The Division - Review Thread

Out of 42 friends currently online on PSN, 19 of them are playing this. Been watching streams, read reviews, but I'm just not feeling it. Sort of saddened by it.

Top three game on Steam too (concurrent users)

One thing to keep in mind, the Steam version is actually the most expensive way of acquiring The Division by far. Every other store front will sell a Uplay key, so there are a significant amount of users not counted by Steam.

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But the legitimately great games(Bloodborne, The Witcher 3, MGSV) of 2015 all scored above 90.

Well, none of them got high 9, and they are considered to be one of the best in their genre by many, and the number of games that got above 9 are very few, previous years- to see a 9 was very common and you got a high 9 at least once or twice a year if not more.

I agree that 8+ is the new 9, great games- GOTY contenders can still get a 9, but they are much fewer than they used to be and to get a high 9 is almost mission impossible for the last 2 years since the gen started.
 
I would rate MGSV the worst out of those 3 games, but it is still better than The Division as a solo experience. The other two are no contest better.

MGS5 is inarguably a worse game single player or with friends, and it runs its course far earlier too. As far as RPG gameplay is concerned it's probably at the same level as W3.
 
MGS5 is inarguably a worse game single player or with friends, and it runs its course far earlier too. As far as RPG gameplay is concerned it's probably at the same level as W3.

It is very much so arguable as I am doing that right now!! There is basically one way to tackle every mission in The Divsion....kill every one. Way more options and tactics in MGSV.

RPG gameplay is par with The Witcher 3? Side missions/stories, characters, dialogue, choices in The Division are all on par with The Witcher 3?
 
I'm enjoying The Division, but I'm agreeing more with the current 86 meta more than I am the previous 91 score it held. In my opinion, it's not in the same league as Bloodborne and The Witcher 3, which are masterpieces as far as I'm concerned.

Missions are about as varied as far as objectives are concerned. Actual RPG mechanics are up there too.

Did you play The Witcher 3? lol
 
Maybe it is the effect that people wanted a Destiny contender/replacer so bad, they have some short term revisionist history that both are pretty equal content wise. Does this have PvP?

Not really. There isnt really a PvP component. Yes sure you can attack other groups on the Dark Zone. But nobody is doing it because the punishment for both sides is just dumb.
Ive got to Dark Zone Lvl 32 and only encountered one group of 3 people going rouge and that was 4-5 days ago. Rest of the time? All people ive seen are just farming XP and Loot. Nobody wants to shoot each other. No its the opposite, they even help each other.

That Dark Zone Stuff really failed in my opinion.
 
The combat is crap for 2016. Cover system is clunky and all the guns look, sound, and feel the same.

It sucks that this will be the best selling Tom Clancy branded game over Siege this year.
 
which is weird because the game is clearly meant to be played with people

What exactly is "clearly meant to be played with people"? Aside from instances Im soloing everything and cannot, for the Life of me, understand why this is an always online game, aside from making my experience worse whenever servers or my connection start to act weird.
 
Not really. There isnt really a PvP component. Yes sure you can attack other groups on the Dark Zone. But nobody is doing it because the punishment for both sides is just dumb.
Ive got to Dark Zone Lvl 32 and only encountered one group of 3 people going rouge and that was 4-5 days ago. Rest of the time? All people ive seen are just farming XP and Loot. Nobody wants to shoot each other. No its the opposite, they even help each other.

That Dark Zone Stuff really failed in my opinion.

From a social sciences perspective, people are likely more interested in acquiring the best gear possible currently to fit out their characters. What's left for the game once they've done that? The natural conclusion would be duelling in the Dank Zone.
 
This seems to be the best game Ubisoft published after Far Cry 3?
I think Ubisoft is making a comeback with The Division and Siege. For Honor looks hot too.
 
Really enjoying this. I thought I would be bothered by the bullet spongines, but I don't because this really feels more like a RPG than a shooter. There's something really satisfying about red bars diminishing.

The combat is crap for 2016. Cover system is clunky and all the guns look, sound, and feel the same.

It sucks that this will be the best selling Tom Clancy branded game over Siege this year.

What? Cover system is awesome.
 
So Jim's review mirrors my expectations.

I don't see the appeal of the game, outside of it being a CO-OP experience. But any CO-OP experience is fun, really.

I asked for a clip showing off a great moment of gameplay in the OT and got no response, and my own search has yet to turn up any results. Bullet-sponge enemies and weak mission design is all I see.
 
You're a member of a paramilitary force. The official organization name is Strategic Homeland Division. You're not there to randomly assault people, you're there to protect NYC's JTF (police, EMTs, firefighters) from right wing zealots (cleaners), gangbangers, Rikers escapees, and others. Like no mission is you going out on a hit job, it's often about hostage rescue and protecting supplies.


Actually there are many "hit" jobs. Like killing gang leaders and lieutenants.
 
