The Division 2 is out and looks to improve on where they left off with the first game.

The Divison 2 is an online action RPG and is Massive Entertainment’s follow up to The Division. The original Divison game released to much fanfare however, the initial offering wasn’t up to the standard of its competitors. As the months went by Massive continued to develop The Division and by the end of the development cycle, it was in a good place. Massive pick up from where they left off in The Division with their latest game.

Played from a third person perspective throughout, you take control of a Division Agent in Washington DC. The story is set several months after the end of the original game in the midst of a civil war between survivors and rouge groups.

Where as the first game was set in the dark New York City, The Division 2 is set in a lighter, brighter Washington DC. As you start the game the Agent is defending a civilian outpost when they receive a distress signal coming from the Capital. The Agent set off for the city and meets up with the Joint Task Force who have set up their base at The White House. The Division controller then sets the Agent to work helping out the civilian settlements.

The game is a mix of missions, projects and side quests which you can play solo or as a group. As with many looter-shooter games it really comes into its own with friends. Matchmaking is good and finds you a team of people if you haven’t got 3 friends to play with.

Missions are varied and take advantage of the cover system. The enemies are less like bullet sponges this time and their attacks feel fresh and can be difficult. Enemies flank you, throw grenades to where you’re camped and attempt to flush you out. The respawn system is fairly forgiving if you die always taking you back to the most recent checkpoint. You’ll be battling enemy factions like The True Sons, Hyenas, Outcasts and Black Tusks.

The Division 2 is great fun. It’s easy to jump in, team up and get straight into the action. You can play through the main campaign solo just fine but teaming up is easy also. The UI and loot system is fairly complex and will no doubt take some getting used to. However, the loot drops on a regular basis, armour and upgrades are plentiful. The skills have been upgraded for The Division 2 also with assault drones, chem launchers and seeker mines included.

Much like many looter-shooter games the end game is where the action opens up. I’m approximately 6 hours into the game at the moment, but I am enjoying my time with it.

The end game has been prioritised by Massive Entertainment and this time the Dark Zones have been increased from one to three. The Dark Zones are described as Player vs Environment vs Player, where you can team up with others if you choose to do so. There are a few end game features to look out for:

• PVP – Take on other players to prove your skills an earn powerful gear
• Co-op activities – Team up with others to take on some of the hardest challenges in the game
• Clans – Join a clan and team up regularly

It’s been promised that new content will be added to The Division 2 or a regular basis and all DLC content will be free. This includes new missions, maps and new features. Although the DLC will be free there we don’t know yet the full details on the in-game monetisation features. Massive have been tight-lipped about these details so far.

I dropped off quickly from The Division, but I think there’s enough here for me to keep coming back. I’ll be following up with a full review once I’ve got through the campaign and into the end game.

The Division 2 is out now on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

[Image source: Ubisoft / Massive Entertainment]