Washington DC, we have been thrilled when Ubisoft and the developer Massive Entertainment announced the new map of the second part of The Division. The snowy New York is still one of the most beautiful virtual places we have ever seen. In The Division 2 we are now on the road in summer and are excited if anything else has been changed in this virus-infected parallel world.
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Of course, the virus has also hit the US capital, which is reason why its streets are just as empty as New York’s streets in the first chapter. Garbage was stacked at the gates of closed underground garages, fallen trees simply left lying around, windows been smashed. Quickly a new order emerged in which rival gangs took over individual neighborhoods, set up roadblocks and patrol in small groups on the streets.
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It is very quiet while walking alone through the streets of Washington. You can hear the cries of animals and the crunching under your shoes, while you are discovering improvised graves or photos of dead people on the roadside, or see what such of a catastrophe can do to people.
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And we can once again say, that this world is enchantingly beautiful! We think, that you will be impressed, too, if you get the chance to walk through overgrown asphalt into the glistening sunlight, while you see old 
government buildings extend to one side and modern skyscrapers to the other. It is not only the big view, but especially the small great details you can find behind the thousand corners. Each of them tells it’s own story.
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Unfortunately, depends on each hardware you are using many textures appearing very late. Great would be if Massive can improves the streaming, especially because some objects suddenly appear in close proximity or enemies, that storming into the room, are moved to another position after getting shoot. Unfortunately, the impressive sounds of the game and the interruptions of them also don’t really fit into the otherwise fantastic look of the game.
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Fantastic are also the impressive weather conditions you have to struggle with. Very dense fog on the ground reflects the warm and humid weather. On the other hand it becomes very uncomfortable in thunderstorms. 
In the worst case, you can hardly see your hand in front of your own eyes, which makes firefights more difficult.
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But the most important thing is not the technology in which the environment is created. More important are the many details which bringing the world to life. It starts with animals like dogs, deers, rats and other other that roam the streets and houses. You can see several objects blown by the wind or falling down. Last but not least, as in its predecessor, there are mobile phones and holographic records documenting the outbreak and the consequences of the virus and giving the metropolis a face through the stories of its people.
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But Washington is not only an interesting map. It is also more playful than New York, because the developers have basically adopted all the elements and greatly improved them at the same time. You can say, that Division 2 is still a so called Loot-Shooter and very similar to Destiny 2 and Anthem. So you shoot at several weak and strong enemies, collect equipment and resources to improve them, complete numerous missions and do it all on your own or with up to three companions.
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If you want to compete with other players, you can do it in the PvP battles as well as in three areas called dark zones, in which you fight both, opponents controlled by the game and human players from other groups. It is always completely open if you like to ignore them, fight them or even work with them together. For eight 
large groups of players there will also be particularly challenging missions and raids available. These not been available at the release of the game.
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So, what’s better in the capital-city than in the Big Apple? First of all, there is the important loot, which is marked more discreetly and no longer lies at permanently marked points. As you walk around, you really have to look into the surroundings. You will play less with the menu or the overview map, which strength the immersion of the game.
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There are still allies of the division, civilians, as well as members of enemy gangs, who not only patrol rigidly in their areas or engage in combat. Thy also pursue completely different tasks. We could met a group of friendly people looking for resources. After reaching them, one of the group members was filling a bottle of 
water, while the others stood guard and talked before moving on. I followed them out of curiosity, defended them two blocks away from an attack, and saw them encourage each other afterwards.
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The fact, that occasional events or tasks are now marked as question marks until players get close enough, makes the environment less static. In addition, there are control points that are initially occupied by enemy units. If you conquer them, you can supply the position with resources from now on, which is needed to achieve certain goals. At headquarters and other central division camps, you can complete projects that give you equipment, experience points, and other rewards. In this way, the collecting of seemingly insignificant materials always makes sense.
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We do not know if this is still true after a lot of hours in the endgame. We are also interested in what happens if we neglect a checkpoint for a longer time. In the best case, the counterattack of an enemy faction will succeed at some point.
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The biggest weakness of Tom Clancy’s The Division is the action. Weapons have no rumms, enemies react far too few on even heavy hits and the position of the crosshairs is extremely influenced by the calculation of the value. You can feel that players manipulating the variables that the game could be a tactical simulation for them instead of being a fighter. And thanks god, Massive has virtually eliminated this weakness. The second 
part is a full-grown action game, in which not only the tactical handling out of cover and a large number of special abilities are convincing. Rather, the new shootings satisfy stills the thirst for big explosions, headshots and deaths.
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The sounds of the guns are very powerful. Now it’s really great to shoot with a rifle or nail an opponent in his cover until a buddy comes along to flank him. Enemies also react better when their under fire, so that rushing enemies are no longer frustrating because their seem to act like unstoppable locomotives. They arrive even faster, but can also be stopped with targeted hits from the right weapon. This works out much better than the shifting of figures than in the predecessor.
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The environments are also more extensive than in the first part, which allows a much variable approach. But enemies are using it, too. They run around their own group and thus creating pleasantly unpredictable situations. Covers still can’t be destroyed, but the dynamic is so versatile that it doesn’t attract attention anymore. Only when you have to go into close combat, in the worst case in the corner of a narrow aisle, you 
can lose the overview frustratingly very fast. Such situations happen very rare, but when they happen, they are quite annoying.
