Tom Clancy's The Division

So what is Tom Clancy's The Division? Addictive action RPG in a beautiful coat that grabs you and doesn´t let go. [Issue#263]

An immensely thrilling action-MMO hybrid, but good for 30 hours rather than the hoped-for 300. [May 2016, p.70]

Fun for a while, but less than the sum of its parts. [Issue#250, p.57]

The Division is in a weird spot. While the story campaign is fantastic, the end-game content is disappointing, even without factoring in the hackers and the bugs.

The Division’s trump card is setting: it’s an online RPG that doesn’t have elves, dragons, robots, demons or zombies. Sure, these things are popular – but almost every game out there has them; while people who want a modern day setting with no fantasy elements have a much more limited choice. [Issue#208, p.58]

I had the most fun when I was forced to think tactically, manoeuvre for effect, take an enemy down quick, and reposition myself and my team to deal with the next threat.

If you are in the mood for an elaborate action RPG, and you have few like-minded friends, Tom Clancy´s The Division is game just for you. Flawless co-op lets you forget even the Division’s not-so-variable missions.

Even with its blemishes the Division establishes itself nicely as a new tent pole for Ubisoft and the Massive Entertainment studio and lays the foundation for future expansions to come.

The Division offers an addictive search for more and better loot. Yes, it has weak spots, but the concept works and deserves a gold award.

Decent third-person shooting mechanics, geared strongly toward co-op; but unless your brain is tickled by colour-tiered items the rote repetition will eventually drive you from Manhattan. The Division’s speculative catastrophe fiction never sits convincingly with its pure, stat-based loot grind.

This game that could've gone so wrong, so easily, is already off to a great start with more content both free and paid set to come over the next year.

Quotation forthcoming.

Despite a few tedious moments and some strange design choices, The Division excels at delivering a paranoid, distrustful world full of ambivalence and moral dichotomy along with an extremely enjoyable RPG experience. If you’re looking for a solid shooter experience then I’d say maybe this isn’t the game for you. If you enjoyed Destiny or love MMO games but wish they were a bit more action based then The Division will provide you hours upon hours of fantastic gameplay. Just make sure you have your buddies or that you find other players to play with in order to really get the full experience.

The Division provides a solid experience, with its solid, yet not revolutionary, gameplay mechanics. What makes the game special is the depiction of a modern, post-apocalyptic New York, which provides a satisfactory exploration experience. Overall, a job well done by Ubi.

A finely tuned third-person shooter experience that’s light on endgame content and highlights.

Ubisoft didn't have a great, epic online game and unfortunately still doesn't. The Division is extremely pretty and generates lots of fun. I will keep playing, but I can't shake the feeling that key aspects of the gameplay showcase the developers' lack of experience. The grade you see should be fair for groups cooperating and playing together. Solo players won't have that much fun.

As it stands now, Tom Clancy's The Division lives up to the hype it's generated over the years. For a game of this nature, it's too early to say whether it is definitively good or bad, but for now, it's off to a very good start.

The Division is a challenging co-op cover shooter and a gorgeous open world diminished by bloated and unnecessary RPG tropes.

Ubisoft now has a solid foundation for operating its first persistent open world. If Massive and co. make smart additions to the end-game content and keep a steady stream of new activities for players to enjoy, I could see this game going strong years into the future. But if the Dark Zone and PvE environment don't evolve, I'm not sure many people will be left in New York City come the winter.

I may wish a plague of locusts on Ubisoft support, but I tip my hat to the masters over at Massive Entertainment.

A standard Ubisoft AAA game that may not live as long as intended.

As a solo game, The Division gets quite boring, and trying to marathon your way through all the side stuff you'll need to do to unlock every upgrade feels more like a chore than a thrilling video game. But enough of the different components work well enough to make for a good start. At times I had my doubts, but I came out of this one wanting to see at least the first couple of planned updates and ready to play more, when it's available.

If you're going into The Division looking for an MMO-styled Call of Duty, you'll leave empty-handed. But, if all you're looking for are tons of loot, great co-op fun with your friends, shooting endless streams of bad guys, all set in the realistic depiction of New York, be sure to grab your copy of the game.

The Division is a great mix of TPS, Action RPG and MMO features. Intense campaign, full of content and great endgame and Dark Zone. Has some problems with repetitive side-quests and enemy AI, but is a solid experience, better in co-op mode.

Grinding through side missions forces you to engage The Division as a multifaceted open world game rather than just a shooter.

There is something to be said for the sheer amount of collectibles, the lackluster side content and the sheer number of plot holes that can be poked in the core narrative, but all of those flaws feel secondary to what is a dynamic online shooter experience.

Taking the loot-based shooter to a new level, The Division features a gorgeous world to explore, full of interesting items to collect, and tons of players to team up with. The enemies are still bullet sponges, and the missions can get repetitive, but the social elements allow for a lot of fun to be had once you get a good group together. An engaging story and enjoyable characters are just icing on the top of what will likely be one of the best shooters of the year.

The Division is a very good game. Mixing singleplayer and multiplayer in a splendid New York setting, the map offers plenty of content and the Dark zone is a really nice PVP/PVE place to play. The gameplay is simple, the AI is far from good, but the entire experience is a must.

The Division’s astonishing complexity makes it appear to be one of Ubisoft’s most ambitious games to date. But that’s actually smoke and mirrors, because the key components are remarkably simple. Underneath it all, this is a classic Ubisoft open-world game, bolstered by fantastic co-op and PvP support, and marred by RPG percentages that are as intrusive as they are ineffective. Approach it with the view to completing the campaign and sightseeing New York with friends and you’ll have a blast. But this isn’t a world you’ll be living in for years to come.

One of the most ambitious games we've ever seen. The Division has done a great job in providing players fluid gameplay mechanics, awesome visuals, softcore RPG elements and one of the most detailed open worlds we've seen in this generation.

I don’t think it’s very good, especially if you’ve a mind to play by yourself. It’s certainly addictive, and it certainly has plenty of stuff for you to do. That goes doubly for people who plan to roll with a squad of friends. As in Borderlands, the general tedium of loot-grinding is more fun when you’ve got people to chat with. If you’re looking for a mindless way to kill a few days/weeks, The Division exists...But don’t expect to remember much of it when it’s over.