Recs.
Updated
The Division is an open world, third person RPG shooter set in future Manhattan.
SpecsUpdate
Pros
Pro Nice graphics
While not on par with the promotional material Ubisoft showed off a few years ago, the graphics are quite good. If you have a high-quality setup, max graphics look great and are displayed at a smooth 60 FPS. Even a mid-range rig can handle the high setting while getting above 30 FPS.
The game takes place in a wintry city. The snow is randomized and can sweep in and out of the city at any time, making for a beautiful rendering of snow interacting with buildings. The city itself is sparsely populated, which is less stressful on the graphics card. There will be a few civilians in the streets, but mainly you are alone out there until you run into trouble.
Pro Lots of fun to play with friends
The missions get hard fast, so the game forces you to coordinate with your team and ensure you have the right composition to beat the more difficult missions. You'll have to keep track of the locations of all your team members to make sure you're not getting flanked, to be in position to rescue them if they go down, and to let people know when you spot a sniper or a boss.
Pro Great use of a cover system
The cover system in the game is quite intuitive. The player can easily crouch for cover behind a highlighted object with the press of a single button. Once in cover, any other area within a certain distance will become highlighted, letting the player know they can run to the next spot for cover. This mechanic makes it possible to flank enemies and survive firefights.
Pro Fun team shooter gameplay with RPG elements
The core game mode is a third-person team shooter. However, over the course of the game you can customize your soldier in a number of ways, adding some RPG elements.
You can unlock various active skills to use during combat, passive perks that buff your soldier, and talents that activate when you perform a certain action, like getting a headshot. Although it starts simple, as you progress through the game you can then modify and upgrade a lot of the abilities to keep things interesting.
The loot and gear systems make it fun to continually upgrade your soldier. You have more than 10 slots for various bits of gear that improve your characters’ attributes.
Weapons also have multiple mod slots, so you can add on different scopes, silencers, grips, etc. that have a meaningful effect on gameplay.
Pro Open-world freedom
Once the introduction is complete, all missions for the game are unlocked by walking around the game world. The player is free to choose any mission they would like to try, though some may be too tough depending on the player and mission level. In addition to the primary missions, you will randomly encounter a variety of side missions you can do for additional experience and rewards.
The game is set in a living breathing world, in addition to the primary missions you will randomly encounter a variety of side missions you can do for additional experience and rewards.
Pro Class can be changed at any time
The class system for this game allows the player to change class and perks at any time, meaning anyone can take on any role at the drop of a hat. While this may cut down on replayability because you won’t have to play through multiple times to experience each class, it makes for a great way to test out each play style and choose the one you like the best.
Pro Great matchmaking
This game has made it very easy to group up with friends, nearby players, or random players looking for the same content. Grouping from the player menu is always available, and whenever you enter a mission you can choose to look for players to join you. Looking at the ISAC map lets you see friends' locations and invite them to a group.
Pro Pleasing graphics
While not up to par of the promotional material Ubisoft showed off a few years ago (not much of a surprise, this is Ubisoft after-all), the graphics are quite good and can easily be set on max setting with a smooth 60fps for those with good components in their computers. Even when using a mid range rig the graphics can easily be on high while getting above 30fps.
In general what is present in the game is a winter city that is in a pre-apocalyptic crisis. The snow is randomized and can sweep in and out of the city at any time making for a beautiful representation of snow storms in a city. The city itself is pretty sparsely populated, which allows for less tax on the graphics, but of course the excuse is that it is basically an abandoned city other than the bad guys. There will be a few civilians in the streets but mainly you are alone out there until you run into trouble.
Cons
Con Buggy post release
The game has been buggy across all systems it was tested on. PC has had issues with loading to blank screens, as well as gamepad buttons that stop working mid-game. While frustrating, nothing has so far been game-breaking. The extent to which you’re affected will likely depend on your equipment and graphic settings.
Con Poor enemy NPC chatter
The in-game chatter of the enemy non-player characters is laughably bad. As you are shooting them one-by-one, they constantly repeat the same things, which are often not even relevant to the situation. This includes calling you names or just simply stating that you should "get lost." This can be really ruin the sense of immersion.
Con Boring grinding system
After hitting level 14 - 15 most missions are either way to high or to low to go back to play. So you are stuck doing awfully boring side missions that become quite repetitive, most are Hostage Rescue or Zone Decontamination and require no effort. The next missions start around level 20, which seems to be a way to force players into the Dark Zone.
Con No early review copies given out
Usually there are embargo's on new games, meaning that a games review has a set date for when the review can be released. Often it is apparent if a game does not perform well as an embargo will be set for release day or after, meaning the developers and publishers do not want consumers to know how good or bad a game performs, which can potentially cut sales. The Division has no set embargo but had also not given out any early review copies, which means there were no pre-release reviews. While this does not necessarily mean the game will be bad in any way, it is usually best to wait for reviews in order to know if the game works properly. With no early review copies in the wild that means cautious consumers needed to wait a day or more till the reviews came in.