With the increasing popularity of the shared-world shooter genre, the competition is heating up and the quality of games has increased dramatically. Released on March 15, the new king of the genre is “The Division 2.” Developer Massive Entertainment has set a new standard for day-one quality in a genre that players have come to expect weekly patches and updates to resolve errors and bugs in games that they will spend hundreds of hours playing.
“The Division” is a third-person, shared-world shooter that takes place in the near future where the smallpox virus has been weaponized and released on New York City during the Black Friday shopping weekend. As society breaks down, a secret group of government agents known as the Strategic Homeland Division is mobilized to help subdue the violence and chaos. While the first game in the series takes place in the New York City winter following the attack, “The Division 2” takes place several months later during the summer in Washington D.C.
The Washington D.C. setting is an excellent choice for this sequel. The home base of operations is the White House, and you can visit the vast majority of D.C. landmarks, including the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and Capitol Building. The developers of the game were not able to recreate the entire city, but the area they did include in the game is surprisingly true to life.
One of my favorite parts about the city is that even though it is summertime, the outbreak occurred around Christmastime, so the city is still decorated with holiday lights and trees. Who is going to spend the time taking decorations down during a total, societal breakdown? It is a very nice touch by the design team at Massive.
Gameplay has you on foot as you explore the city. There are multiple gangs roaming throughout the city, all with different agendas and goals. You are tasked with stopping the mayhem and restoring order for the citizens who are trying to rebuild society. “The Division 2” adds multiple new modes that were not included in the first game, including Control Points, Territory Control, Resource Convoys and Bounties. These new activities are sure to keep you busy on your way to the level cap and end game activities.
The game isn’t just about stopping the bad guys, though. It balances itself out by offering missions to give back to the good guys, as well. There are many opportunities to go scavenging for supplies that you can donate to complete projects which help rebuild the main survivor settlements. “The Division 2” is a particularly violent game, so it’s a nice breath of fresh air to complete these activities and watch the lawful citizens rebuild society.
“The Division 2” falls into the shared-world, looter-shooter genre, as it is a persistent online game. You have to be connected to the internet to play, but you can play solo or with a group of up to three other friends or strangers. If a mission is just a bit too hard, you can open up matchmaking to join a squad, which offers a totally different experience and difficulty level than going alone.
All in-game activities result in gaining experience points to increase the power level of your character. Each activity also rewards you with new gear to improve various character statistics such as damage, armor and skill power. The main story missions will get you to the level cap at 30, but that is when the real fun begins. The end game activities after the main story has been told is where these types of games truly shine and “The Division 2” excels with this as there are new unlocked activities and four additional difficulty levels.
Overall, “The Division 2” is an excellent game. Sure, it has a few bugs, but it is in far better shape than the launch versions for rivals “Destiny 2” and “Anthem.” If you enjoyed the first “Division” game, you will want to check this one out. If you played the first game and didn’t enjoy it, there are a lot of new features, but probably not enough to make you enjoy the sequel. Series newcomers should start with this “The Division 2,” however, as the improvements are enough to make a strong improvement. Finally, Ubisoft is going to be supporting the game with all downloadable content and expansion packs free for the first year. This game is going to have a long life with tons of content to keep you busy for the next year and beyond.
Release Date: March 15, 2019
Developer: Massive Entertainment
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Reviewed on Xbox One S