player?Willthecampaignhaveplentyof
varietyandmissions?WillI have a sense
ofpurpose?Andsoon...
FIGHTTOSURVIVE
Tobeclear:I’mnotdownonTheDivision
- AsI mentioned,thereis a lotto
like,I justdon’tfeelasif I sawenough
differencein whattheDarkZoneoffered
toreallybeableinfermuchabout
therestofthegamebeyondthesolid
shooting.It’salsoencouragingthatwhen
thegamedialsintothatshootingfor
itsmoretraditionalPvPmultiplayer,the
resultsareexcellent,leveringthegame’s
apparently“one-to-one”scalerecreation
ofWashingtonDCtocreatesomesharp
andunusuallyspacedmapdesigns.With
a tighterfocusonpurpose(mainlykill
theotherteamortaketerritories)it uses
that great gun feel to create tactically
rewardingbattlestocontrolportionsof
themap;feelinga lotmorelikerealistic
takeonurbanwarfarethana lotofmore
‘pure’militaryshooters.
It allmeans,however,thatif you
askedmeif TheDivision2 wasany
goodatthispointI’dhavetoanswer
witha shrugged‘maybe?’There’sa
firmgameplayfoundationin place
anda beautifulopenworld,buildinga
takeonpost-apocalypticWashington
sevenmonthsaftertheoriginalgame.
It’sa fantasticandverdanturbanmess
fullofabandonedcarsandovergrown
checkpoints;fullofanimalsthatscatter
asyouapproach,interestinglocations
andlandmarkscreatedbythebio-attack,
orthesubsequentaftermath.ButI
don’tfeellikeI’vedoneenough...stuff,
toreallysaywhetherthere’sa plentiful
range of substance for a game that couldbeofferingtenstohundredsofhours
gameplay.
Massiveis promisinga wealthof
expansioncontentoverthefirstyear
however,andalmosteveryfeaturethe
studioextolledforthesequelseemed
tobuildonpastupdatesandlearnings
fromtheoriginalgame.Sothingslike
bettergearlevelequalisingin basicDark
Zoneareassoeveryonehasanequal
chance;thefactthattheDarkZone
is nowin threedifferentareas;orthe
factthegameusesWashington’smore
mixedenvironmentstoadda greater
mapvariety.Basedonallthat,andthe
goodmechanicalfoundationofwhat
I’veplayed,I’mhopefulaboutwhatThe
Division2 couldbe,butuntilI seea wider
sliceofwhatit hastooffer,it’sa game
that’s yet to deliver on that promise.LEFTSave
Washington
from...wait,do
wereally want
to?RIGHTThe
Division2’s
gunplayis as
good as ever.MASSIVEIS
PROMISINGA WEALTH
OFEXPANSION
CONTENTOVERTHE
FIRST YEAR