One week out from release, Ubisoft has unleashed the official launch trailer for The Division, which picks up with the entire borough of Manhattan under lockdown.
Martial law is in effect, and today’s brooding snippet introduces some of the factions laying siege to the streets of the Big Apple. Forget the Five Families of New York, The Division takes place in a post-pandemic world where resources and survival in general are contested by the Cleaners, Last Man Battalion, Joint Task Force and Rioters. Upon stepping foot in Ubisoft’s ravaged world, you’ll play an agent of The Division, a special unit designed to restore some semblance of order to the city.
Following two overly successful beta tests – one of which is going down as the biggest of the current generation – Ubisoft’s MMO-lite shooter is riding the crest of a wave of goodwill ahead of its debut early next week. Similar to Bungie’s Destiny, there will be a heavy focus on co-operative play in the studio’s persistent world, but even from today’s trailer it’s clear that there will be a core story underpinning the apocalyptic action.
Now rounding the final corner, the one chief concern lingering over The Division is its online-centric nature. As Street Fighter V reminded us all, launch day woes for multiplayer games can prove costly, and we’re holding out hope that those beta tests were enough to stress test the servers and iron out any remaining technical kinks.
The Division will hit PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC come March 8.