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Great is, Massive has also improved a completely different part: the character development. This starts with finally creating a custom character instead of being limited to a few defaults, and continues where you have significantly more special abilities available than before. After all, you’ll gradually gain access to eight weapon platforms, including a turret, a drone, and a chemical ammunition grenade launcher, which you’ll give various functions to. Players are tactically very variable, which is interesting for team players as well as soloists.
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The extensive, still wonderfully motivating adaptation of the equipment has been so great simplified that you no longer have to find or produce every essay or modification. Instead, you can unlock components through 
the mentioned projects as well as through the use of certain loot, which you then attach to all suitable weapons at any time. The overview increases this enormously.
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By fulfilling missions, you gradually expand the base, the White House, and thus gain access to more and more functions and possibilities. There are also other bases that also place different orders. With this we also want to say, that because of this the game’s world is not only varied in itself, but also changing, so that The Division 2 draws much more on the strengths of a classic Open World shooter than Destiny has ever done.
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Even after a lot of hours we still discover something new in this world. We were ambushed when a few scoundrels suddenly jumped out of their hiding place, investigated contaminated zones that telling little 
stories via voice messages and found unique boxes in which special loot been stored. And even after seen so many things, we have found civilians asking for help.
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After completing the entire campaign crucial processes change which adds an extra dimension to the game. For example the control points. They are not only conquered after a small narrative turn, but can also be lost. I’ve seen enough times when I was suddenly bombarded by an enemy faction attacking my current checkpoint while managing my inventory. How effectively your own people defend their stations depends on whether they had to send fellow combatants in search of resources or whether you had given them water, food and materials beforehand. And there is more: If you attack patrols, masts, or other groups 
of enemies, stronger units will be stationed there. The conquest of the position becomes much more difficult, but the loot is much better.
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How variable figures and props react to fire is fantastic to look at. Villians start to stagger, armor parts of heavily armored soldiers slam away and you hear many slogans that fit the situation and they accompany the spectacle. If you see four players throw explosives, you won’t miss the cinema or Netflix anymore.
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The team play gains in importance, as soon as you want to master missions on higher levels of difficulty, because rapid strikers quickly seem to lever out safe positions or specialists arrive who take you out of cover 
and nail you to the spot. Players can choose advanced agents of currently three specializations, which they can switched at headquarters at any time.
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What we really like is the seamless transition between playing solo and teamwork, because you can call for reinforcement at any time. If they have activated the system, other agents will receive a message and can join the help seeker’s game. At the entrance to each central mission, you not only can change the level of difficulty on the spot, you can also choose if you like to join the search for players. At special matchmaking point you can also specify for which activity you are looking for companions. 
The values of all participants are always adapted to those who are the most advanced, so that beginners never have to feel pushed forward.
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What we especially love is, that every member of a group see and hear the same thing. Some small items are excluded, but if you kick a football around, the same happens in all four games. Opponents say the same thing to everyone. The enemies who are shot at stumble in the same way with all participants. Even villains thrown around by explosions fly everywhere in the same way.
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What we also like is, that Massive has sensibly expanded the Dark Zones. They did not change them only externally. There are three very different ones and are offer different content. In this Areas you can get normal loot, which you don’t lose if you die. Special stuff still hasto be brought to safety by helicopter. The 
fact that trips to the Dark Zone are successful, even if you are mown by other players, makes them much more attractive.
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Massive himself has put so much work into details that we have been astonished most of the time. The menu is clearly structured and easy to use, despite a wealth of information. It’s also great how quickly you can mark loot as scrap during the collection to make sorting much easier later. In the options of the game, not only PC players will find a wealth of setting options. Console-Agents can also adjust controls, various aspects of the graphics and even set up the displays to their ideals.
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Even the inevitable microtransactions have been so discreetly placed that you don’t feel pressured to spend money. You can only buy cosmetic items, such as clothes and gestures, and a Season Pass, which will give you one week earlier access to all the content coming in the first year. By the way, this content will be free for all player. You will also get additional tasks, but this is not a playful advantage, as you will also constantly earn experience and loot with all other activities.
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The second Division may be in the same league as Destiny or Anthem in terms of its layout, but the continuation with it’s gameplay features is superior to both competitors! Massive Entertainment has consistently improved many of the features of its predecessor. We had a lot of fun with the gripping firefights, because the richly pounding weapons feel damn good, enemies react credibly to fire and walk around you at the same time skillfully and use dangerous special weapons.
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Thanks to a character development that is as comprehensive as it is clear, you can individually adjust to challenges that have already become more challenging in the first few hours. But above all, the virtual Washington itself is great, in which you observe friends and enemies while carrying out various activities and 
even perform a multitude of random or predefined tasks. For now, I’m sure that Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 is clearly on award course!
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We have spent a lot of hours in Washington and are still not amazed how great The Division 2 is. The action is excellent, the show values are fantastic and the tactical refinements are great thanks to the versatile specializations, especially in the team. The open world, on the other hand, is a living arena that has never existed before in this genre. Both narrative and gameplay features, players constantly will discover new things, while developing one’s character individually in an extensive way. Unfortunately, a lot of already planned content isn’t included yet. All in all, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 is a great shooter in a fascinating game world – the best of its kind!
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