by THEbipolarBear

With Black Friday still present in our rear view mirror, it is only fitting to talk about the next installment of one of the most well-known and incredibly successful series of this age – the Tom Clancy Series. “What does this have to do with Black Friday,” you ask? Well, the game takes place shortly after a massive virus outbreak in NYC, where you are an agent of The Division, attempting to fight both the virus and those who created it. The day of the outbreak was (wait for it)…… Black Friday, one of the most heightened, nonexclusive, and dense social gatherings in the US.

A screenshot released to show the type of terrain to be expected.

Your job in this “revolutionary” game as a member of The Division is to simply recover control over the Big Apple by taking out both the products and the producers of the virus.  Thankfully, you’re not faced with this task alone in this next-gen open-world RPG – there are other agents out there, played by none other than your very own IRL friends. So other than this online aspect, which has been growing in popularity since the flagship title, Destiny, what makes this post-apocalyptic RPG different from other games, Clancy or not?

Another screenshot, perhaps showing in-game footage?

According to the game’s official website, the new social dynamic does not take away from Clancy’s core values, but augments them with quick decision making, RPG elements, and… trading? There is no further mention of this “trading” except for once more under the social description. This can mean that player-to-player trade can now involve in-game objects, such as weapons, armor, and any other objects that the player may come across throughout his career. Furthermore, the game’s new engine, Snowdrop, “…takes full advantage of the new consoles with dynamic global illumination, stunning procedural destruction, and an insane amount of detail and visual effects,” and is compatible only with next-gen systems. Tom Clancy’s The Division lays a heavy emphasis on decision making, claiming that each and every choice the player makes, may it be saving or sparing a target or remembering to pack napkins for your PB&J in the event of a total collapse can be game changing.

So what do you get from all of this? If you are a Tom-Clancy-loving, next-gen-owning gamer, then you better hope your birthday falls after this game is dropped, because this is definitely one for your wishlist. If you’re not into RPG-based, MMO-esque games, then grip your Smash Bros. and Mario Kart tightly, for it seems they are becoming less of the norm and more of the minority. If you haven’t bought into next-gen yet, you might want to consider investing in that console you were eyeing last Black Friday, because with names like Tom Clancy leading the next-gen brigade into 2015, greatness is bound to follow.

Gameplay sure does look advanced in this screenshot. This makes me excited for next-gen Clancy.