The Division Launch Roundup - Queue Starts Here

The Division has finally launched, so our launch roundup will discuss all of the successes and failures Ubisoft has accrued this time.


Published: March 8, 2016 9:44 PM /

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The Devision artwork decpiting a bombed out cityscape with a soldier standing in the foreground to the left looking away from the viewer.

Tom Clancy's The Division, the highly anticipated online cover shooter from Ubisoft, has been unleashed today, and the gaming public was abuzz with plenty of news from the streets of digital Manhattan. Taking cues from MMOs and Ubisoft's patented open world formula, the game has seen a mixed reception throughout the day. TechRaptor will be covering the game on consoles and PC in the coming weeks, but let's take the opportunity to go over today's events and see how the game's first day on the market shook out.


Players noticed immediately once the game went on sale that there were already two DLC packs available at launch, each themed after different branches of the military. For $5 each, you can choose between the Marine Forces outfits, or choose to enlist with the Military Specialists. Some have decried the publisher for going back on the promise of having no microtransactions at launch, while others see the content as cosmetic fluff that can easily be ignored since it lacks any effect to gameplay. Others still have argued since it's out of game its DLC and not a microtransaction.

With the game's huge focus on online play, there were bound to be some server issues during the launch rush. The game actually ran pretty well the evening before launch, with early adopters and lucky shoppers able to log in and begin their campaigns without a hitch. As the floodgates opened, Ubisoft's servers buckled under the traffic, and many reported being unable to play even after hours of trying. For a while, there were reports that even other Ubisoft titles were down for the count due to the launch.

Once players were able to access the game's city streets, they started digging in and discovered quite a few quirks waiting for them. If you remember Ubisoft classic Assassin's Creed: Unity, than you might recognize this familiar face making a long awaited return.

Other players found that the game's insistence on not letting you pass through other players had created a few unique scenarios. Eurogamer recorded one particular griefing method where standing still or doing jumping jacks in a doorway would cause players to be unable to progress in their current quests. This was eventually fixed via an emergency patch, and now players can pass through other players after running into them for a few seconds.

This also affected mission critical locations, which saw crowds of people unable to turn in quests and eventually organizing into lines using the game's chat functions. Not since PlayStation Home has a video game so accurately simulated real life crowding scenarios on such a grand scale.

https://twitter.com/ncbjd/status/707216287269789696

NVidia celebrated the launch of the game by putting out their standard Game Ready Drivers, but they were not Game Ready for what happened next. As previously reported, users began reporting crashing computers and melted cards stemming from the new drivers. NVidia was quick to issue a beta version of their drivers which seemed to fix most people's issues, but it didn't help the Division players who had already bricked their rigs trying to enjoy the game.

Over the course of the day, The Division garnered a mixed reception from fans, both on the Steam storefront and on MetaCritic. The word on the street is that the game's third person shooting is serviceable, but not any sort of revolution, and the game is genre fodder at best. No professional critics have weighed in on the game as of yet, as everyone got their hands on it at the same time this morning. In any case, we shall see if the game can live up to its long development history and produce something worth praising as reviewers here at TechRaptor and elsewhere weigh in over time.


What is your opinion on The Division's launch? Are you going to jump in based on the hype, or hang back and see what others have to say first? Are you disappointed by the lack of tower based gameplay in the title? Answer these questions in the comments below, and stay tuned for our Division review coverage! 

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


Alex Santa Maria TechRaptor
| Staff Writer

Alex Santa Maria is TechRaptor's former Reviews Editor (2015-2020) and current occasional critic. Joining the site early in its life, Alex grew the review… More about Alex

More Info About This Game
Learn more about Tom Clancy's The Division
Developer
Ubisoft Massive
Publisher
Ubisoft
Platforms
Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
Release Date
March 7, 2016 (Calendar)
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