Game Review: Tom Clancy’s The Division (XBox One)

For the past few years I’ve found myself occasionally checking up on the status of this extremely anticipated Tom Clancy title. My friends and I were enamored with it from the announcement alongside the Xbox One, what feels like forever ago at this point. From the moment I stepped foot into New York in the Beta, to the last precious few hours I spent battling the Rikers, I am SMITTEN.

I think the first and foremost positive of this game is how developer Ubisoft nailed the controls. I’ve had my fair share of negative experiences with wonky “cover”systems and games that allow you to vault over obstacles, but I have to say without a doubt that it is one of the most seamless, fluid experiences I’ve had to date. From very intuitive grenade mechanics (merely tap the left d-pad and it brings up the grenade arc, hold to select your grenade), to multifunction buttons that hold different controls when you tap, double tap, or long hold it feels like they worked meticulously to ensure that this massive game felt very familiar in the palm of your hand.

The visuals are absolutely beautiful. Bullets that gracefully tear through windshields, tires that satisfyingly burst open and release a plume of cold air when shot and one hell of a sunrise; I found myself taking more screenshots than I probably should have.

I love the dark zone. I love its’ concept, I love the challenge, I love the absolutely overwhelming feeling of urgency as you see a group of so called “non-hostile agents” approaching your evac point. For the unfamiliar, gear must be de-contaminated in the dark zone for use in the standard gameplay. To accomplish this, you must fire a signal flare into the sky and wait for a chopper to take your gear back to your base for decontamination. While doing so other players can freely murder you for your swag bag and take the higher quality gear within. It’s so simple at its core, but the constant run and gun from the pressure of high level elite units or hostile agents trying to get their hands on your loot ales this play style a ton of fun. At this point I’ve only reached Dark Zone two, out of a total of six with varying levels each zone, but I see myself burning quite a bit of my time here. 

All in all, The Division has proven itself to be a massively fun time, with a lot of room to grow and evolve over time,which I personally think is what a game like this needs. I’m in Ubisoft, hook-line-and sinker.

see you in New York.