With the upcoming MMO shooter The Division , the Alpha seems to have excited the hardcore fans. The first impression is positive.
It’s a difficult situation: The Alpha of The Division only took place for a small group on the Xbox One. Probably many enthusiastic fans among them who have been waiting for months to see something of the game. The presentations only featured the same snippet from the Dark Zone.
Now the first ones could finally participate, the problem is: The game is still under an NDA. Nevertheless, a multitude of opinions are emerging, and they are mostly positive.
The immersion, the interface, graphics and sound, the shooting mechanics, especially the “taking cover” feature are almost unanimously praised. “The game has a good foundation,” says a user on reddit, “it will be interesting to see how it looks with more detail.”
Because even in the Alpha, there wasn’t too much content to see. Another user on reddit expresses concerns: “When you engage in an encounter, you finish it.” Hopefully, the map isn’t solved too quickly. And how the game will play out in the endgame and how it intends to keep players engaged once all skills are unlocked is still a question.
The impressions are quite unanimous. The short opinions due to the NDA reflect a cautious enthusiasm. This is the game they have been waiting for. It hits the Clancy tone, immersing you with sound and graphics into this world.
Experience shows that MMOs often start with too little content
My MMO thinks: This is certainly not a comprehensive picture, and you should not overvalue such Alpha impressions. MMO players know that even weak games can have strong zones. But the comments about the “good foundation” are reassuring, especially when one had the negative reports in mind beforehand. An MMO with flawless gameplay must go very wrong to earn a bad reputation.
That “The Division”, like almost every MMO game, will have a rough phase at the beginning with bugs and exploits must still be taken into account. And that the appetite of players is likely greater than what The Division can offer at the beginning is highly probable.
All releases of such games in recent years have shown us time and again: The development of MMOs is a marathon, where the release is just a stage, not the goal.
Additionally, the team at Massive faces the challenge of transitioning from a “developer team” that can work in peace to a “live team” that is under constant pressure and public scrutiny. This, as MMO developers often say, is a tough adjustment that no one can prepare for.
But we don’t want to paint the apocalypse on the wall: Bugs disappear, content usually comes over time, and studios can adapt to changing conditions – as long as the foundation is solid, the gameplay is really fun, and the game’s DNA is intact – and that is indicated by the reports from testers.
The images in the article are leaked screenshots from the Alpha.
