I’ll be honest here, I knew that “The Division” was getting released, but asked me what it was about and I’d have uttered a long drawn out “Uuuuum” sound.

Before booting up the Beta, I actually searched online what the game was about (didn’t want to look like an ass in front of those who obviously did) and found out it was a weaponized virus that had been used in New York and that you’re a sleeper agent in “The Division”, a secret organization.

So we started off our little adventure in a Helicopter. A woman who either lost a fight with an angry badger or forgot to take her spoon out of her coffee before drinking it tells us she’s glad that we’re okay (Okay from what? My character looked as brand new as the day he was rendered!)

We’re dropped off at base camp and that’s where we begin our trek into the infected New York City. Also known as a regular Monday morning for people living in New York. After snooping around base camp I stumbled across a bunch of side missions. The MMO player in me instinctively ditched the main quest for some side quest goodness.

The first of which was fixing an antenna (just like an MMO, you’re basically the handiest S.O.B. in the world). As I got closer to my mark, a dynamic event started which drew my attention. I jumped into the action with as much restraint as a rabbit in heat and got gunned down like one. After respawning I went back and this time I actually used cover. As long as it worked, that is.
You see, when you’re behind cover and you see the “A” button pop up at another piece of cover, don’t assume your character will crouch run towards that, no. If you press “A”, your character stands up, like a gopher popping up out of its hole. Which, like the gopher, makes you a pretty easy target.

“No City for Lone Rangers”

However, I managed to hang on and complete the encounter. I then ran into a “citizen in need”. Being a good Samaritan, I gave that person a medpack and in exchange I got a backpack. However… Don’t do this if you haven’t checked your amount of medpacks. It’ll bite you in the ass in the end.

Anyway, I managed to complete the side mission without any problems and went on my merry way to do another one: Save an officer that was being held hostage by looters. Again, no biggie. Strangely enough, this time I could just stroll into the firefight, Frank Castle style, and kill the looters with a lot of ease.

Feeling invincible I went for my last side mission: killing a murdering psychopath. Full Punisher mode baby!
Well… That’s what I thought. The reality was A LOT different. This was an instance that made me realise, I had been lucky last time. I died a lot and couldn’t complete the mission because I got so immensely frustrated and had to turn off the game. Now, why was that?

Last side mission, I had a bunch of guys (A.I.) that were helping out. Now, as someone who thinks A.I. companions are about as useful as a wet tissue, this came as a shock: they WERE actually good. Either drawing fire or actually killing targets, they were the reason I had it easy last mission. Here, I was all alone. Which basically meant that all bullets my opponents carried had my name on them.

As frustrating as it got in the end, I have to say, “The Division” is filled with potential. People who go at it alone will have a very hard time, but if you go in with a good team covering your ass, lots of fun will be had. While most of the controls work pretty good, I had a lot of problems with the cover mechanic. Either I was doing it wrong or it didn’t work like it should have, but when you get the “A” prompt at a wall on the other side and you press “A”, I expect my character to crouch-run towards it. Not just stand up. Shooting works quite well as well, but if you’re like me and shooters aren’t really your thing, you’ll end up putting more holes in the walls than in your opponents. I managed to find a scope for my M4, but that didn’t really do anything. I had a prompt explaining me how to use it, but by the time I realized it was about that, it faded away so… Yeah, keep your eyes open kids!

Graphically, I can’t fault the game. It has great visuals and New York looks amazing. I’m definitely heading back in once I can find some people I know to join me on my trip. Quite possibly blasting Frank Sinatra through my speakers as I make my way through the Big (rotten) Apple.