Our MMO of the Month in March 2016 is The Division. We will tell you why we chose this shooter.
Online gaming is really heating up again. After a quiet 2015, in March we have Blade and Soul and Black Desert as the third high-caliber title being released to the gaming masses in 2016. Admittedly, the Korean gem Black Desert only really “officially” launched in March, but it was already clear in February that it would be a real hit, and we honored it last month.
Even though The Elder Scrolls Online received a new DLC in March, this month there is no question for us: The MMO of the hour is “Tom Clancy’s The Division”, even if there can be a lively debate about how well the game fits the “MMO definition”. The term has been changing for years. Today’s MMOs are not really “massive” anymore for reasons of performance and fairness.
5 Reasons Why The Division is Our MMO of the Month
- It has a great atmosphere. New York on the brink of collapse. Snow showers, neon signs, and a crazy person attacking a corpse with the energy of a Duracell bunny and a baseball bat. In phone recordings, we hear stories from a world that is tearing itself apart or desperately clinging to a shred of normality.
- It’s engaging. Log in, search for a mission, get started. Almost everything in The Division can be initiated and tackled immediately. The missions are clearly structured and can be consumed in small, digestible bites. The gameplay feels right when you are playing with friends, coordinating over voice chat, teasing each other, and having a good time.
- It is ruthless. The Dark Zone is no place for the gullible. The feeling of standing just before extraction, assessing every other player for their potential as a “traitor-and-looter”, and checking if you can take someone out – these are big moments in The Division that mainly play out in the mind of the player.
- There is loot! The RPG elements of the game make us ponder over the weapons and skills we have gathered and selected. We think about how to make our agent stronger, tougher, and meaner. Although the game currently has some teething problems, it really captures the “want it!” aspect quite well.
- The gameplay is something different. The Division forces us to play tactically, thinking from cover to cover. Where are the tactical advantages, from where can we flank the enemies? A shooter for the player who appreciates that clarity and thinking are rewarded, not just reflexes and a twitchy finger.
The Division is our MMO of the Month in March. The first free update is announced for April, which is supposed to bring the “Incursions” PvE endgame activities.
