Review for Tom Clancy's The Division 2. Game for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Google Stadia, the video game was released on 15/03/2019
Version for Google Stadia from 17/03/2020
When it comes to looter shooter (or cover shooter as in this case) the evaluation of the title under consideration requires a very careful and accurate reflection, almost obsessive of everything that can and must keep the user glued to the title in a manner much longer than normal.
The Division 2, without ifs and buts, is to date the best exponent of the genre for this last year, winning hands down the direct confrontation with Anthem.
Seven months after the events in New York told in the first chapter of the branded franchise Massive Entertainment, Washington DC is the center of the action. The cold, muffled snow of the Big Apple has given way to the verdant and wild summer vegetation of the capital of the District of Columbia. Under the scorching sun and under the gaze of President Lincoln sunk on his marble throne at the National Mall, the player will have to face the political and military anarchy that haunts Washington, regaining control over the territory, neighborhood after neighborhood. Gangs of criminals and more, will make your life in that of the US capital very difficult, preventing you from taking the journey of The Division 2 as a beautiful midsummer trip.
Narratively speaking, we are facing the biggest stumbling block of the title Ubisoft, as it was for the first chapter, also in The Division 2 the fragmentation of the plot through a story hinted at and never too thorough prevents the player from empathizing with their alter ego. The feeling when playing the title is that of being in front of a large impressionist painting that is aesthetically striking, but which is difficult to understand. The consequences of the virus, the life of the survivors, the state of the Division, are all elements that must be sought as in a treasure hunt through collectibles and other tricks sown throughout the map. In short, a small mole that leaves a bad taste in the mouth since also thanks to the experience accumulated with the first chapter, more was expected from Massive Entertainment.
So if from the narrative point of view The Division 2 loses a few small hits, it is on the side of the gameplay and the infrastructure of the game that the title excels by showing its muscles. The shooting is pleasant, varied and solid; the excellent foundations of the first chapter are perceived and the increase in gadgets available to the player means that strategic approaches increase dramatically by offering not only excellent glimpses of military tactics but also fun whimsical solutions to entertain less hardcore players. Therefore, if the development of the player up to level 30 (the level cap) disentangles what we have learned to know well in the first chapter, it is in the endgame that everything changes. Each activity, including fortresses (complex dungeons designed to offer the best rewards to the player) will be reset and raised in difficulty level.
The trick used - that of the arrival of a new elite faction - will therefore give you reason to return to complete the activities to find the best loot, the end game one, pushing your skills to the limit. In addition to level design, which is masterfully exalted in this second chapter, specializations are the real novelty. Specializations are a system that can only be activated when you reach the level cap that will allow you to further stratify your strategies, allowing you to choose a style of play rather than another: Sniper, Survivor or Demoman, this is the choice you will be subjected to.. Each with a unique weapon at their disposal (sniper rifle, crossbow with explosive bullets, grenade launchers) and loads of skills that can layer your approaches, unlockable through a new progression linked to the endgame.
The choice to play on a double thread, pre and post end-game, is probably the key to victory. Massive Entertainment has been able to capitalize on past experience, listened to the community, and offered players a product capable of offering enough content and solutions out of scale for what is normally a title of this invoice: "Take and learn all" would almost say. Also from the point of view of PvPvE content or the Black Zones (there will be three in this chapter) The Division 2 offers what was the last version of the Black Zones of the first chapter, expanding the difficulty, the variety of dungeons and the possibilities between one and the other zone, but also supporting all the suspense that distinguishes the gameplay within these special zones. The tension caused by meeting other players in the Black Zones is not comparable to anything else in the gaming landscape, knowing that an ally could betray you at any moment to steal your loot, or vice versa the manhunt that occurs when dirty games, surprising your "allies", is still one of the best sensations of recent years.
Where, on the other hand, the title is a bit lame it is on the purely PvP side; this new introduction to the series is a not fully successful experiment, the nature of The Division 2 in fact seems too tied to the loot and the PvE component to offer a high competitive level in modes that are part of the common imaginary of PvP. It is certainly not a rejection, but a small stumbling block in our opinion that can be remedied through the introduction of less "classic" and more fun modes, perhaps aimed at breaking the tension of the more traditional routines of The Division 2. From a technical point of view instead we we are faced with a solid proposition of the Snowdrop Engine which boasts excellent stability on the framerate side and which has as its only defect an accentuated problem with the pop-up of the textures. What really remains impressed is the artistic direction of the title that enhances the views of Washington DC, allowing you to recognize all those elements that characterize the US capital, starting from the Lincoln memorial, up to Capitol Hill, passing through Foggy Bottom.
Waiting for mammoth (and free) post-launch support, The Division 2 imposes itself on the market as the No. 1 of its kind. A granite gameplay, a masterful level design and only some uncertainty on the PvP and plot side, make it a title that can entertain and engage the player for some time. The mistakes of the past are a memory, the present and the future of the Massive franchise is more than bright and the Division is ready to accept the next challenge.
► Tom Clancy's The Division 2 is a Shooter type game developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Google Stadia, the video game was released on 15/03/2019
Version for Google Stadia from 17/03/2020
