I finally ripped myself away form Black Desert for a couple nights to get the chance at the Division. This was probably a good thing considering the “line simulator” issues that were going on, and apparently still are as I was able to just straight into the combat and killing.
The game is still just as gorgeous and detailed as ever and I feel like there have been a few more tweaks to the weather system that inhibit visuals in certain ways or change some of the surroundings. It is a world I feel like I want to get lost on and it’s the first model day apocalypse simulator I think that has gotten the feeling right. From the garbage strewn around, the cars smashed and stuck on the roads, houses that have been raided as well as the empty and forgotten government facilities to control the outbreak.
It’s a game I want to explore in and always seem to find myself not really following the yellow direction arrows but just running off around various corners and alleys. Climbing up fire escapes, over walls, through manholes and just finding other weird, yet often quicker ways to get where I’m going. I have a friend playing with me at the moment always exclaiming were the he’ll am I going now, yet I always seem to get there first. And it’s fun to go these paths too as you come across a lot of the little collectibles. Small snippets of phone conversations between people trapped in this space. The echoes of events past that show the terror and chaos of the original outbreak, and lost documents and Division agents. It’s not just fund to find the best paths but also a great way to learn more about the story of the people, the virus and the events within the city.
The crafting seems… A little misplaced. You can find a lot of materials out in the world, and can break down a lot of your spare gear into these components and then use them to craft weapons, armour and mods but mostly what I have crafted has usually been worse than what I already have. You get extra blueprints form certain side missions as well but then I find by the time I’ve done a few more random things, maybe a mission I’ve already found something far better than what I could have crafted. I think it’s more there right now for when the Rng gods just aren’t gifting a specific thing.
I was impressed with just how much out there there is to do. There are a lot more instanced and structured missions to go through now that seem to pop up every few levels. The hard modes are a lot of fun too, just not with your under levelled guilties but still manageable which is good to see. You can still make your way through with good teamwork and shooting, as well as some res rushing. I generally do like the extra difficulty though as it forces you as a group to think more about your skills, movement and target switching. Harder in a pick up but still manageable with the in game voice which is thankfully working this time (although my mouses extra buttons still won’t ).
And I can’t put my finger on it but there is something reasonable tense feeling about the game play. That slight feeling of paranoia about where and how many enemies will pop out, and also just the atmosphere of play that seeps into you like one of those horror games. Like the shadows are out to get you kind of thing.
The shooting and combat is still excellent. Cover mechanics work perfectly to bound you between areas, finding the right spot to shoot from or to flank the enemy. I’ve notice a bigger diversity in enemy types too with the new factions but also differen enemies within those factions. The skills are fun to use and the traits systems works really well with them to enhance the minimal amount and add more choices to how you build and work with others. It’s also good to see how important critical shots are and finding an enemies weak spot. I’ve been playing around with the sniper rifle and it’s amazing taking down a purple enemy in two well placed shots, a yellow boss in what feels like 4-5.
Ovwrall I’m really enjoying it again and will probably have some random exploration game play recorded in the future. It’s so hard to choose which game to focus on as well between it and black desert. Um very much a one game person but this time it will have to be two (maybe 3 with stardew,) equally. And I still haven’t finished my Blogger xcom2 playthrough yet either. I would so rent a worker eri now if I could.