What would you do in the event of a viral epidemic? If the answer is "retrieve a military-grade shotgun from behind the washing machine, slip on a beanie and head to the nearest post office in search of anarchists", welcome to the ranks of the Division, a network of sleeper agents charged with reclaiming New York from thugs and plague spores alike.
The Xbox One version of Ubisoft Massive's MMO shooter was on show at Gamescom today, and I'm happy to report that it looks just as appealing as the "target-spec" PC footage Uncle Ubi flaunted at E3 last year. The demo saw two developers purging a hospital of fanatical "Cleaner" paramilitaries while a third flew support as a drone, controlled with a tablet.
It was a quick but tantalising dive into the game's treasure trove of Clancy-brand gadgets, all of which can be customised to suit the occasion. The lead player rolled an offensive build, equipped with a shotgun and a rolling "Seeker" mine - the latter's payload can be lethal, non-lethal and a few other things besides. His less bloodthirsty friend chose a rifle, healing ability and auto turret, which served as a useful distraction during a fight with an enormous flamethrower dude. The tablet player was lumbered with recon duties and a teargas launcher, which is effectively an armour debuff that can be stacked with other status changes.
I've yet to see the world through a drone's eyes, but it seems likely this aspect of the game will be the least popular - nailing a target with a gasbomb isn't, surely, as fun as gunning them down from the other side of a believably bullet-pocked police car. Then again, that's kind of the point. The drone is an auxiliary role for when you're away from your console, a stopgap option, rather than a like-for-like alternative to roaming The Division's streets.
They're sights to behold, those streets. The most irrelevant of the game's alleyways are minor works of art, plastered with the kind of opulent detritus only a post-apocalyptic setting can provide. Piles of binliners glisten in doorways. A police car's light eerily illuminates a plume of smoke. There are relics of happier times, such as BBQs and jaunty Xmas decorations, and there are the signs of recent battle - powderised windshields, the glow of distant fires and black streaks on the ice.
The city is divided into regions that have three ratings - Security, which represents how much of that good old fashioned law and order you've imposed on the place, Morale, which affects the likelihood of things like civilians helping you out, and Contagion, which represents how likely you are to die when you remove your breathing mask. Raise the Security and Morale of an area enough and you'll be able to claim a central facility such as a post office as your base, unlocking activities and resource points in the area.
The game's AI factions may not take kindly to this, needless to say. Massive has yet to reveal any save the Cleaners, but I'm told they all act differently depending on the weather and time of day or night. They'll also fight each other, which is obviously to your advantage if you're outgunned.
Speaking of gunplay, this is very much an RPG in terms of how damage is calculated and portrayed - targets spew bouncy red numerals that feel a bit out of place in a Tom Clancy game, and especially a Tom Clancy game that looks as lifelike as this one. Those who call a headshot a headshot rather than a "critical hit" might want to think twice. It's a pitifully small bone to pick, however - pending a hands-on inspection, this seems a marvellous team shooter and a fantastic expansion of one of gaming's most battleworn fictions.
This was dope as hell.
