Tom Clancy’s The Division (XB1) Review

First came death, then came madness, then came The Division.

Day 0

Rumor has it that a virus is getting people sick shortly after the Black Friday holiday rush. They say the virus was spread by contaminated money, I’m not so sure I believe that. I’ve yet to get sick, but they claim some are just immune, they call us the lucky ones. I had a chance to explore the areas that were affected by the virus just before the shit hit the fan. I wasn’t exactly sure I was seeing what everyone was talking about. I went home feeling as if it was all a rumor or overreaction.

Day 15

The virus has run rampant and killed more people than anyone ever expected. It’s gotten so bad that the streets of Manhattan are practically empty. There are lone folks, walking the streets, looking for help at any turn they can get, but it’s not exactly a happy picture. Just when thinking the world can’t get any worse, society proves otherwise. Cleaners, bandits, and other miscreants are walking the streets, killing and hurting people as they try to overtake the city as it stands crippled, society no longer as it once was. There is hope though, as I have overheard of a group of individuals called The Division who are here to put a stop to the madness and help the city once more.

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Day 22

I’ve seen the main base of operations for the Division agents, as it appears they have overtaken the local post office as such. I paid an agent on the way out the other day to tell me what exactly transpires in there but he wasn’t exactly too detailed. He claims they have 3 various wings that they are constantly trying to upgrade so that they can research new abilities and ways to fight the enemy. Everything from weapons, modifications, gear can all be obtained there also. It sounds like the team knows exactly what they are doing, and I hope so, for all our sake.

Day 30

Having seen first had what the Division is capable of in a battle, I decided to follow them around for the last few days. They seem extremely adaptable and prone to take cover as much as necessary. They also surprisingly use this cover extremely well to their advantage, but make no mistake, the enemies do also. At times they seem to really show some aggressiveness in their behavior. The agents on patrol, I’ve seen them using handgun, shotguns, machine guns and more. As I’ve seen agents repeatedly in the battlefield, so too have I seen their ability to fire their weapons and abilities grow overtime with their experience in the city. Each time I’ve seen them in action they are saving hostages, turning on essential equipment, and when things really get intense they are defending equipment or data that’s essential to their team. They want to help figure out what exactly caused the virus to spread and who was behind it, and without them the world would definitely be in a worse state. The gang leaders have targeted specific areas to overtake in the city and these are some of the most intense missions the agents will take on.

Day 36

Not only are the agents constantly fighting against the crime, I see them trying to solve other problems. Always looking for information that could help with a better outcome. Some agents have gone missing, documents have been found, and there is a ton of cell phones that people seemingly have just dropped as the virus took hold. Whatever it may be, if there is a chance it could help, the agents pick it up as they can.

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Day 44

I have had to be very careful while watching the agents as to not be caught in the crossfire, but today was the hardest. See, there is an area called “the dark zone” and this area is super contaminated with chaos reigning supreme. People turn on each other, even other Division agents going rogue and bandits run the streets more aggressively than ever. I couldn’t trust a single soul I ran into there, so I stayed as hidden as possible. The only reason I can see agents going in here is to gain access to other more rare weapons and equipment, which the moto shows “better equipment, leads to better outcomes”. That’s an ongoing theme I see with these agents, always trying to better themselves and plenty of opportunity to do so. I’m even told that with the current amount of chaos in the streets, most agents are spending anywhere from 30 to 40 hours to finish their assignments, which is decent enough and seemingly offers them plenty of opportunities to accomplish their goals.

Day 51

I’m not so sure if everything the agents are doing are leading to a better way of life or ultimately a resolution, as it seems the battle is far from over. I’ve seen agents pushing themselves to the point of breaking, and most of the major crime leaders being taken out, but the threat still remains. Only time and further progress is going to see if everything can come to fruition to ultimately save the day. The Division unit is a bold experiment, requiring ultimate team work, but also agents going at it alone seem to be able to do just fine also. They sometimes work together, sometimes separate, and it all seemingly works as the Division intendeds agents to, a rarity in the world the way it is today.

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Even sometimes working with complete strangers is a godsend, as agents truly know the way teamwork can and should be. Not everything is perfect, as I sometimes get confused on which agent is who and I start to think to myself “they all look alike”, though that could just be me imagining things? The enemies seem to have extremely amazing body armor, as some can take a huge onslaught of bullets before succumbing to their wounds, though that might be normal for this sort of job. One things is for certain though, The Division is a great step in the right direction for people coming together to take down the enemy or working alone. They might have similarities to others that they have followed in their footsteps, but everything looks to be coming together extremely well and I have faith in the Division’s future.

You could say it’s their destiny to be better, and so far that is proving so. I’ll need more time to observe them in the future but for now there is only a good outlook for the future of the Division and its many agents.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

Good
  • Great online solo/multiplayer exp
  • Atmosphere and setting unique to an RPG
  • Lots of content to keep players busy
  • The Dark Zone
Bad
  • Weak character customization
  • Typical story beats
9
Excellent
Written by
Justin is a long time passionate fan of games, not gaming drama. He loves anything horror related, archaeology inspired adventures, RPG goodness, Dr Pepper, and of course his family. When it comes to crunch time, he is a beast, yet rabies free we promise.