TOM CLANCY'S THE DIVISION REVIEW

TOM CLANCY'S THE DIVISION REVIEW

The Division is a cold, cold game. Yes, it's literally set in a version of New York gripped by winter snow flurries, and the remnants of a killer virus - as themes go, that's chilling enough. However, I'm also talking about the calculating and rather stat-led way the game conducts its business. There's no real warmth to any of The Division's systems or stories, and this is one of the few shortcomings of an otherwise excellent online shooter.

In terms of plot, things are kept simple enough. There's a virus spread by infected dollar bills, and you join the action as a secret Division agent, activated to keep some semblance of law and order in a city that has been ravaged by death and crime. You're actually part of the 'second wave' of Division agents, after the first one failed... for reasons that become clear as you shoot through the game's 40-50 hours of story/side-missions. Whereas many other Clancy games contextualise their uber-military narratives and throw in a little conspiratorial intrigue into the mix, there really isn't much of that spice in The Division. As such, there's little sense of progress outside levelling up and grinding for more gear.

More than that, though, is a sense that The Division's world isn't one you want to exist in for large swathes of time. One of the key aims of any persistent game is creating an environment that players will enjoy, explore, or at least tolerate for months and even years of their gaming life. Because if you don't like actually being inside that virtual world, even the lure of slightly better loot probably won't keep you logging in. The Division's New York is a grim (if graphically accomplished) place to exist and, while the minor details make certain areas feel a little different, most of it looks roughly the same. One street with abandoned cars and piled up refuse looks pretty much the same as another. As such, I don’t feel the same desire to explore or return to specific areas as I do with other open-world games and MMO shooters. In short, The Division's world is a bit too depressing.

However - like the actual shooting and RPG systems themselves - it's technically excellent. Level design is top-notch, and action areas feel expertly crafted to perfectly suit the game's solid cover mechanics. That's a fancy way of saying that the places where you shoot all the dudes are really neatly put together. You'll often find that cover is thoughtfully placed to allow you the chance to make a risky run for a better angle on a group of bad guys. More than that, mission areas are perfectly suited to smart team tactics - you can plan ambushes and react on the fly to enemy movements, all while maintaining those all-important lines of sight on your foes. Most of my mission playthroughs were with random, silent allies during my time in The Division and everyone instinctively knew how to make the most of cover, how to coordinate strikes on enemies, and how to spread attacks during boss fights. The world design is thatgood.

Combat itself is decent, and works perfectly in tandem with the environment. The Division is all about creating angles - get into the right spot and you can hose an enemy with ease, but if they dig in and you start a straight, cover-based shoot-out things get much trickier. Navigating between cover-points is a joy too, thanks to the easy 'see and go' system. Weapons? Yup, they make the right noises and feel (on the whole) pretty balanced. There are, however, a couple of downsides to the action. Firstly, bullet-sponge enemies aren't to everyone's taste, and The Division's enemies are VERY spongey. While I'm reasonably happy pouring ammo into regular enemies, there's something tiresome about endlessly plugging away at bosses and elite foes. This game is at its best when you're constantly moving and killing, tactically out-manoeuvring enemies to win each encounter. But boss and elite battles feel more like a war of attrition, as you dig into cover and slowly whittle their health to zero before they can do the same to you. It's a real problem when the end-game is all elite, all the time.

The second real problem with The Division's combat is what I'm calling a 'lack of magic'. And it's here where I'm going to be horribly predictable and mention Destiny (you knew it was coming, so don't look so shocked). Everything in this game feels both literally and figuratively grounded. Your movements are, quite rightly, restricted to anything real human beings can do - you crouch behind cars, lean out, maybe vault over an obstacle or two... but that's it. In Destiny (and games like Titanfall and Black Ops 3) you're super-powered, and able to zip around the environment both vertically and horizontally. You can pause in mid-air and shoot, or wall-run around foes, or double-jump as a desperate dodge for cover. Next to these games The Division feels very static, very vanilla.

