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Reviews The Division 2 Review

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by bit-tech, 21 Mar 2019.

  1. bit-tech

    bit-tech Supreme Overlord Lover of bit-tech Administrator

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    Last edited by a moderator: 23 Mar 2019
  2. Anfield

    Anfield Multimodder

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    More importantly, a satisfying plot would require adherence to the old as time "start middle end" sequence yet with it being one of those dreaded "live services" thingamajigs rather than a game the basic concept rules out the existence of an ending... you get the idea.
     
  3. Chris_Waddle

    Chris_Waddle Loving my new digital pinball machine

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    I adored the Division 1 and have been playing 2 since the beta's.
    Had I not been playing it for quite some time now and you had really liked the game I'd have been worried that it would be crap this time. Thankfully you don't like it, 99% of the time if you really like a game I know I will not.
    I'm not saying that your opinion is invalid, it's just that we like different games.
     
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  4. Vault-Tec

    Vault-Tec Green Plastic Watering Can

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    Plot? what plot? It has big effing guns and turrets and drones FFS. I didn't even notice a plot.

    Seriously, I was so busy mowing enemies down I didn't even notice a plot or story. A bad thing? I don't think so. Sometimes I just like to hop on with a chum and blow *edit, bad guys* away. It's a great way of reducing stress :)
     
  5. SexyHyde

    SexyHyde Minimodder

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    Got it free with my new Ryzen upgrade and will check it out over the next week. Of all the new releases, this comes second to RE2 and everything else looks terrible. Apex is probably third, but I think a lot of people got carried away with the twitch streamers that got paid to scream it was so great. I have found myself going back to Overwatch and PUBG while I wait for Borderlands 3 or something else. PUBG is actually really enjoyable now the annoying toxic ADHD players seemed to have moved on to Apex.

    My favourite movie reviewer was Mariella Frostrup as she was my polar opposite in taste, i'd just flip her score and see exactly how great or badly she went off. If she recommended it, I would dismiss it, If she said it was garbage I'd book tickets straight away. If it got a mild review I'd only see it if someone else wanted too.
     
  6. The_Crapman

    The_Crapman World's worst stuntman. Lover of bit-tech

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    You don't like this style of gameplay, fair enough. But I think you're both right about the story on this one and wrong (in my opinion) about the first one. I really enjoyed that in the first one you had to piece together the story from the parts you got from the mission dialogue, voice messages on phones you find and the echos. You did get a full story, the game just made you work for it. If you want big cinematic cut scenes spoon feeding you story, you can always just play watch a metal gear solid.

    The second one though, it definitely feels like the 'story' has been stapled on afterwards. They've obviously spent a lot of time trying to improve the gameplay and the failings of the first game; the variety and enjoyability of stuff outside of the main and side missions especially is great, the enemy Ai is much improved,
    I had a gun battle on Mars and mowed down down enemies with a minigun in nam for fricks sake!
    , and all of the is great, but it seems like they've done all that and forgot there should be some story element to it so shoehorned it in at the last minute.

    Another thing I'm not fond of is the atmosphere and styalisation of the game world. It's supposed to be hot, at least all the npc's keep telling me it is, but it doesn't 'feel' hot. There's no heat haze, people don't look particularly hot and sweaty (some nice dark sweat patches in relevant places would easily fix that). There's a lot of rubbish about, but so does Birmingham when the bin men go on strike. It's sad because it's an immensely beautiful game, the rain and lighting effects are striking, the expanse of the map gives you some stunning scenery, but I just don't feel the heat.
     
    Last edited: 22 Mar 2019
  7. Anfield

    Anfield Multimodder

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    Nothing to do with spoon feeding.

    The problem with all these "live services" (regardless if its Divison, Siege, For Honor, Destiny, Anthem or whatever) is that all you get is the set up for a story (Division 2 = things gone bad because no more government, go fix it) but there is no winning, no evolving, no conclusion, no end... just more repetition in the hopes of screwing you out of extra money.

    Contrast that with games like Bioshock, Deus Ex, Witcher etc where you have everything evolving along the age old storytelling structure of beginning, middle and end.

    It is night and day.
     
