I’ve pretty much been only playing Tom Clancy’s The Division this entire week and weekend. I’ve gotten in over 24 hours of game time, and I wish I could take off the rest of the week of work to play more. I can honestly say that I’m excited about playing this until the level cap, and then diving into all of the DLC and expansions that will release over the next year. I even jumped into the PvP portion of the game and had a great time.
I’m really not sure why this has struck a chord with me over Destiny. I keep hearing that they’re a lot alike, and yet, Destiny never once grabbed my attention. I’m not sure if it’s the environment or the third-person perspective. I definitely prefer third-person shooters over first-person, but I don’t think that’s entirely it either. One thing I kept hearing about with Destiny was its lack of a story and lore, that players were just set down on the path of shooting aliens with some direction as to why, but not entirely. In The Division, you aren’t exactly given this deep story either, but the setting takes care of the story for you. The setting is a bit post-apocalyptic, with New York on quarantine due to an outbreak of a smallpox-like disease. You know that you’re a last line defense for a generic Division, and your task is to get Manhattan back under control. So it makes perfect sense that you’re setting out on random missions to restore order, cut down on the gangs, and recover research on the virus for a vaccine. It makes sense why there are rioters and looters who are out to overthrow control. At the very least, I am able to tell anyone what the game is about if they ask. Every time I ask someone what Destiny is about, I get a bunch of hemming and hawing as they try to get out some sort of explanation. Usually it ends with, well, you don’t play for the story. I still like to know what’s going oh, yeah? At least I know Mario is trying to save Princess Peach from Bowser half the time.
I half wish there was an official guide and I’m half glad there isn’t. Most of the game will be so different by the end of the year, which would kill a reason for a strategy guide. On the other hand, I’d love help with finding some of the collectibles. I see them on my map, but some of them, I can’t figure out how to reach for the life of me!
Speaking of which, I’m wasting time writing here. New York isn’t going to save itself!
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