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aids, and more. They can even
venture into the Dark Zone, an
area where the virus originated.
It’s highly contaminated, and
populated by some of the most
dangerous criminals and gangs
in New York. Martial Law is under
effect in the Dark Zone, and
Agents are able to work together,
or stab each other in the back.
Venturing through the Dark Zone
induces paranoia and tension –
you will never be at ease.
The Division’s story isn’t as present
as stories found in other
shooters. Instead of a linear and
more direct approach to delivering
a narrative, The Division
chooses to tell its story through
its characters and collectibles,
as well as the game world itself.
Some might criticise the lack of a
traditional narrative, but the details
are there for dedicated players
who seek out all the mobile
phones, crashed drones, case
files, surveillance footage and
other collectibles.
Early in the game I completed
a series of missions involving a
gang known as The Cleaners.
The Cleaners believe the government
failed to contain the initial
smallpox outbreak, and that
it’s up to them to purge the city of
the disease – by rounding up the
infected and incinerating them.
Their leader, Joe Ferro, believes
himself to be a hero when he’s
a madman, and has turned former
sanitation workers into a
legion of stormtroopers armed
with flamethrowers. If you just
complete the story missions involving
The Cleaners, you’ll be
able to gather that Ferro and
The Cleaners are dangerous
and need to be dealt with, but
not much more. Collect some
intel though, and you’ll discover
the Joe was very much once an
upstanding and concerned New
Yorker, having called local radio
stations to discuss the military’s
alleged mishandling of the outbreak.
Though The Division is a shooter-RPG,
you character does not
talk. While some people prefer
silent protagonists, I would have
enjoyed multiple choice dialogue.
Heck, I would have even
preferred my character to simply
speak without dialogue options
available. A lot of modern RPGs
understand the importance of
giving player’s decisions to
make, though The Division has
opted for a more linear approach,
which is odd. We’re not your typical
grunts, we’re Agents, and
we work outside of typical command.
We shouldn’t be simply
taking orders blindly from quest
vendors.
Ultimately, part of me would have
liked the story to be more present
in the actual missions. Collecting
intel is all well and good, though
if like me, you feel well and truly
burnt out by Ubisoft’s love of collectibles,
you’ll miss out on a lot
of details, or you’ll discover them
after completing a faction’s missions.
Gameplay-wise, The Division
feels like other third-person cov-