"Tom Clancy's The Division" is Ubi Soft's own version of the loot shooter. This means the reality-based tone of past Clancy titles is out the window. Or at least when it comes to its gameplay. The actual premise is somewhat believable; Manhattan becomes the "hot zone" of an outbreak due to a deadly virus spread through dollar bills. As the game begins, the player steps into the shoes of a nameless U.S. government agent who is called to duty. Their goal is to re-establish the operations of the Division, while combating criminals and investigating the nature of the attack. The game's bleak post-apocalyptic setting recalls "The Last of Us", but dramatic storytelling and characterization takes back seat to the action.
Ultimately, this is an open-world shooter that plays a lot like "Destiny" and "Borderlands". There are RPG elements such as loot, crafting, customizable stats, upgradable weapons and "bullet sponge" enemies. The story-based missions and the city itself are divided into various difficulty levels. And just like in any RPG, you must earn experience points to level up in order to progress. As you complete missions and optional objectives, you'll be able to gain new abilities and weapons which you can eventually customize. Mini-turrets, blast shields and mine launchers can be obtained with currency you earn as you rank up. The gameplay itself is similar to "Gears of War" in that you can easily slide into cover and blindfire at enemies. It's fun, especially when you play cooperatively with three other players, but the side-missions lack variety.
"The Division" also includes a PVP mode entitled "The Dark Zone" which can be difficult if you're not playing with a group of friends. It's an area of the city where you can extract rare weapons and items, but you must battle tough enemy A.I. and other players for them. It can be a challenging and tense case of risk versus reward. Thankfully, Ubi Soft has updated the game several times. New weapons, challenges and side-missions have been added to the core game and the Dark Zone's rules have been slightly modified. Overall, "The Division" is a solidly entertaining action title. It may be more "Call of Duty" than "Splinter Cell", but fans of the Clancy brand should enjoy it. I'd rank it with an 8 out of 10.