You may have read other reviews, but here’s my take on the new online-only third person shooter, The Division.
The Short Film
Firstly, there’s a short film of the same name based on the game. It’s pretty cool! I watched it on Amazon Prime. You might be able to find it elsewhere.
The Story
New York has been hit with a smallpox plague and thrown into chaos. You are part of an elite emergency response team that acts as the last line of defense against total anarchy. In the short time I’ve played though, the story doesn’t really matter because there is no campaign in the traditional sense. Your goal is to conduct various missions but without a story, plot line or interesting characters, the backdrop is very secondary. But, they do have campaign missions, cut scenes and all, however these are blended into the multiplayer world rather than separate. Could be good, maybe not. Again undecided.
Online Only
I’m kinda undecided about whether I like the online-only gameplay (which simply means you must have an Internet connection to play). You have to register before playing and download a large update (took about 33 hours on my internet connection). Even if you’re playing solo you still have some contact with other players and can join a team of random players to conduct missions against bots or real people.
Multiplayer
It’s primarily meant for a multiplayer experience, so if that’s your thing, then you will love this game. Taking a cue from Counterstrike it’s essentially ‘bad guys’/marauding looters against the good guys of The Division. You can play either role, it’s up to you.
I’m still playing through so I might feel differently as things progress. But if you like story and characters the game will disappoint. If you love multiplayer action, jackpot.
It’s a divisive game and many are undecided. I’d wait for the price to drop before picking up a copy. I think it could flop with people dropping it because there just isn’t enough interest. And a cumbersome heads up display and settings menu doesn’t help. It could take off too – you decide.
