There’s no shortage of great computer games releases this year, in fact the only shortage is in having enough time to give them the credit they deserve, and yet there’s a whole lot more still to come in 2014, including Tom Clancy’s The Division. Bringing a fresh perspective to the third person shooter concept, throwing in elements of tactical RPG development and cutting edge next gen graphics, it’s got the possibility of going on to be another gem from the Unisoft dev camp and the Tom Clancy gaming franchise.
Following on in the well trodden soil of disaster based gaming heritage from the like of The Last Of Us and Zombi U, The Division drops you into a world gone wrong and expects you to be a part of the solution. However, the big difference here is that instead of being a random survivor trying to battle through the unexpected, you’re a well trained killing machine in the US Strategic Homeland Division (SHD).
Release
The official release date of the game hasn’t been fully announced as of yet, but we do know that it’s planned for release later in 2014, so based on that we’d probably say that an October release is probably a good estimate. That puts it firmly in the earlier part of the holiday buying period, while keeping it ahead of the likes of other gaming powerhouse releases around that period and just after the dust settles with Destiny in September.
It’s a next gen only release too, so as with the likes of Ryse: Son of Rome and Assassin’s Creed: Unity it’s been crafted from the ground up to be dedicated to the highest spec gaming systems. It’ll be released for the Xbox ONE, PlayStation 4 and for PC, so expect a pretty massive experience that isn’t hampered with the need to develop within the confined of previous gen consoles.
Storyline
The game is set in a time not too far from now, in which everything has been turned on its head following the outbreak of a virus that devastates New York City. You play a sleeper agent from the SHD, or the Division as it’s know. When society falls apart with food and drink stores running low, it’s up to you to attempt to stop the pandemic and the conspiracy that becomes apparent as the game develops.
Trained to operate independently of command, with clear directives in terms of how to deal with the situation drilled into you prior to the virus’ arrival, you’re skills are opened up to a world in trouble. It’s not an entirely lonely road to recovery though as there are other Division agents throughout the city that you’ll need to find and team up with take bring down the forces that have unleashed the pathogen.
Gameplay
The gameplay is based on a 3rd person shooter concept with strategy tendencies, in a similar way to Ubisoft’s other upcoming cityscape adventure, Watch_Dogs. However, it takes this to the next level with online co-op options set within an equally impressive open-world setting.
Where Watch_Dogs has Chicago, Tom Clancy’s The Division has a sprawling New York to run around in. While it’ll be just as dangerous, it’ll be a whole lot more devastated, so get yourself set for a Big Apple like you’ve never seen before outside of movies like I Am Legend, as the city has become ravaged and overtaken by the aftermath of the viral outbreak and the more sinister infestation of the people behind the disaster.
Trading will be a key part of the game as you’ll need to exchange and barter to stay alive and pull together the equipment you’ll need to make it through the game. This will see you collecting and trading everything from food to weapons and all manner of high tech gear that will become your only lifeline at times.
It’s set to be an incredibly co-operative and social gaming experience that can be jumped into with ease, seeing you team up with friends from all over the world to share in the immersive and suspense filled game. As well as the coop element, there will also be a whole lot of player-vs-player interaction too, for anyone feeling a bit more competitve, as well as using your online social network to boost your trading options within the game.
However, the gaming isn’t just confined to the console and your living room as you’ll be able to take it with you on your smart phone or tablet thanks to The Division app. With this you get a top down view of the New York battleground in which you can continue to take the fight to the enemy, help your friends with markers and targets, as well as giving them new skills on the go.
Graphics
Ubisoft has thrown the kitchen sink at the graphics pack that makes up Tom Clancy’s The Division, which has been boosted by the fact that it has been a next gen game development right from the very beginning. With the might of their new, next gen engine, Snowdrop, it’s packed with detail, slick animation glorious backdrops that will make the game feel like a twisted extension of reality. Check out the Snowdrop preview trailer below to see it in action for yourself.
As well as having fabulous frame rates, epically long draw distances and frightening granularity in its graphical rendering, the game also benefits from a few very cool visual features that the Snowdrop engine delivers. For example, dynamic global illumination means that all lighting behaves like it does in a real world environment with source tracking, light volume and multiple light source interaction.
Added to this is the fact that when you shoot an object or feature within the game it shows the effects and remembers them, something that Ubisoft call procedural destruction, which again you can see for yourself in the trailer below. There’s also time of day tracking and an advanced particle system that takes the game’s graphics down to the microscopic level of detail when it comes to things like steam, mist, rain and snow.
