Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 is more than just of a game. It is a piece of art, an electronic piece of art that shows the viewer a grand landscape of Washington D.C. years after a national attack. The visuals are stunning and my friends and I find ourselves standing at high vantage points simply looking 360 degrees around at the beautiful skyline of sadly fallen D.C.
What’s New In Division 2?
Interesting Story
The game is about being an active American hero running the streets of our nation’s capital saving the day. But when you look into it, The Division 2 outlines from my point of view how a modern day civil war would take place. Multiple factions grow in numbers due to ideologies and different thoughts of how society should really be. A true story of crime, control, and perseverance.
Big, Open-World
The thing I found I absolutely loved about the game was the fact that you find yourself wondering from one point of the city to the next and it taking so much longer than it should. Let me explain myself before you jump to conclusion and start judging me for not fast traveling all the time. I wander through the city because the game is considered a shoot and look game, meaning you see your enemy, you kill your enemy and then you loot their shit and move on. But wondering the city allows you to experience the game as for how I believe it is intended.
Enemy Factions
While running block to block and mission to mission you find yourself back in that American superhero suite again defending the innocent from execution, or taking out packs of Hyenas, Ture Sons, or Outcasts from their brainwashed destruction.
The thing about these different factions of enemies that truly annoy the shit out of you is the fact they are all perfect marksmen. I am serious if you show any part of your body they will hit you with everything they got. Not to mention these guys can throw a grenade further than uncle Ricco and an in his prime Peyton Manning combined. If that doesn’t piss you off then maybe that fact they storm you in giant packs at once will. It is highly suggested you go at these packs in the street with more than one person, the same goes for the main and side missions.
AI & NPCs
If you are playing solo then the NPCs are the true heart of the game for you. These everyday people take up arms to help get our nation back have worked their hearts out training and building settlements for the true good of America. I sometimes while playing alone will make up fictitious stories about some of the AI fighters alongside me. Maybe they are a husband and wife who were simple corporate associates who want to see the people pay for taking everything from them. And these allies are not bad by any means, they can hit and kill enemies better than some friends I have played with. I will initially be the one starts the fight but I am just a simple flare away from having a great group of comrades come to my aid.
Lackluster Missions
My complaints in these regards revolve around the fact that the missions are very similar to one another. It is running into a building going floor to floor clearing whichever enemy faction is controlling and then collecting data or eliminating a certain target. This to me can get rather tedious and cumbersome but if you play the game right you can break up that routine. Some tasks you can do that will help break that routine is making sure one goes back to the base of operations and upgrading skills, buying/selling items, or crafting items for your person or weapons. Also, another good thing you can do is going about from settlement to settlement completing projects and upgrading them.
Game Mechanics & Map Detail
The Division 2 beyond the story and different items you can do along the way is very technical. The actual gameplay is beautiful in the sense of the graphics and physics that accompany them. You can run throughout the city and find little details and items that probably took hours of coding that people don’t think about. But while playing and in between firefights just do me a favor and stop and look at the little details the broken roads, the cracked political building we all hold in such high regard, and the sophistication to the settlements that you are helping to build. It isn’t just the buildings and different infrastructure that is amazing but also the mechanics of your virtual badass black ops self. Your fully customized character moves without flaw, climbing, running, and sliding from one blockade to the next. The items on yourself between the clothing, backpacks, armor, weapons and any other add on (my favorite plush hippo) all sway and move with you.
Weapons & Sound
Beyond the mechanics, the design and realistic weapons make the game 100 times better. The guns sound so real and each one so different from one another. You can fire off a 5.56 round AR and hear it echo of the building by building, or you can be in the metro and shoot the same gun but have a completely different sound due to the enclosed space you are fighting in. All of these items are things that people tend to overlook and never focus on, but these are all important if not more important than the story itself. Without the great physics, mechanics, graphics, and realistic weaponry the game would not be as good as it is.
Division 2 Final Thoughts
While The Division 2 is pretty similar to the first game which I have heard people don’t like, I am the opposite. I think sometimes developers will come out with a great game and then try to overextend their reach on the second one. Here with this game, I think they fixed a lot of the bugs and glitches from the first game. I think they upgraded a lot of the little things but kept the same concept with a more heart-wrenching story to accompany it. It’s like the old adage, “if it’s not broke, then don’t fix it”, that is what they did with The Division 2 and I believe it turned out beautifully. The game is fun and runs wonderfully, it allows you to fully immerse yourself into the role and make you want to take up arms and defend this beautiful city. Overall it is a great game that helps incorporate an awesome multiplayer co-op campaign but also allows one to run around by themselves knowing they can get help from NPCs and others that are online.