The Division hasn’t really been a game that’s been on my radar. Shooters have never been my favourite genre, and I just hadn’t heard anything about the game that made it sound particularly appealing to my tastes.
But when Ubisoft decided to thrown open the doors for an open beta, I figured I had nothing to lose by trying it.
I’ve done a full write-up on my experiences in the beta on MMOBro: The Division Beta Is Mostly Empty (But Maybe That’s Okay).
I have to say I was surprised by The Division. I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to, and given my preferences, it’s even more surprising that I enjoyed the exploration and side missions more than the main story content.
I’ve given serious thought to actually buying it, but between my glut of games to play and the game’s whopping $80 price tag, I think I’ll hold off until the next Steam sale, at least.
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While at MMOBro, consider checking out my other recent articles on why high fantasy MMOs remain so popular, and the most visually appealing MMOs.
Superior Realities 
That was an interesting read, especially bearing in mind the ever-ongoing discussion of soloing in MMOs. There’s something to be said for the happy medium of lobby or hub based MMOs. You get the social interaction nicely cordoned off where it doesn’t impact immersion or gameplay. The original Guild Wars exemplified that approach. In the end, though, I think I’d prefer to have at least a few random people around making the place looked lived in.
The Division sounds very interesting but unfortunately my PC is below even the minimum specs so i won’t be trying it until I upgrade, by which time I hope it will be available for a lot less than $80!
Having been reading your blog more recently, I did often find myself thinking “bhagpuss might like this” while playing The Division. Not sure how you’d feel about the solo-heavy nature of it, but the exploration and collection-based storytelling would appeal to you, I think.
Also, keep in mind $80 is the Canadian price. I think it’s $60 if you’re in America.
As for hub-based games, I waffle. I like big, open worlds. I’ve mellowed on it a lot over the years, but I used to view load screens in MMOs as anathema, and I’d still prefer to avoid them if possible. At the same time, I’ve never seen a lot of value to passing “L33tpwnzers” the rogue while questing.
Depends on the game, really. GW2 did a very good job of making other players in the world something you welcome rather than resent, but games like Neverwinter and TSW have made very good use of private instances.
With The Division, I think it’s just mislabeled. It’s been sold as a multiplayer title, but it strikes me as a single-player game with above average support for co-op.
Greenman Gaming has had a lot of 30% off codes for it lately… That’s how I got mine.
And welcome to Aussie pricing haha
Don’t tempt me. I’m only just getting my gaming schedule under control.
I agree with you about the game’s ambience being better suited to a single-player experience. I like the lonely feeling. I played the beta with one other person with me, and enjoyed it for the most part. But I only ran into two other players the whole time, and very briefly at that. I actually liked it that way.