The Division is something of an oddity when it comes to Tom Clancy games. Sure, it features plenty of tactical gameplay and cover-based shooting, but there's also a huge focus on RPG elements, loot and open-world gameplay. It's not Ghost Recon or Rainbow Six, but it's not exactly Grand Theft Auto, either.
Now, after years of waiting and multiple delays, The Division is almost here ... and, despite the fact that the game has been shown at multiple different trade shows over the years, no one really knows what to expect. Ubisoft has shown off gameplay on numerous occasions, but that's just a tiny vertical slice of the whole game — considering how many different systems and mechanics The Division employs, a 5-minute video demo just isn't enough to explain everything.
So, with the game's release date and closed beta test fast approaching, we've dug up everything that fans have seen or heard about The Division over the years. If you've been curious about what exactly Ubisoft's new RPG-shooter hybrid is all about, look no further.
The Story
The Division begins three weeks after a biological attack on Black Friday cripples the nation. Within days, a virus (transmitted via bank notes) infects millions of people across the country — as a result, most major facilities and utilities begin to fail, and the government loses control. In response to the growing crisis, the president enacts Directive 51: a covert group of self-supported agents are activated, and ordered to help restore order and civility to their respective cities. The player (aka you) then joins the battle to retake New York City.
At this point, it's hard to tell where The Division's story will go — Ubisoft has confirmed that there's some sort of worldwide conspiracy at play, but any details past the immediate situation in NYC are still scarce. The closed alpha test did introduce a few of the game's characters, but they served more as an introduction to the game's world than anything else. Given that the Tom Clancy games have always been hit-or-miss when it comes to storytelling, it'll be interesting to see how The Division shapes up. If anything, the Echoes — holographic recreations of what happened during the initial outbreak and collapse — are some of the coolest-looking story mechanics in recent memory.
Your Character
As if the rest of the game wasn't intriguing enough, The Dark Zone represents some of the most interesting multiplayer options of the current console generation.
The Division doesn't feature any traditional multiplayer modes, like Deathmatch or Capture the Flag. Instead, players travel into the Dark Zone, a quarantined (and mostly deserted) section of the city. Much of the game's standard gameplay carries over into the Dark Zone — players are free to roam the streets with their friends in search of better loot and missions, all while trying to stay alive.
What's different about the Dark Zone is that, while player vs. player combat is always enabled, it's entirely possible to make a trip through without starting a fight. Basically, it's up to the players themselves to start something. If you want, you can move through the Dark Zone without ever engaging another squad. Of course, if you've surrounded a squad of players with high-level loot, there's nothing to stop you from opening fire and taking it from them — just know that everyone in the vicinity will know that you've gone rogue. Once that happens, you may find yourself on the wrong end of a manhunt.
Oh, and don't forget — if one of your squadmates grabs a rare piece of gear you'd been hoping for, you can always take it back, with force, if necessary. No one is safe in the Dark Zone.
If anything, The Division represents the potential of current-gen hardware. Ubisoft's blend of RPG and shooter hasn't really been attempted on this scale before (even if Destiny was the first game to test the waters) and there are a lot of genuinely interesting ideas on the table. The only problem is that no one's ever tried something like this before. As such, there's no way to tell if it'll actually work on a large scale.
Then again, the closed apha test was a success for Ubisoft — not only did the game hold up under the stress, but it finally gave people a chance to give the game a try. From what we played, The Division is definitely something to keep an eye on, even if fans will have to wait a while longer before the game finally launches.
The Division is due out on March 8, while the closed beta test is set to begin on Jan. 28.
