Recently, I was able to take part in The Division's open beta on Xbox. I had already preordered the game a couple of weeks ago after watching some gameplay and finding out a bit about the story. At first, I wasn't going to participate, out of fear of spoiling too much of the story, but in the end the temptation to try the game got the best of me. That said, and this probably a bit of a good thing really, I did not get to spend near as much time with The Division as I would have liked, but that also means less of the overall gameplay experience would be spoiled allowing to still get that "release day buzz" feeling come March. Still, I feel pretty confident enough in what little time I had to be able to give my initial impressions of the game. I plan to cover gameplay, a wee bit on story (no true spoilers), and just my overall thoughts and experiences...
Before
we begin, I should set a few things straight right from the start.
First, my impressions here are from my little time in the BETA. Since
it is a beta experience, things will definitely be a bit different upon
the game's release. There are level caps in place, scenes and missions
cut from the game to preserve the story, not all the in-game options and
abilities are available, etc. Please, just keep that in mind while you
read. I'm also going to reference a few other games in this review, BUT
by no means does that mean The Division has ripped off any of the
titles I mention. Rather, I'm referencing past games I've played (and
probably one you'll be familiar with) simply so you can have an easier
time relating to certain aspects of The Division, or have your own
reference point to look back on. Really it boils down to making it
easier to describe my own experiences more than anything, being able to
point to another, relatable example from somewhere else. Also, I mostly
spent my time in the PVE side, doing side missions, checking out
weapons, getting used to the controls, etc. I only played a little bit
in the Dark Zone PVP area where I imagine a lot of the action, and a lot
of the draw for some players will reside. This post may be a little
allover of the place, as it is pretty unscripted, and is mostly a bit of
a rant about my views of the beta. Just bare that in mind as well...
Let's begin...
