the best stuff is kept in the PVP zone, but the quality of drops
ramp up as the player goes on, and I'm constantly finding new things to use
while not being overwhelmed with stuff to trash or sell back at base. I feel like
the loot drop rate is quite nice, although I will say that I certainly wouldn't
mind a few more exotic things. However, I'm pretty early in the game and there
is a lot left to see…
Considering that the player has access to some
science-fiction equipment (a portable healing zone generator, a spider drone
with a gun, etc.) I wouldn't be at all surprised to see some more fantastical
stuff show up later on.
I've said
this before but the best way of summing up what The Division feels like is to
say that it gives me the experience that I wanted from Destiny, before I knew
what Destiny was actually like.
It's great
to be out in the world and feels like you're really a part of something, and
the missions are quite varied… I'm not doing the same strike over and over, and
New York is far bigger than one small hub. There are large chunks I haven't
even seen yet, and I like that there are little surprises in each mission that
keep the play feeling fresh.
I'm not an
MMO guy in general, but this game has enough action to keep me in, and the
ability to solo anytime is really appealing to me, plus the feeling of being in
this world and fighting with purpose is a great spin. The Division is
definitely in the same general ballpark as Destiny is (as far as I’m concerned)
but it's hitting different notes and it has a very different feel. It’s
clicking for me.
There is a
lot of The Division left to see and although I'm not sure I will be able to
complete it before I turn in a review, I feel like I need to put at least another
10 or 15 hours in before I’ll have a good measure of what's going on. That
said, I really like what the devs have created here and I'm playing every
chance I get, which isn't something I can say about every review assignment.
So far it's
an unequivocal thumbs up, but look for my full review in the future.
*
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