Game review: Tom Clancy’s The Division 2

Tom Clancy's The Division 2 is a sequel to Ubisoft's first looter shooter game called The Division released back in 2016.

While The Divisionwas a huge financial success for Ubisoft, it wasn't overly well received by groups of gamers. Lots of gamers criticised its endgame content plus many players did not like all of the bullet sponge like enemies and bosses.

Well now it's 2019 and Ubisoft has listened to all of the fan feedback and I can proudly say that Tom Clancy's The Division 2 is a much better experience over the first game. While improvements have been made to this long awaited sequel, I will say the game still retains the same formula as the first. If you disliked the first game entirely, this sequel may not change your mind.

Let's go over what's new first and describe what players are in for if they choose to play The Division 2. The biggest change is a fresh story set in a brand new location. Instead of the snowy winter of New York City, we get a brighter location set in Washington D.C.

Setting the game in America's capital city is pretty cool because there are many famous landmarks for you to visit. The most obvious location in the game is your base which is set inside the White House, but it's cool to explore the rest of the city to see familiar landmarks.

Washington D.C. is pretty large in The Division 2, although the game is still set in a post apocalyptic world. Buildings are all worn down and broken while lots of wrecked cars and vehicles litter the city's streets.

That said; there are varied locations in the game as during the action you could be shooting enemies inside shopping malls, an observatory, hotels and other interesting places. The variety of locations makes this sequel much more fun to explore compared to the dreary look of New York City in the first game.

Graphically, The Division 2 is a step up from its predecessor as the game looks awesome when I tested it on my PS4 Pro. However I will say the visual improvements aren't too drastic since the first game already looked decent three years ago.

In terms of gameplay, The Division 2 plays exactly like the first game as it still features its excellent third person shooting mechanics. Players will be able to use cover at all times to avoid enemy fire, plus the hit detection is also accurate.

One of the cooler things you can use in the game is some gadgets to help you kill the enemies at an even faster rate. Two of the gadgets I used throughout my playthrough was a cool mini turret as well as a flying drone that both shoot out bullets. Both gadgets can be used many times, although there is a cooldown period so you cannot spam them all of the time.

The only thing that might annoy some people about the gameplay is that it's not realistic like other Tom Clancy video games. Usually in other video games, human enemies are easy to kill because you can normally just shoot them in the head and they die instantly.

However, Tom Clancy's The Division 2 plays more like a fantasy RPG because every enemy has a life bar and it takes multiple hits to kill enemies. Even if you aim for the head, most enemies won't die instantly in this game. If you come across bigger enemies with heavy armour, they take an even longer time for you to kill them.

Due to every enemy having a life bar, the game becomes really hard if you're planning to play the game solo. I played the first few main missions by myself and it was difficult to get past the enemies without any help.

Therefore, the game is much more fun and easier if you play through the missions with online friends. Before every mission you can recruit up to three other online players to help you out. Having extra members in your squad makes the game far more manageable than fighting alone.

Another thing that might annoy some players is how long it takes to level up. You really need to grind in order to be powerful enough to tackle the main missions. It's best to complete as many side missions as you can in order to be at a high enough level to face the ever increasing difficulty of the enemies.

While the main story campaign lasts for around 30 to 40 hours, there is still an endgame that players can unlock afterwards. In the endgame, you face an even harder new faction of enemies and more content is unlocked. The endgame is only recommended for hardcore players though because there's a huge difficulty spike during this period of the game.

Anyway, Tom Clancy's The Division 2 is an improvement over The Division featuring more content and the same smooth gameplay mechanics. However, the game isn't for everyone though because you really need to team up with other players to really enjoy the missions. The game is just not fun enough playing solo.

Verdict: 8.0/10