The Division takes place in mid-crisis Manhattan, an open world with destructive environments that are free for players to explore. The player's mission is to restore order by investigating the source of a virus. The player character can carry three weapons, and explosives like sticky bombs and smart mines to fight against enemies. Players may take cover behind objects during firefights to avoid taking damage from enemies, and to give them a tactical advantage when attacking. As the game is set in a third-person perspective, the character model is visible.
As players progress, they earn experience points and currency. They can use this currency to buy weapons and gear, and use the points to learn new talents and skills. The player's gear is categorized into five levels: worn, standard, specialized, superior and high-end, each with a specific color code. Gear can be either bought, or found as in-game loot, or crafted from gathered materials. The storyline missions involve objectives that are relevant to their respective wing of the Base of Operations, which serves as the player's home base. At the player's home base there are three wings which are the Medical, Security and Tech wing.
As players progress, they earn experience points and currency. They can use this currency to buy weapons and gear, and use the points to learn new talents and skills. The player's gear is categorized into five levels: worn, standard, specialized, superior and high-end, each with a specific color code. Gear can be either bought, or found as in-game loot, or crafted from gathered materials. The storyline missions involve objectives that are relevant to their respective wing of the Base of Operations, which serves as the player's home base. At the player's home base there are three wings which are the Medical, Security and Tech wing.
While the story primarily sticks to tried-and-true survival tropes, the narrative is solidly executed. Key moments receive full cutscenes, and in between, you constantly hear radio banter that explains exactly how your next objective contributes to your broader mission to save New York from vicious opportunists. You always know exactly what you're doing and why; that alone goes a long way towards making your actions feel meaningful. You're also never painted as a superhero. The Division admirably commits to its bleak, grounded vision of a medically-induced apocalypse, and it works. Some ideas needed a bit more development--especially an important enemy later on--but overall, I felt invested and immersed in the world.
This
immersion was further cultivated by the setting itself. The Division's
haunting recreation of midtown Manhattan might be the most impressive
urban world map outside of a Rockstar
game. Its dense, detailed environments feel painstakingly assembled
rather than cut-and-pasted into place. Every neighborhood has its own
distinct style, and no matter where you roam, you're bound to stumble
into a breathtaking structure or a heartbreaking disaster site, even if
you end up hearing a few repeated lines of NPC dialogue along the way.
The variety and authenticity of the world invite exploration just like
the deserts of Red Dead Redemption and the mountains of Skyrim.
My only real complaint: I killed the same guys on the same corner near
my HQ at least half a dozen times during the game's early hours. Had The
Division randomized these encounters or in some way allowed unexpected
interactions to occur, the world might have felt more alive.
Enemy
AI is consistent to the point of being predictable as well, and all
four enemy factions have identical unit types--every group has a runner,
a sniper, a bomber, and so on. No matter who you're up against, you
know exactly how each easily identifiable enemy is going to come at you,
which can make certain lower-stakes gun fights feel like a chore. Some
of the basic gameplay mechanics are slightly sloppy as well. The core
aiming and shooting are totally serviceable, but you can't crouch, jump,
or go prone--which means the only way to move stealthily is to duck
into cover, then hold A to rush directly to the next object. I also
occasionally had to contend with clumsy cover issues. Come on, Agent,
you can't raise your gun barrel two inches to avoid a poorly placed
railing? Worst of all, various actions--including pulling away from
cover--cause your character to stand straight up, even in the middle of
combat. It's annoying and occasionally lethal.
It's
almost a shame you're forced to break between missions to level your
character; after all, the campaign missions are easily the game's
strongest content. Still, the structural pattern that emerges isn't
unpleasant: beat a story mission, complete three or four side quests,
equip any new gear you've acquired, and head off to the next major
mission. While those three or four side missions definitely feel a bit
like grinding in an MMO, they force you to engage with The Division as a
multifaceted open world game rather than just a shooter. The game is
deliberately paced in every sense of the word. And to be clear, The
Division doesn't just feel artificially long because of its grinding--it
actually is a content-heavy game. The campaign alone takes nearly 30
hours to complete, so when you throw in leveling, loot management,
collectibles, random exploration, and more, it all adds up to a thorough
and substantial experience.
And
then, of course, there's the "end game" content, which basically boils
down to grinding against high level enemies in daily missions in order
to earn new and better loot. Disappointingly, I have not yet found any
weaponry that's functionally distinct like, for example, Destiny's
exotics, which makes this portion of the game feel slightly pointless at
the moment. Still, if you make it to the end game and decide you're
done, you will have enjoyed a complete, compelling shooter for dozens of
hours. The experience is sprawling yet remarkably cohesive.
If you're feeling a little less cooperative, you can also visit the Dark Zone--a
massive, unstructured PvP area in the middle of the city. The Dark Zone
is, if nothing else, a really cool experiment. You'll find both enemy
AI and other human players inside. The AI guard loot, while the other
players...well, who knows. They might help you conquer the AI or they
might backstab you and steal all the gear and weapons you've already
collected. The tension of not knowing how an interaction will play out
is unlike anything else you'll find in a modern shooter, and the
significance of loot back in the main game makes the stakes in the Dark
Zone feel incredibly real. The Division is mostly a genre-abiding open
world, cover-based shooter, but the Dark Zone--and the way it's
seamlessly integrated into the world map with only a moment of extremely
well-concealed loading when you enter--deserves special recognition for
being truly new.
As the Dark Zone proves, The
Division's loot system is integral to the experience. But it's not just
there for show. Rather, your stats--which are heavily dictated by the
gear you equip--mean the difference between slaughter and triumph, so be
prepared to spend plenty of time in menus comparing the numerical
attributes of knee pads, pistol holsters, and tactical backpacks.
There's a mind boggling number of variables that ultimately impact your
chances of survival. While not everyone will have the patience necessary
to fully embrace the intricacies of the loot system, The Division at
least makes life easier by providing plenty of elegant, thoughtful
tools. You can mark old items as junk and simply hit "Sell All" when you
get to a vendor. You can easily compare two items side by side. The
game will even show you how an item will affect your overall stats
before you equip it. It may sound trivial, but this careful attention to
detail makes the loot meta-game nearly painless.
No
matter how hard I worked to level up my character, though, I almost
always felt slightly underpowered. Put simply, The Division is stingy
when it comes to gear and XP. My backpack was never more than a third
full, and I didn't see a "high-end" weapon until I'd essentially beaten
the game. Even at max level, your stats may not be high enough to
activate your weapons' built-in talents, which sort of epitomizes the
game's draconian design. The Division still manages to feel plenty
rewarding as you progress, but a slightly kinder XP system and an extra
level of gear rarity would have gone a long way to alleviate the
frustration and fatigue I experienced.
Author : Saatvik Awasthi
Source : click here
No comments:
Post a Comment