However, that is not what was going on. The main conversation was people such as myself, asking valid questions to see if it was a purchase now or not.

I have been gaming a long time, especially MMO's and other loot games, knowing you can't have a review, that is that realistic, so soon, and be rated 95-100, and seen all the content the game had to offer to warrant that.

A red flag went up right away with this type of game. And the more I am reading, the more I am seeing, Destiny, only no PVP, no varied environments, and maybe worse end game content out of the gate. And the later reviews seemed to spend more time with the scope of the game, and not the initial 3 hour wow factor.

So can we not derail in the typical purchaser vs. non-purchaser false narrative?
No that's exactly what happened when the Jim review came up. A bunch of people seemingly waiting for the one lower review score as justification for their preconceived notions popped up out of the woodwork. You are also wrong on several accounts here, there is PVP, there are plenty of varied environments, (with varied weather conditions on top), and there is more endgame content than Destiny with even more coming very soon.

If Jim Sterling thinks this game is just okay, that's good enough justification for me not to buy it. Ubisoft are just a mess at the moment. They live for the mundane open world experience. It sickens me.
Jim's on point, as usual.

It's a solid meh. If you like looter-shooters, you'll have some fun. Otherwise don't bother.
I'm just going to quote myself again after getter so much flack for my initial comments.
I'm in complete agreement with Jim on this one. In my opinion, the core gameplay serves it's purpose to a mediocre degree.
Honeymoon phase is ending. Didn't even take a full week.
Spot on by Jim there.
Can easily see myself going meh after my own beta hands on and all the footage since release.

Will maybe dip in a year when its cheap with all DLC but this game feels nothing better than "ok", which is fine but not what I need right now.
Finally someone is talking sense.
So Jim's review mirrors my expectations.

I don't see the appeal of the game, outside of it being a CO-OP experience. But any CO-OP experience is fun, really.

I asked for a clip showing off a great moment of gameplay in the OT and got no response, and my own search has yet to turn up any results. Bullet-sponge enemies and weak mission design is all I see.

It's even worse when literally a page beforehand a guy said literally this exact thing would happen.
 
So Jim's review mirrors my expectations.

I don't see the appeal of the game, outside of it being a CO-OP experience. But any CO-OP experience is fun, really.

I asked for a clip showing off a great moment of gameplay in the OT and got no response, and my own search has yet to turn up any results. Bullet-sponge enemies and weak mission design is all I see.

The only great moments i can show you are bugs with the AI stucking in random objects like a Car or Door or in a automat. There really isnt something exciting at all.
 
No that's exactly what happened when the Jim review came up. A bunch of people seemingly waiting for the one lower review score as justification for their preconceived notions popped up out of the woodwork. You are also wrong on several accounts here, there is PVP, there are plenty of varied environments, (with varied weather conditions on top), and there is more endgame content than Destiny with even more coming very soon.

It's even worse when literally a page beforehand a guy said literally this exact thing would happen.

I tend to overlook shitposts... instead of giving them any cred. But let us not dismiss legitimate posts because the opposite bias is at play.
 
So Jim's review mirrors my expectations.

I don't see the appeal of the game, outside of it being a CO-OP experience. But any CO-OP experience is fun, really.

I asked for a clip showing off a great moment of gameplay in the OT and got no response, and my own search has yet to turn up any results. Bullet-sponge enemies and weak mission design is all I see.
Try actually playing the game. And no, there is a such thing as a bad co-op game, the Division however, is not one of them. The OT is moving very fast and many are reporting their findings and experiences. The subreddit would be a better place because they usually post video footage and detailed stories there.

I tend to overlook shitposts... instead of giving them any cred. But let us not dismiss legitimate posts because the opposite bias is at play.
There are just as many positive critiques as negative ones.
 
No that's exactly what happened when the Jim review came up. A bunch of people seemingly waiting for the one lower review score as justification for their preconceived notions popped up out of the woodwork. You are also wrong on several accounts here, there is PVP, there are plenty of varied environments, (with varied weather conditions on top), and there is more endgame content than Destiny with even more coming very soon.


It's even worse when literally a page beforehand a guy said literally this exact thing would happen.

I couldn't care less what Jim Sterling has to say. I said from the day this topic was started that this game would not stay above 90 once more reviews more recognizable sites came in. Some 100 scores from outlets I have never heard of after a short amount of playtime was very suspicious. It will end closer to 80.
 
I'd say an 86 is a pretty accurate score for the game. It's not the most amazing multiplayer experience I've ever had, and the missions tend to be fairly simple in structure. It's fun though. The loot is varied enough to keep you coming back to missions for better drops, and the Dark Zone keeps it interesting when you're tired of doing missions.
 
Try actually playing the game. And no, there is a such thing as a bad co-op game, the Division however, is not one of them. The OT is moving very fast and many are reporting their findings and experiences. The subreddit would be a better place because they usually post video footage and detailed stories there.

