Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 is an upcoming online action role-playing video game developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft.
The Division was a diversive title upon its initial release, with many quick to draw criticism with how the game looked at E3 compared to the actual game, similar to what happened with Watch Dogs. However, the updates that followed have slowly worked out many of the game’s issues. Of course when the Division 2 was announced, the hope was that Ubisoft would carry across the lessons they learned with the first game while ironing out some of the exploits that still seem to plague the experience.
Having gotten our hands on the closed Beta for the game ahead of its release in March, we can happily report that it’s already looking good for this this much-anticipated sequel, which is set several months after the original game and sees the action moving from New York to a 1-to- representation of Washington D.C. You and your fellow Division agents attempt to reboot the capital, which in the wake of the Dollar Plague has seen the city broken up into small communities of survivors while three gangs battle for control of the capital: the Paramilitary Warlords “The True Sons”; The Gas Mask Clad raiders called “Hyenas”; and the rogue survivors called the “Outcasts.” Each faction comes with their own distinct tactics while players who beat the 40-hour plus campaign will find themselves facing the ultimate challenge of the heavily armed “Black Tusk,” who are just as equipped as the Division.
The switch from the snow-covered streets of New York to the nation’s capital in summer is certainly a welcome change and while we might only have gotten to see a small portion of the map in the Beta, certainly comparing the landscape of the two cities, there is certainly a lot more scope for Washington and the areas it embodies, from residential and business districts to government buildings and monuments. And considering that your base of operations this time is the actual White House – along with promises from the development team – it seems that players will really get a lot more variety in the environment than the original game, whose criss cross streets did feel a little too samey for some players. From what we get to see in the Beta though the large open areas certainly provide a new challenge, especially when they provide much less cover than the streets, putting a stronger emphasis on teamwork and outflanking your opponents using your perks.
As with the first game, you will be required to complete missions to help reboot the city as well as add resources to your base of operations. Furthermore, settlements where the survivors have formed to protect themselves from the gangs and virus are also points of interest. There are also checkpoints that can be taken over, really adding a sense of change for your actions, as groups of soldiers will appear in these areas and embark on supply runs. This truly breathes a larger sense of life to the world rather than being an environment that never really changes.
For those who felt that enemies were too much of a bullet sponge in the original, steps have clearly been taken to give this more authenticity, with enemies having specific armour that can be damaged and shot off. This is especially key to defeating the tougher enemies. Sure, for players who liked to exploit the “chicken dance” tactic, it might be detrimental to their style of gameplay but certainly during this beta test it’s a play system that works well and actually adds to the tenseness of a frenzied firefight. 
While the Beta might not give us access to the whole toy box, certainly we did get to try out a couple of new things such as the attack drone, while favourites like the turret have been given new abilities such as turning them into remote sniper post as well as the ability to switch their focus between enemies rather than whatever happens to be closest. For those who beat the the original game, they will also get the choice of three speciality classes, each with their own signature weapon that includes a crossbow, sniper rifle or grenade launcher with players being able to switch between these classes to complement their gaming group or play style.
Already confirmed post launch is the addition of raids, where you will be able to form a group of 8 agents to tackle some of the trickiest missions in the game but which much like the dark zone (which there will be 3 of) will also reward some of the best loot of the game. This will also be joined by a trio of free DLC packs. However, what we saw with this beta certainly is enough to have us excited for its upcoming release and the expansion of this compelling world.