While
recently looking through a list I keep that contains every game I’ve played in
2016 a thought came to me: I play a lot of video games. It’s only the middle of
March and I’ve played about eight different titles. Lucky we will live in a gaming world where not one of these
eight was a AAA game and my bank account wasn’t diminished like many would
think. Now when The Division came
out I swore I wasn’t going to buy it, that I couldn’t spend any more money on
games, that this game wasn’t worth my $60. So I did what any young adult living on his on dime would
do, I redboxed it and after five hours I was pissed. Why you ask? I knew within
that small amount of time that I needed to buy The Division.
Now
luckily I’m semi crafty and found a few games to trade in and managed to not
spend a penny of my hard-earned money. Now I just started The Division, but I
think I’m in love or I’m slowly falling in with this fantastic game. I know what you’re thinking: “Jake it’s
too early to declare your love” or “It’s the honey moon stage and your bound to
have a few unknown issues down the line.” While those are all fair points, I
know I’m right. I am in love.
I
once asked a question to a mentor: “What is the difference between loving
someone and falling in love with someone?” He thought for a bit and then gave
me an answer that I will remember forever. “You don’t choose to fall in love,
it happens unexpectedly. It’s
terrifying because no one ever plans on falling, falling in love is out of your
control.” (Full disclosure that’s not an actual quote, but it’s what I took
away from his answer) With The Division I never planned on loving it, hell
three days ago I didn’t plan on buying it. Then I tried it out, like a first date, and after just one
date I wanted more, I wanted it enough to commit to it and know I’m in a
committed loving relationship with The Division.
Now
as for why I love it, it’s actually quite simple- this game screams Jake. Now the only thing that could make it
more Jake is if had any Jedi.
Though despite this it bleeds Jake, so let me got through the
checklist. Does it take place in
my favorite city New York? Yep. Is
it a third person shooter? Well of course. Is it set in a post apocalyptic
world? Do I like pizza? (Yes I do, it’s possibly my favorite food) Is this a game that is based on a loot
system? (or grabbing that next gun, chest plate or scarf to make your character
better). Does a bear shit in the
woods? They do. And lastly, The
Division is a multiplayer game I can play by myself.
The
Division’s setting is the world’s greatest city, New York, after a chemical
attack. The in-game map is a
massive chunk of Manhattan. The
game uses this city in a lovely way that incorporates the harshness of winter and
the desperate feeling of destruction that the city has gone through. The city is beautiful and melds with
the games many different objectives, whether it is a full story mission or a
small-scale hostage rescue that pops up as you roam Hell’s Kitchen. The map is engaging and even at some
times overwhelming as a boatload of icons cover your map. The strategy I have to use is in game
management, where in order to not be besieged with countless missions I focus
on either a certain district or a certain type of mission.
The
mission verity is one part of unexpected greatness from The Division. I figured it would be just another
Destiny, where every mission involved you going from point A to point B, but
here every mission has some unique aspect that makes it all feel
different. Each side mission has
some reward that makes a trivial task seem worth it, and each story mission
feels like it was ripped out of a single player campaign. The story seems to be well thought out
rather than the shoe in that Destiny’s story was. The Destiny comparisons seem to come naturally since each
game was trying to achieve relatively the same thing.
Their
objective is quite clear: make an on console MMO, or massive multiplayer online
game. While Destiny easily looked
this way with a massive hub world and random players running around like
jack-asses on every planet. The
Division’s world isn’t cluttered with any of that, it’s basically my version of
New York. Each mission seems as if
I am the cities last hope, these don’t feel like something other players have
done before. It’s exciting to take
on a boss, as they seem genuinely threatening, every time a boss appeared I was
running for my life rather than the boss acting as my personal bullet
sponge. There’s just something special
about The Division’s missions, it’s an MMO that allows you to take ownership.
Though
my real sense of ownership comes with my character, or as they’re called
in-game an Agent. My Agent is
truly my own, though the initial face customization is a little lackluster, the
world of customization expands as you discover weapons, gear and (my favorite
part) clothes. Each MMO is all
about the loot you get from killing enemies, completing quests or just scavenging
around the world and The Division nails this. As I wander around this desolate New York the best part is
how I’m slowly updating my arsenal.
Within just four hours my primary weapon change three times as I swapped
out a heavy machine gun with the assault rifle I’m current use. The loot is just consistently
gratifying and makes you feel that playing The Division is actually worth
it. Each weapon, while not being
vastly different, feels somewhat unique and worth finding. Armor on the other hand is perhaps The
Division’s most innovative feature.
The
game’s armor selection is truly impressive as each piece: backpack, holster,
kneepads, etc. add up to your total armor point count. While this isn’t anything that
different from other MMOs the true game changer is that none of this armor
affects your outward appearance.
Your Agents outward appearance comes from something entirely different,
a selection of clothing found around New York. Though this may not seem like a big deal it is in fact an
epic change to that MMO format.
Now that annoying decision of better looking verse better armor is no
longer relevant. Just like Hannah
Montana you get the best of both worlds.
This is weirdly enough one of my favorite features in The Division and I
couldn’t be my excited to customize my Agent while keeping on that blue bomber
jacket.
The
last part of The Division that is exciting is a place no one wants to go: The
Dark Zone. This scary place is in
the middle of New York, it is the place that was affected most by the virus,
and it’s a place where anything can happen. In the Dark Zone players may work together to obtain
exclusive gear only found there, but it comes at a price, every player may kill
another player for their loot.
It’s a place where teamwork is necessary, but trust is terrifying. Here is where the end game lies and I
cannot wait to level up just to explore The Dark Zone.
The
Division isn’t without it’s issues, but those are heavily outweighed by the
positives. The game has so much
going for it and I know that my lovely relationship will continue to
blossom. If everything goes as I
think it will proceed then I will be committed to The Division for quite some
time. I’m in love with The
Division and I recommend you take the leap. It won’t disappoint you.
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