  8. The_Crapman

    The_Crapman World's worst stuntman. Lover of bit-tech

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    Not sure why you mention seige. That's of the ilk of the early rainbow 6 games. Set scenario, go in and kill terrorists/rescue hostage/disarm bomb etc. It's gone back to it's original form and added pvp.

    Did you even play the first one. I distinctly remember kicking some ass and killing all the evil protagonists, saving New York (to some extent). No you haven't saved the world, because they want sequels. But I suppose that hasn't happened with Deus Ex, Witcher or Bioshock.......

    "the age old storytelling structure of beginning, middle and end." or in game terms: "congratulations on progressing along the predetermined path from point a to point b. Please sit back and enjoy this short film while we insert the plot's cock in your mouth'. Nah, totally not spoon feeding.
     
  9. Anfield

    Anfield Multimodder

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    Except you could play it for a trillion hours and never save New York, because the world in the game needs to preserve its "not yet saved" state due to being a "live service" on public servers.

    These "live services" (Division, Destiny etc) to me feel as satisfying as being sent into a sewer in an RPG to go kill infinitely respawning rats.
    Except in an RPG that would be 1 of a 1000 quests, not the whole game.
     
  10. The_Crapman

    The_Crapman World's worst stuntman. Lover of bit-tech

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    Mmm yes because there isn't multiple missions, different objectives, different enemies with distinct weaponry amd weaknesses, a crafting system, a complex gear system... All just 1 rat. :rollingeyes:

    Eradicatiyng all the enemies entirely is a monderful mechanic, it worked so well in far cry 5 as I wandered round the map board shitless after beating an area boss. And respawning infinite enemies never occurs in RPGs does it. Once you've killed that hores of beasts in the field there'll never be another one there again will there? You're going to tell me you've never replayed a mission you enjoyed, you've never replayed a game you enjoyed? Total shenanigans!
     
  11. lacuna

    lacuna Minimodder

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    Little point arguing over what people personally like...

    I can't understand the attraction of games like this. I tried Destiny and I thought it was one of the dullest games I had played. Maybe it could've been saved by the combat were it not for the fact that you fire 'light' at the enemy! zzzz...

    I'm with Anfield here, I like games with a clearly defined story arc. There are still plenty of these around and plenty of old ones that I haven't played yet.
     
  12. Cwiver

    Cwiver What's a Dremel?

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    I get that its good to get different people's opinions when reviewing a game. But does seem odd to give a game like this to someone who actively admits to not liking, multiplayer, loot based, number shooting games, when that is openly what this game markets itself as. Going to start from a much lower threshold surely. If you liked the Division 1 you'll enjoy the improvements over the original, but if you don't like this type of game there probably isn't enough to change your opinion.
     
  13. monty-pup

    monty-pup Minimodder

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    I loved D1 but never played it far beyond getting my monies’ worth. It felt new and exciting. Like a breath of fresh air.

    I’ve just reached level 30 on D2 ... personal view ...

    They dropped the ball with this. Yes it’s lovely to run around Washington with the landmarks and impressive buildings - thank you modellers and artists. Most enemies are pigeon-holed by the colour of their health bars; red (basic), purple (stretch), yellow (can be a PITA). Most of the time it just feels like that’s it. 3 categories. There are no set pieces. No buildings collapsing. No on-the-rails moments pieced together to create something interesting and exciting and eye-opening.

    Oh look a guy with a flamethrower. Killed him.
    Another guy popping out grenades. Killed him.
    A remote control ankle biter. Killed it.
    Rinse and repeat.

    What they’ve done is create a shell of a beautiful game; filled it with gazillions of treasure chests to open; thrown in a tonne of incredibly samey enemies and battles ...

    I feel very empty about the whole thing. There is a story, but it doesn’t feel as strong as the first - and there is nothing bolted on to better the first. This could have been stunning.

    I bought the ultimate edition ... expensive, and I won’t be making that mistake again. I truly hope that something great comes in the DLC I’ve paid for but I bet it will be more treasure boxes, more tedious samey enemies and battles, no exciting moments, no eye-popping moments, and a weak story. I expect I’ll buy D3 GOTY from the bargain bin on PS5.
     
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