...or did I just miss the boat?
I picked D2 up on a whim on Friday and have dumped more than 18 hours into it already, which I havent done with a game in a very long time. IMO a lot of looter shooters get by on "meh" gameplay because of the draw of the loot and there being something to always be shooting for, but this game has it all. Everything about this is just so good:
-The graphics look fantastic and have some of the best atmospheric and lighting effects of any game this gen. The way lights bloom in the murky fog or the sun shining down between buildings at sunrise all look amazing. Every environment looks and feels drastically different depending on what time of day or what weather pattern is passing through when you visit.
-The sound....oh my the sound. Gunfire sounds like gunfire, which is something a lot of games get wrong; storms are a total treat for a surround sound system and I dont know how many times that Ive been saved from being able to hear a shotgun soldier rushing me from my flank.
-Gameplay is just fun as hell. They fixed the biggest problem Ive had with looter shooters: spongy enemies. Nothing makes your gunplay feel weaker then when guys just dont react at all to gunfire and take forever to put down. This game almost totally resolves that. Headshots drop guys fast and the enemies that you can qualify as being "spongy" are due to having tons of armor, which you can destroy and then drop them like almost any normal grunt. Enemies react to gunfire as well, they stumble, limp, retreat, etc. There is always a carrot to chase as well that gives you noticeable gains in the world and with your character. The game is always rewarding you with loot and base improvements that feel substantial.
-Level design team deserves recognition as well. Every environment looks like a reasonably realistic place that tells a story but also functions as amazing combat arenas. There is always a path to flank or reposition to get the drop on the enemy. The cover system works great and it feels very cinematic when you are in a squad and laying down suppressive fire while your team mates dart from cover to cover to flank. Division 2 does a better job at being a tactical shooter than a lot of other "tactial shooters" on the market today, its better than Wildlands by a country mile IMO.
If I had any gripes, it seems that the game could probably stand to throw more diverse combat situations at you or maybe have situations where there is some light puzzle solving just to break up the pace. But you could also make the argument that the stuck to what they knew was good, which is the combat and exploration.
Now, I go back to sitting at work and waiting to go home and play some more.
I picked D2 up on a whim on Friday and have dumped more than 18 hours into it already, which I havent done with a game in a very long time. IMO a lot of looter shooters get by on "meh" gameplay because of the draw of the loot and there being something to always be shooting for, but this game has it all. Everything about this is just so good:
-The graphics look fantastic and have some of the best atmospheric and lighting effects of any game this gen. The way lights bloom in the murky fog or the sun shining down between buildings at sunrise all look amazing. Every environment looks and feels drastically different depending on what time of day or what weather pattern is passing through when you visit.
-The sound....oh my the sound. Gunfire sounds like gunfire, which is something a lot of games get wrong; storms are a total treat for a surround sound system and I dont know how many times that Ive been saved from being able to hear a shotgun soldier rushing me from my flank.
-Gameplay is just fun as hell. They fixed the biggest problem Ive had with looter shooters: spongy enemies. Nothing makes your gunplay feel weaker then when guys just dont react at all to gunfire and take forever to put down. This game almost totally resolves that. Headshots drop guys fast and the enemies that you can qualify as being "spongy" are due to having tons of armor, which you can destroy and then drop them like almost any normal grunt. Enemies react to gunfire as well, they stumble, limp, retreat, etc. There is always a carrot to chase as well that gives you noticeable gains in the world and with your character. The game is always rewarding you with loot and base improvements that feel substantial.
-Level design team deserves recognition as well. Every environment looks like a reasonably realistic place that tells a story but also functions as amazing combat arenas. There is always a path to flank or reposition to get the drop on the enemy. The cover system works great and it feels very cinematic when you are in a squad and laying down suppressive fire while your team mates dart from cover to cover to flank. Division 2 does a better job at being a tactical shooter than a lot of other "tactial shooters" on the market today, its better than Wildlands by a country mile IMO.
If I had any gripes, it seems that the game could probably stand to throw more diverse combat situations at you or maybe have situations where there is some light puzzle solving just to break up the pace. But you could also make the argument that the stuck to what they knew was good, which is the combat and exploration.
Now, I go back to sitting at work and waiting to go home and play some more.