Played the beta. It did nothing for me. As I said, bullet-sponge enemies and weak mission design.

And yeah, there are bad CO-OP games, but short of them not functioning even those are fun.

Finally The Division's subreddit doesn't have a great wealth of videos, as far as I can see.
 
I had no interest in buying this game. While I like games like WoW and Diablo III, I was totally bummed out by the shit show that was Destiny. My friend bought it and since there have been no major disasters with servers and bugs I decided to jump in.

We are having a bunch of fun playing with people on our friends group and, while I agree with the people who are dissatisfied with the game, it has been a worthwhile purchase for me.

If I had nobody to play with it would probably not be as fun.

Did you get this on ps4 and abandon your siege crew? :(
 
The combat is crap for 2016. Cover system is clunky and all the guns look, sound, and feel the same.

It sucks that this will be the best selling Tom Clancy branded game over Siege this year.
Yes,Siege has in fact such a satisfying gunplay...It's actually what makes it great(plus the heavy tactical component) and makes me go back to it after days of playing other games.
On the other hand The Division promises a lot when you are roaming the city (such a great engine), but however once gunplay kicks off it makes the game so forgetable and generic...
 
I think I'm convinced to give it a try...but it will have to be after dark souls. Only so many hours in the day unfortunately.
 
Played the beta. It did nothing for me. As I said, bullet-sponge enemies and weak mission design.

And yeah, there are bad CO-OP games, but short of them not functioning even those are fun.

Finally The Division's subreddit doesn't have a great wealth of videos, as far as I can see.

Honestly dude, if you didn't like the beta you won't like the full game. I mean it doesn't really show off the Dark Zone completely IMO (faaaaar more AI in the full game) but how the combat feels obviously doesn't change, and the quest for loot etc
 
I couldn't care less what Jim Sterling has to say. I said from the day this topic was started that this game would not stay above 90 once more reviews more recognizable sites came in. Some 100 scores from outlets I have never heard of after a short amount of playtime was very suspicious. It will end closer to 80.
Literally the only uncommon reviewer in the OP is GameCrate, others have all appeared in review threads before.

So then what is the issue? Seems balanced then and not worth complaining about.
That the thread absolutely did take a negative turn after one above average review.

Played the beta. It did nothing for me. As I said, bullet-sponge enemies and weak mission design.

And yeah, there are bad CO-OP games, but short of them not functioning even those are fun.

Finally The Division's subreddit doesn't have a great wealth of videos, as far as I can see.
The beta is quite different from the full game, especially in terms of pacing and even more so in terms of the amount of abilities and perks you unlock which can drastically change battles, the beta was an incredibly barebones older build of the game. For one, way more varied mission design, (it's still an RPG so you're killing a lot of enemies but the level design changes quite often naturally), and way more lore building, better echoes, a larger map, a drastically differently paced DZ. Etc. It's not like Destiny where the "beta" was just the latest build of the game with content sliced off.
 
Grabbed it despite waning interest following the betas, mostly to help fill the gap between Souls. Not expecting it to have particularly long legs, which is perfectly fine, so I went with the physical version. It's fun, pretty much exactly as advertised, though the campaign has over achieved so far. There is a ton of garbage-tier open world filler but that was apparent going in.

Speaking of garbage...that character creator. Seriously wow.
 
Grabbed it despite waning interest following the betas, mostly to help fill the gap between Souls. Not expecting it to have particularly legs, which is perfectly fine, so I went with the physical version. It's fun, pretty much exactly as advertised, though the campaign has over achieved so far. There is a ton of garbage-tier open world filler but that was apparent going in.

Speaking of garbage...that character creator. Seriously wow.

LOL yeah I think it's the worst character creator I've seen in years for a AAA game, like seriously, would a bit more options have killed them?
 
LOL yeah I think it's the worst character creator I've seen in years for a AAA game, like seriously, would a bit more options have killed them?

Not just the lack of options, but the base models themselves are abysmal save for 2 or 3 which are serviceable at best.
 
No that's exactly what happened when the Jim review came up. A bunch of people seemingly waiting for the one lower review score as justification for their preconceived notions popped up out of the woodwork. You are also wrong on several accounts here, there is PVP, there are plenty of varied environments, (with varied weather conditions on top), and there is more endgame content than Destiny with even more coming very soon.


People are reacting to new reviews that are happening in a review thread. Ignoring the score, I actually read Jim's review and it's hard to disagree on many of the points he touched on. If you don't feel the same that's fine, but casting a wide net on those that do is as obtuse as saying shills and corporate cheerleaders made up the first half of the thread when everything was sunshine and rainbows.
 
It's weird how these reviewers keep mentioning MMO or MMO-lite. Is Diablo an MMO?

This is 100% an action RPG that has shooting and a cover mechanic as it's combat mechanics. It's so strange that it's hard for some people to wrap their heads around such a simple thing.
 
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