Well fought? - A Few Hours With The Division Beta

New games are awesome! Being some of the first to play new games is even more awesome! Beta testing has been around ever since cavemen were trying to decide what materials burned too hot, and the internet has given us the privilege to warm hands all over the world in this metaphor. Today we fight with the feeling of "meh".

Full disclosure, I indirectly paid to join The Division. I bought the Tom Clancy bundle on Humble Bundle because I really wanted to jump on some Splintercell action and I was in an impulse buying mood. Since the bundle came with a beta key I figured I would download the 26 gig (holy crap!) file through uPlay and check it out.

First off, this is a beta and for the most part it works. There is a warning stating that the servers may be going in and out etc. I was disconnected quite a bit, and that's probably a good thing, hopefully they are working on their netcode and managing all the stress the servers can take. I had some occasional issues with graphical artifact that seemed to be connected to lighting that would obstruct 80% of the game screen if I moved the camera into a certain angle. These are beta issues that will likely be fixed in the retail release. I'm sure Ubisoft will do what it can to make sure there isn't another Assassin's Creed: Unity.

When you start up the beta, one of the developers voice over plays and tells you it's a cover based shooter. And that's what we have here. It's a cover based shooter, you've played them before. This one has loot. I am not impressed. The game is functional, running around an epidemic overridden New York City looks great. The enemies are rioters that shoot first and ask questions later with sub par AI. At one point one of my NPC allies yelled out "They don't have a plan, keep shooting!" and I laughed in agreement.

The Division looks like it could be a huge, immersive world to get lost in. It's screaming for more interesting enemy design (with the epidemic theme we'll probably get zombies...meh). If this was a demo, I would not be buying the final product based on the gameplay. There's a ton of potential here to be more than a cover based shooter with RPG elements, but I'd wait for the initial flood of reviews to come out. Back to Splintercell I guess.

Anime From Your Youth Still Gets Your Attention

If you have a passing interest in video games in this day and age you have probably dabbled in the medium of Japanese animation. I have and haven’t seriously followed any series in well over a decade. There are a few titles that grab me whenever something hits new release lists or podcasts that I frequent, mainly Ghost in the Shell and I will defend Cowboy Bebop until the end. Today we fight like we have been inducted into Section 9.

I have my issues with early access titles and free to play titles. This time I paid to play a free title in early access. Ghost in the Shell: First Assault is a Sci-Fi first person shooter that does nothing new. The shooting is responsive, you gain levels by playing, and you can by skins and additional characters with real money. In all fairness, you can unlock more Section 9 operatives with the earned in game currency by investing more time. When it comes to game modes there is Team Deathmatch, Terminal Capture (point based capturing in sequence like Battlefield), and Demolition (it’s Counter Strike, even with one spawn per round). So, why are you telling me about this game?

It is all in the presentation, down to action based clips from the show in some menus. It looks exactly like what the GitS universe should look, futuristic and slightly sterile. The character models are spot on with the entire voice cast from the Stand Alone Complex series! Hearing those voices really hits the sweet spot. Even the Tachikoma think tank helps you in the terminal capture mode. Considering your team is always Section 9, the game projects you as generic “bad guys” to the other team; this also doesn’t let on which members of your team have what abilities to the enemy. Each operative has their own special skill based on their role in the anime. Major Kusanagi has her trademark optical camouflage, Batou shoots missiles out of his arm, Ishikawa can place turrets, and so on. Some of the abilities can be spread to other squad mates through a skill sync; giving everyone around you semi-invisibility can help turn the tide of any battle.

As a free to play game First Assault seems to be pretty on par with other titles. There are temporary items that can augment you slightly in the form of faster reloads, shorter ability cooldowns, and the like. Just like Hawken you gain levels and then are bestowed the privilege of purchasing upgrades with your hard earned cash. This is a model I’m not a fan of, if I’ve put in the time I don’t want to find out I need to grind money to get the item I’ve been after. I can also see how this could get someone to drop real world funds to get around it. Maybe I’m just getting old and can’t cope with these newfangled ways to spend my money.

If you’re looking for a fun, fast paced shooter that you can jump in and out of this is your one of your many answers. It’s still in early access at this point and is due out sometime in 2016. A co-op horde mode would be a welcome addition along with some way to pilot a think tank. When it hits its official release date give it a shot, it’s fun to dive back into a simpler time with familiar gameplay.