Not only that, you can't shoot lightning out of your hands. Yes, yes - that's a very reductionist way of saying that The Division's perks are incredibly restrained next to the special abilities found in other persistent shooters. And I know this game is all about degrees of realism, but it feels an awful lot like The Division is desperate for some violent magic, but is only able to sneak a little in via credible means. I've got a gun, for example, that heals me a bit when I kill enemies. That's the kind of frustration I'm talking about, because it's essentially 'space magic', but slipped subtly into the game under the guise of 'maybe futuristic tech maybe'. This game can't have outlandish perks, and that's one reason it feels restrained and a little dull next to its competitors, despite doing all the technical stuff exceptionally well.

Speaking of which, The Division's online elements are - to continue a theme - technically excellent, but ultimately cold. Minor bugs around mission completion aside, this is an exceptionally well crafted online experience. Matchmaking is simple (if poorly explained) and effective, quickly throwing you in with other agents and providing a largely lag-free environment to smash baddos in. Sadly, though, there's no real sense of community or joint effort. Every team I formed broke up the minute a mission had finished, creating a real sense of anti-climax. And it's not like I blame my temporary allies for failing to stick around, as there's little to bond over in your standard mission. “Hey mate - remember that time you died and I healed you? Yeah, crazy days.”

Again, it comes back to this lack of magic or spark. The Division doesn't want for customisation options or actual stuff to do - you can fiddle with your loadout for hours, or grind for slightly better gear for months - but there's very little that makes a significant difference to how the game actually plays. Essentially, you're keeping pace with the increasing damage demands of the bullet-sponge enemies, and the quantity in which they appear.

There is one element of The Division that is truly excellent, that genuinely sets the game apart: the Dark Zone. Eschewing traditional multiplayer for something more tactical, this game uses raw human nature to create a PvPvE experience that's wonderfully tense and utterly infuriating (in a good way) all at once. In the Dark Zone it's you and uneasy allies against a collection of increasingly tough enemies that drop better loot than most foes in the regular game. Problem is that the gear is contaminated, so you need to call in a chopper to extract it... making you a prime target for everybody in the area. This always creates a unique type of stand-off between you and other players. Sure, you need to work together to repel any attackers, but what then? Do you help your mate extract his gear then load yours? Or do you shoot them in the back and take it ALL? I don't care how nice you are, how solid your friendship... you're always going to feel that urge to take it all, or that creeping paranoia that your friend is plotting your demise. It's such a wonderful, brilliant system, and easily The Division's smartest, most enjoyable feature.

It's one of the few significant glimmers of warmth, of humanity, in an otherwise cold game. There's little doubt that The Division understands how to be a persistent MMO-shooter, but it perhaps lacks that understanding of why players continue to log-in to its competitors months and years after they start playing. Even the end-game, which is technically sound, lacks the variety or substance to entertain long-term. Perhaps the introductions of Incursions will change everything, but given the game's limited flexibility in terms of both functionality and themes, it seems more likely that these missions will simply be longer, tougher versions of what's already on offer. In the interests of fairness, I'll certainly revisit this review in a few months when I've had the chance to test a couple of Incursions. Until then, the cold facts are that The Division is a competent shooter, an accomplished RPG, but an ultimately limited experience that's unlikely to remain your gaming obsession of choice for longer than a few months.

MORE INFO

Genre	Shooter
Description	Online, multiplayer, third-person shooter and rpg.
Platform	Xbox One, PS4, iPad, Android, iPhone
US censor rating	Rating Pending, Rating Pending, Rating Pending, Rating Pending, Rating Pending

HOMEFRONT: THE REVOLUTION REVIEW

HOMEFRONT: THE REVOLUTION REVIEW

Most shooters cast you as a one man war striding into battle on a cloud of bullets, carving a path through the enemy like an angry lawnmower with guns. Homefront is a bit more like ringing the soldier’s doorbell and then running away. It’s all set in an America invaded and brought to its knees by North Korea. What resistance remains is on the back foot - undermanned, under gunned and relying on hit and run tactics to chip away at the boot of the enemy forces. 

