7 Reasons Why The Division Will Be 2016’s Game Of The Year

With its open beta now closed and the full release finally - after numerous delays - just around the corner, judgement day is fast approaching for Tom Clancy's The Division. By now, thousands of players have had the chance to experience a portion of what Ubisoft's newest IP has to offer, and the developers themselves have already spoken of their belief that the game will prove to be one of the biggest new IP launches in history. It's a big claim, but, on the strength of what we've been able to see of The Division so far, is it a particularly outlandish prediction? Well, no, actually; both closed and open betas for the game can be considered a big triumph as far as testing for a AAA title goes, and Ubisoft are right to be feeling a little ballsy as the launch approaches. In fact, there are plenty of reasons why the developers should already be thinking of where they can put a shiny new Game of the Year trophy when 2016 draws to a close. Skeptical? Don't be; barring a monumental (though not completely outside the realms of possibility) screw-up between the beta product and the finished version, this action-RPG looks set to be the universal success that Ubisoft have seen slip through their fingers so regularly in recent years. Still need convincing? Well, let me talk you through seven reasons why The Division is the frontrunner to be 2016's Game of the Year... 7) The Game Looks Stunning One of the failings of Watch Dogs, a similarly hyped Ubisoft property, was the way in which the game ultimately fell quite some way short of the footage that was debuted when it appeared at E3 in 2012. That is not the only example of a Ubisoft game suffering such a shortcoming, either, and so the concern that The Division would similarly disappoint was a well-founded one. And while countless articles and videos have dissected the footage from The Division's 2013 E3 unveiling and compared it to the beta tests to prove that there (sadly) has been another graphical downgrade, there's no denying that this is still a gorgeous game. The recreation of a devastated New York is mightily impressive; the streets are stacked with abandoned cars, piled garbage bags and even a disconcerting number of corpses. This is absolutely the busiest looking setting I've ever played in. But it's not just the location that looks great here; character movement is smooth and lifelike, and smaller details like popped bulbs on Christmas decorations and flecks of dirty snow that smear the top of a player's winter hat all add up. If it weren't for the fact we'd been shown superior footage at E3 a few years ago, it's hard to imagine that anyone would dream of criticizing the game's aesthetics. 6) The Devil's In The Details The visual appeal is one thing, but what's style really worth without any substance? It's true that The Division looks to be doing a superb job of recreating the look of a near-abandoned New York, but it takes more than just a pretty canvas to turn a setting like this into a real work of art. Fortunately, then, just as much effort seems to have been put into capturing the atmosphere of such a desperate place. This version of New York really feels like it's clinging to life as you make your way through its streets. Trudging past the hunched shoulders of a broken man as he weeps over a snow-dusted corpse is a pretty affecting sight, video game or not. And when the same man catches sight of you - armed to the teeth - and begs for you to spare his life, then you truly feel like you're passing through a city in despair. From the unpredictable movements of a stray dog to the way a plague of rats weaves and turns away from your footsteps, almost everything in The Division reacts to the actions of the player. Civilians may cheer your progress one moment, but turn the sights of your rifle on a stray dog and you may quickly find you're not so welcome in certain areas after all... 5) It's A Triumphant Genre Mix More and more games these days are having to form themselves out of a versatile genre recipe to stand out in an increasingly saturated field. From the time the very first footage for The Division appeared, it was clear that this was something Ubisoft were keen on addressing. The action RPG genre is far from being a brand new one, and so the inclusion of a very large MMO element to the mix was always going to be a clever one here. Pulling from multiple sources can be tricky, however, and developers can often risk falling into the territory of being "Jack of all trades; master of none." Watch Dogs, for example, did just that. But in my time with The Division's beta sessions, I've been reminded of my first experiences with another action RPG: Mass Effect 2. There, Bioware had crafted a game that's components felt so naturally blended that it was hard to consider that these genres had ever really been apart at all. With The Division, the multiplayer functionality builds on Bioware's winning recipe and presents us with an almost golden cherry on top. Nothing in the game's make-up feels like it's been unnecessarily shoehorned in, and the mix is a triumph as a result. 4) It's Regularly Ruthless With the players' activities in The Division being split between two distinct areas of New York's map, there was always likely to be a split in the focus of each area. While the wider areas of the city form the basis of the story and the game's single player content, its 'Dark Zone' sections will be the more competitive multiplayer area. It's in the latter that the challenge posed by The Division gets really severe. They reflect the fact that the Dark Zone is the most desolate, contaminated area of the city, and players will find that the toughest NPC enemies most often inhabit it. As dangerous and cunning as these can be, however, they pale in comparison to the threat that could be posed by other players. I first entered a Dark Zone in the beta on my own, and within two minutes I was fleeing from a couple of agents who had "gone rogue." After a few brushes with death I called on a friend to join me and, once he entered, I immediately gunned him down for valuable DZ experience. Did I feel guilty? Yes. Would I do it again? Probably. The Division's Dark Zone is ruthlessly unpredictable, and I expect it to make even the most hardy of players feel nervously vulnerable at all times. 3) There's Never A Dull Moment Even outside of the frequent combat and untrustworthy fellow players, there's always something going on in The Division. This may seem like a moot point; I'm sure there are plenty among you that are happy so long as a game's action can hold your attention for a few hours at a time. The Division, however, is a far more ambitious sensory experience. I've talked already about how the small details of the game help to bring the atmosphere of the city to life, which is great, but it would be nothing without the constant motion of activity giving players a real reason to keep revisiting that city. At no stage during either of the beta tests did I ever feel like I was bored or at a loss as to what to do. A skeptic may say that this is because of the limited timescale of the test activity, but I assure you I sunk more than enough hours into those two weekends to have gotten frustrated if things became stagnant. From main missions and side quests right down to the real nitty gritty of saving threatened citizens or collecting virus data, The Division looks like it's always going to keep you coming back for more (and more and more...) 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. 1) No Other Games Look Likely To Compete Ultimately, the competition for Game of the Year is limited dependant on how strong the field is. While we've talked at length here at how strong The Division is looking likely to be as a frontrunner, we also have to address how the land lies for the rest of 2016 as well. In truth, the answer is that there really isn't much out there that looks likely to be able to challenge a AAA title like The Division is going to be. Short of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End or Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, it's hard to look at 2016's schedule and be particularly inspired by what one sees. And of the blockbuster titles that are set to debut this year, are there any of them that look like they'll be offering up as much bang-for-your-buck content as The Division? Not bloody likely. Indie titles like No Man's Sky might fancy their chances pulling off a coup and pinching the prize, but ultimately it's hard to see any of 2016's upcoming games having enough to stop Ubisoft's latest - and probably greatest - from being crowned the winner. So there you have it; seven reasons why Tom Clancy's The Division is set to be 2016's Game of the Year. Agree? Great! But if you think we're prematurely waxing lyrical about the fortunes of Ubisoft's new IP, tell us your thoughts in the comments below!