2) Its Narrative Is (Worryingly) Believable
One of the most harrowing things about scouting through the beleaguered streets of New York City is how anxiously real the experience feels. Obviously we’ve all seen enough disaster movies and scare-fests to have witnessed The Big Apple in varying states of disrepair, but something about this just feels so authentic.
Part of this is due to the wonderful job the developers have done with the visuals, but much more of it is in the narrative and the gameplay itself. Surely it’s not just me who felt uneasy at how believable the idea of a total societal meltdown after a weaponized virus has been released into a huge populous seems?
And while, admittedly, the typically Ubisoft-esque bullet sponge gameplay is a bit of a necessary evil in a game such as this, The Division‘s gameplay has a refreshing realism to it as well. The numerous enemy types have differing motives and behaviours, and combat situations are well-varied as a result. There’s a painful authenticity in seeing a wounded rioter crawl to cover while holding a bleeding leg, and it’s moments like this that really highlight the believability.
Published: Feb 23, 2016 10:23 am