It’s an interesting dynamic, and one that will hand your ass back to you on a plate if you try to COD this - hit a group of enemies head on and you’ll likely end up shot to pieces from all sides as alarms go up and enemies pour in from all sides. It takes a little while to adjust to using the more open maps to stage a quick attack then retreat. When it works it’s a really rewarding sensation - you feel hunted and persecuted, fighting back via tiny little skirmishes instead of full blown assaults. Here you’re swapping out shock and awe in favour of inconvenience and annoyance. 

Initially, it’s all about picking your fights. The bulk of the game takes place in relatively large open maps, usually with one main objective and a selection of bases to clear, as well as other side goals. Ticking off a given map’s strike points lowers enemy presence, increases the local Resistance and slowly makes life easier. The smaller objectives are usually things like finding a way into a building, or clearing out enemy troops. They’re enjoyable if simple, while the ability to go where you want and do what you like keeps things moving along. 

It means that I had some amazing moments of guerilla warfare - darting between buildings and launching quick fire-and-forget raids - but there’s also frustration, restarts and bullet walls to scale. The balance of the combat just doesn’t feel quite right. Any kind of attack, or even being seen, can set off alarms and call in tons of reinforcements, so it’s easy to be overwhelmed. In the 360 degree maps it’s harder to maintain a front. You’re dead just about the same time you realise you’re being shot by soldiers you hadn’t noticed. There is a motorbike you can use and while you can get around so much faster, nothing alerts a map full of enemies faster than trail biking over a parked van. 

The game divides itself between these open Red Zone battlefields and the (slightly) more civilised Yellow Zones. These are run down urban areas where the oppressed American population live under the angry, stompy boot of the Korean Army. They play out much like the Red Zones - open areas with multiple objectives leading up to a final goal - but add in a barely formed stealth mechanic and a far more stern response if you’re seen. 

The stealth, such as it is, simply involves not being seen. The game talks about using people as visual shields but realistically you’re using cars, walls and buildings to avoid being spotted. There are no shadows to skulk in or blending as such. Get spotted and it’s a case of running away, breaking line of sight and waiting out the alarm. It’s likely something you’ll be doing a lot. Because these areas are more built up it’s easier to get caught or cornered when things do go south. 

The main objectives in these Yellow Zones is to incite a revolution and trigger a big final battle to liberate the area. That’s achieved via a ‘Hearts and Minds’ meter which needs to hit 100% via a range of different activities. Things like disabling propaganda speakers, sabotaging supplies, retuning radios (for some reason), and so on. It’s not the game’s greatest moment as, combined with the need to try and be stealthy, it’s all just a bit of a chore. Everything you do seems to only advance the ‘Make war go now’ meter by a few percent.

There are a few technical issues: a weird loading pause that freezes the screen every time you finish a significant section or load a new area. Everything locks up, often just long enough to make you think the game’s crashed. The AI also has a serious problem blocking doors. You can recruit resistance members to fight with you (which in itself can be 'fun' as you have to occasionally chase them around like cats to grab them) but they’re a nightmare for getting in the way. At one safe house I had to kill one of my own men simply to get through a door. No amount of leaving and reentering made them shift. Elsewhere, I spent a few minutes wedged in a corridor, sandwiched between my three strong team all endlessly haranguing me for bumping into them.

Evened out across the whole experience, then, Homefront: The Revolution manages to be entertaining without ever completely delivering on its open world warfare potential. There’s definitely an interesting game here if you fancy a different paced shooter. There’s just a few bits that don't quite click. The pace between the Red and Yellow Zones doesn’t flow as smoothly as it could, for example. The scrappy free roam fighting can deliver some great moments, but just as equally frustrate with loops of dying and respawning (the more restrictive set pieces fights can be especially guilty of this) and guns just don't feel... 'right'. Combined it all keeps Homefront at the level of ‘basically okay’. 

