Tom Clancy’s The Division is based in Manhattan, New York after a viral outbreak has occurred. A mutated smallpox virus that was planted on money and sent through New York caused the viral outbreak. The city has lost all control and has been taken over by the corrupt. Thugs, gangs, rioters, escape convicts and the Cleaners, people from the NYC sanitation who believe everyone is infected and are out to ‘clean’ the city with their flamethrowers, are all in the way of bringing control back to the city.
Police forces and military personnel were sent in to take control but it was too much for them to handle. As the last chance of hope, sleeper agents were activated and brought in. These men and women are among the most elite and well-trained in the United States. They make up the task force known as The Division.
Upon arriving in NYC, you meet up with another division agent named Faye Lau. You and Lau are waiting as an aircraft full of the rest of The Division against approach. As the aircraft is landing, it is attacked and explodes. Killing everyone on board. It is now up to only you and Lau to take back the city but unfortunately, Lau was also injured in the explosion and cannot go into combat with you. She in turns acts as your source of intelligence and keeps you informed about what is happening in the city.
One of your first objectives in NYC is to take over a post office building to make it your command base. Once the base is secured, you must go rescue members of the city to help command the security, medical and tech wing of the command base. Once the three wings are functional they will be able to be used to help take back the city as well as to upgrade your weapons/gear. You now set out to take back control of the city and find a cure for the mutated.
The game mechanics are laid out in a real life manner. The map is and open map based on New York City. The player is able to run, walk, jump and climb. The player can use objects in the game as cover and is able to crouch behind objects as well as shoot around corners and above objects. The player can climb over barriers, and climb up ladders and onto of cars. The player is also able to do a running jump over objects and a running role. A mechanic that is unique to this game is the ability to move from one barrier to another in one motion.
One of the main dynamics of the game is the direction line. It is a line that is visible to the player that directs them where to go. Because the map is so vast, it is a great feature to help the player stay on track. The direction line can be seen I the picture as the green and orange line.
One of the game’s dynamics is that it is a shooter game. It is not a run and gun shooting game though. If a player takes that approach they will shortly realize that goals are not achievable. The player will be overpowered by the enemies and will be killed. Players must use their surroundings as cover and slowly advance on their enemies. Players must use strategy when attacking and think through their actions. This is part of the reason why this game is unique and fun. It involves thinking and not just mindlessly killing enemies.
As a survival third person shooter, this game is geared towards many types of people. According to Richard Bartle, there are four types of player, killer, achievers, explorers and socializers, which this game is geared towards all four types(1). The first one, killers, may seem obvious due to the nature of the game but the killer type if defined as someone who interferes with other players and the game world. Addition to the campaign, there is an online portion of the game where you can interact with other real players. You are able to make teams and achieve missions together. On the other hand, there are also players who will set out to disrupt the flow and kill other players. These are the killers.
Achievers are the players who want to achieve goals and challenges to better their character. There are plenty of opportunities for this within the campaign mode. As you complete missions, you unlock gun mods and upgrades for your different traits: security, medical and tech. Also on the multiplayer side, new missions are added weekly which is enticing for the achievers.
As an open world map, this is a perfect fit for the explorers. Because the game is set in a large city, there are plenty of places to discover. The game also allows for a lot of interaction with the map such as using objects as a defensive position and also exploding objects when fired upon.
The multiplayer mode is all about the socialization. Being able to team up with other players and communicate and work together to achieve common goals. This is exactly what a socializer is looking for. Players have the ability to talk to each other in real-time and work as a single unit by strategizing while completing missions.
So the game appeal is geared to a wide variety of players. This gets their attention but what keeps them playing? It’s the fun that they experience that keeps them coming back for more. According to Lazzaro’s four keys to fun, there are four aspects to the fun people experience when playing a game. Those are easy fun, hard fun, people fun and serious fun (2).
Easy fun is how the game starts off. It has the player do a little bit of exploring and shooting to learn the controls of the game. The player starts off with easier missions, which allows the player to be creative in how they play. Also, when the player is farther in the game, they are able to explore the city freely and not have to worry about the harder structure of the missions.
Hard fun comes from the missions. They can be very challenging at time, pushing your abilities and forcing you to strategize. The missions can become frustrating and really test the player’s abilities. But when the mission is concurred, this is the epic win that drives the player to continue on.
There is plenty of people fun while on the multiplayer side of the game. Interaction with other players to achieve the goal as well as competing against them to prove whom the better player is. This is a type of fun that one can only experience with other real people.
Although the game appeal may bring many people in, if following the campaign story one may experience a steep learning curve at the start. Because this is not a typical run and gun game, the player much develop a set of skills to tackle the challenges. Stealth and precision are key in this game. The enemies are aggressive and force themselves on you with both power and numbers. Once this steep learning curve is overcome and the player learns the dynamics of the game, it still stays challenging but the learning curve leaves out a little more.
The interest curve stays pretty steady throughout the game. The player continuously discovers new guns and mods and is able to upgrade traits. As well as learning new intel throughout the game which keeps the story more moving forward.
References
- http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6474/personality_and_play_styles_a_.php?print=1
- http://www.xeodesign.com/research/
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