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Better Late Than Never Review: The Division

There are a lot of different things that can make a good game, but for me a good narrative might be the biggest. That said I usually can only enjoy these stories alone. By myself. Offline. So I was disappointed to see that The Division required me to be online to play. I don't need to be parried up with some over-leveled jerk running through the mission ahead of me, ruining the challenge, and talking over all the dialogue. Imagine my surprise then when I found out that I can play the game alone.

While you do need to be online and a lot of the fun is had playing a mission on a harder mode with friends or through the PvP area, you aren't forced to play with others.  For me this is huge.  I'm not adverse to playing with others but I'm invested in the plot. I want to look around the ruined Times Square a bit before I finish the mission.

The story is that a deadly and contagious virus was released in New York City on Black Friday and the now quarantined city has fallen into mostly anarchy that winter with the Police and Army unable to handle the situation. The player is sent into NYC as part of the Division, a secret, last resort group of highly trained agents sent in to restore order.  It's a simple and uncomplicated plot, but that's not a bad thing.  I knew what was going on, what was at stake, and what my side trying to accomplish the whole way through.

The gameplay is sandbox 3rd person shooter with that new mix of character progression featuring both special abilities and level based weapons, enemies, and missions.  There's cover based shooting but the game rewards sneakiness and flanking. It's  basically MMO but a shooter with a little base building and a uniquely grounded feeling. Some of the technology featured certainly doesn't exist, but the tone and setting is very "20 minutes into the feature."

This is the games big strength.  Rather than a raid on a dungeon in a fantasy world The Division  has what is functionally the same mission, right down to having a boss, but set in modern Madison Square Garden taken over by rioters.  This placement of the game in the real world really brings everything home. There are times playing the game when I really feel as though I'm on patrol, out to protect the people of NYC from anarchy.

The Good:
-The map is huge with an amazing representation of much of NYC. There's a fair bit of exploring to be done and pickups to be found in the usual sandbox way.
-The game is visually gorgeous with a day/night cycle that features everything from clear skies to blizzards that add a new level of intensity to some missions.
-A large variety of weapons, attachments, and gear allowing for both general and specialist builds.

The Bad:
-There's a bit of grinding to this game. If your even a level below the recommended one for a mission then it will be truly difficult.  Unfortunately the best way to level up is replaying previous missions.
-At times it can be unclear where to go or what to do next, combined with the above point this can be really frustrating.
-It would be a tall order to demand a complete 1:1 map of a city as massive as New York, but some landmarks mentioned in the game are never visited.
-many of the side missions are repetitive.

I had a lot of fun with The Division mostly because I liked the story and setting. The scenario depicted is really scary in its possibility.  Add to that straightforward game mechanics that cater to, but by no means require cooperation with other players along with plenty to do in the game and you have a really fun time.

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