                                                      More Info

Genre	Shooter
Description	Take back the United States from the Korean Army alone or online with friends.
Platform	Xbox One, PS4, PC
US censor rating	Rating Pending, Rating Pending, Rating Pending

XCOM 2 REVIEW

XCOM 2 REVIEW

XCOM 2 begins at the end. Earth has fallen, humanity bends a knee to its "benevolent" overlords, and the aliens have some Howard Stern look-alike as their spokesperson - it's bad times all around. XCOM is a rogue nation - outmanned and outgunned - and you're the proverbial Tom Cruise who must piece it back together. You spend your days aboard The Avenger airship leading soldiers in battle and traveling the world collecting supplies and uniting the resistance. Naturally, the aliens hound you every step of the way.

The aliens' final bid for world domination is their mysterious Avatar project, the progress of which is tracked by a panic-inducing red meter on the world map. This meter signals your imminent doom, and increases at erratic intervals month after month. Not knowing when the aliens will make a major breakthrough adds some needed tension to the day-to-day business of running XCOM, and makes every opportunity to undermine them all the more valuable.

These opportunities play out in turn-based battles. Cover is still your best friend as you take turns scrambling troops between trees and buildings while gunning down your alien foes. Each soldier class in XCOM 2 has been overhauled, with the new drone-operating Specialist and sword-wielding Hunter being unrecognizable from the Support and Assault classes, respectively. These revamped classes provide tons of new tactical options to discover, but the most comedic one has to be the Specialist's hacking ability. Taking command of an enemy Sectopod, and using it to rampage through buildings unabated, is very cathartic.

You'll need every advantage you can get, as the tempo of any battle can take wild, exciting shifts from turn to turn. One turn your squad may be concealed - a new mechanic that lets them sneak up on enemies - and the next they're "Going loud!" as you execute the perfect ambush. But, even as the last alien falls, the imminent arrival of reinforcements or the constant ticking of your objective's timer will keep tensions running high. These surprises, and plenty others, keep firefights engaging well into your second playthrough and beyond.

The alien lineup has received a complete overhaul as well, with plenty of new faces ready to pump you full of white-hot plasma. Instead of progressing from Muton to Muton Elite or Floater to Heavy Floater, every alien has its own unique design and abilities that require you to switch up your strategy on the fly if you don't want to end up six-feet under. At first this stream of new enemies can feel overwhelming, but after a dozen encounters or so you learn how certain enemies think and can quickly deduce the highest threats from any lineup.

Unfortunately, while the aliens really bear their fangs on the battlefield, their presence is missed on the world map. As the days scroll by, the aliens will deploy various 'Dark Events' which can grant them special bonuses and add progress to the Avatar project. You counter these events by going on missions, creating a sort of tug of war between advancing XCOM's objectives and undermining the aliens.

But this conflict feels passive and indirect. The aliens may have taken over the planet, but it sure doesn't feel that way when you can hop in your airship and cruise around Earth whenever you feel like it. One standout exception is when a UFO is sent to hunt The Avenger, culminating in a desperate encounter reminiscent of Enemy Within's base assault mission. The fact that you can seethe enemy UFO zipping around the map - and must actively avoid it - makes the alien's presence known.

At first not having to deal with the aliens on the world map is a blessing, as you have about three-too-many things on your plate at a time. Gradually, however, these various assignments narrow down to a fine point, at which time you can comfortably ignore certain requests because, hey, you already have plenty of supplies thank you very much. Without an active threat on the world map, that sense of urgency that is so sharp on the battlefield feels dulled.

I should also warn you that, during my time with the game, I ran into some minor bugs and glitches. Thankfully, they all turned out to be very mundane - animations that didn't load, weird camera movements, endlessly looping gun noises - so they didn't amount to more than a minor annoyance. The best was the Sectopod whose walking animation didn't load, meaning it would snap suddenly around the battlefield, instantly flattening anything in its path. Hopefully these lesser issues will be patched out by the time you're reading this.

Foibles aside, XCOM 2 is still a wonderfully engrossing strategy game that can very easily leave you spellbound throughout 2016 and beyond. The myriad of tactical options at your disposal - from new soldier classes to the various weapon upgrades - is delicately balanced against the ever-changing extraterrestrial monstrosities. You'll constantly discover new, better ways of honing your craft, and XCOM 2 will happily meet your challenge in kind.