When Ubisoft and its Massive studio pulled the curtain back on The Division several E3s ago, they promised a new kind of game in the Tom Clancy universe that married extensive online multiplayer support with a unique, beautifully rendered modern-day New York City setting. But as years came and went without a release and delays piled up, doubts collected at The Division’s feet as to whether it could actually deliver on any of the hype.
The good news is that in many ways, The Division executes well enough on the parts of its identity that would seem the hardest to get right in an open world. But The Division’s slavish adherence to the drip-feed mentality of massively multiplayer online role-playing games makes it feel like much less than it could be.