Tom Clancy's The Division / 7 Mar 2016 The Division Review In Progress - The First Hours

Tom Clancy's The Division / 7 Mar 2016

The Division Review In Progress - The First Hours

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World-building at the end of the world.

By Vince Ingenito For my first review-in-progress post, I’ll keep this brief (in the interest of getting back in and playing more): the very first thing that struck me about Tom Clancy’s The Division was the introduction to its world.

If you’d rather watch me experience the opening moments for the first time than read about it, you’ll find the video of my first two hours below.

Early Tom Clancy's The Division Gameplay - IGN Plays Live

58:28

Coming out of a makeshift security checkpoint in Manhattan, daylight blinds me until my eyes adjust, and then I see it - an improvised memorial to those who have given their lives trying to take Manhattan back from the chaos that's swallowed it in the wake of an unprecedented terror attack.

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My first two hours with The Division were full of valiant attempts at world-building.

My father was in Manhattan on 9/11. I've seen memorials like this, littered with the helmets of fallen firefighters, and hastily scrawled children's drawings with "thank you" writ large across the top. It is, perhaps, a cheap way to get me emotionally invested in the conflict that drives Tom Clancy's The Division, but an unquestionably effective one.
Heavy-handed though it may be, it's an example of the tremendous effort The Division goes to in order to make something meaningful out of what will invariably be dozens of hours of shooting dudes in the face in the name of restoring law and order. From the opening cinematic that paints a believable, well-conceived picture of biological crisis, to injured innocents limping towards you in need of assistance, my first two hours with The Division were full of valiant attempts at world-building.

The Division: Will it Live Up To The Hype? - IGN's Division HQ

33:32

The rest of my orientation went about as I expected for an "online only" affair. A hub filled with NPCs offering gear and services, an icon-bespeckled world map full of missions to take, the expected procession of hints reminding me that taking cover is good and I should do it; the familiar motions. The Division mostly handles it well, though its semi-opaque menus can be tough to read depending upon where you pull them up, and if you aren't used to the conventions of RPG equipment management, it can turn the screen into a wall of number clutter. The information needed to make decisions is all there though, once you know where to look.

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At least for now though, The Division is trying to tell a story, and it's throwing more scraps of RPG meat my way than I thought it would

I rather prefer that to having too little to look at in terms of stats though. Ubisoft promised an RPG and we got one, at least in terms of the systems underpinning all the familiar gunplay. Initially simple-looking skill trees offer a surprising number modifications to each individual ability, with several other layers of perks and passives to think about when you consider the different bonuses gear can drop with or have added to it through attachments. It's hard to know just how enticing the loot drip will ultimately be, given that the grounded setting rules out the kind of flashy wiz-bang implements of destruction that make the gear hunt in Destiny so enticing.
At least for now though, The Division is trying to tell a story, and it's throwing more scraps of RPG meat my way than I thought it would, and that's certainly a good sign.
There’s a long road ahead - this is effectively an MMORPG, and these take time to digest and evaluate. We’re not sure yet how long it’ll take to reach the end game and get a feel for it, but we’ll keep you updated with impressions as we go. Tune into IGN for lots of Division coverage this week, including more livestreams and my first big review-in-progress update on Wednesday. And if you’re playing, let us know what you think!