Tom Clancy's The Division 2 ~ First Impressions

Just when I thought I was going to kick back, relax, and shoot alien factions in Destiny 2 to prove that Hunters are the best class ever, my partner tells me that he is in fact bored with Destiny 2 and perhaps we should play a different multiplayer game.

I was feeling that way too, but was prepared to keep on keeping on in light of the Guardian Games event. Now I don't have to! xD

We've exhausted a lot of multiplayer options over the past couple of years. Much to my dismay, most multiplayer games are shooters and shooters really aren't my favourite thing. I've slowly allowed myself to open up to them a little more though.

The Division was something that looked interesting to me when I first saw it, but I wasn't entirely sure if I would actually enjoy it and I didn't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money to buy a game I may not like. Then The Division 2 was released and I umm'd and ahh'd over that one instead. After witnessing my partner play it, however, I decided that I wanted to give it a go at last and, thankfully, it was on special! I got The Division 2 and its expansion for $26 AUD.

First of all, I was pleased that I could make my own character. Pretty much all of the faces are terrible, but luckily I could hide my grotesqueness behind some fancy sunglasses.

Also, I couldn't change the colour of her eyebrows. So, I had to make her hair colour the same as her eyebrow colour otherwise my OCD would've been going mental.

The environment is a beautiful post-apocalyptic wonderland, marred by a constant orange line telling me where to go. I would love a more standard compass system instead so I can enjoy the view. But, of course, this game wasn't created with people like me in mind, so I guess it doesn't matter.

The inventory and assorted-menu screens annoy my eyes, but I'm slowly getting used to the style.

I like how you can mark individual things for dismantling, then dismantle everything marked in one go.

There are several abilities for your agent to unlock to assist in combat.

I decided to go with the Turret first off, a little mechanical companion that shoots what I tell it to. Secondly, I went with the Seeker Mine, a little mechanical friend I can throw and it'll go and kamikaze the enemy I tell it to.

So far the map seems pretty substantial.

There are control points that you take over from the enemies and install your own people there. The people you install there will accept donations from you and will give you buffs for your support. There are random events, side missions, the main missions of course, resource collection points, enemies roaming the streets of course, and there are bounties you can complete.

There are pvp areas too, the purple biohazard symbols on the map, which I don't really have any interest in. A game three years old? The only pvpers will be who live and breathe the game. But apparently you can find spiffy gear in there that you need to get decontaminated before you can collect it. Just, a noob like me would be wasting her time even bothering.

I'm really enjoying the amount of loot that's all over the place.

You can find crafting materials, guns and armour, cosmetic clothing, food/water/components which you donate to your friends. Collectables. If you know me, then you know I love a good collectable hunt!

And it looks as though the game doesn't disappoint in that regard...

There's everything from footage from the past (ECHOs) to museum artifacts. That's how I discovered the Collections menu to begin with. I found a 'crystal skull' and wondered what it was -- lo! It was a collectable!

And of course, crafting, I love me some crafting in games.

Whilst I crafted myself a new holster, I'm not entirely sure how to find blueprints and things for crafting just yet. I'm assuming I can find them by doing quests or randomly in loot containers out in the world. That makes sense to me, anyway.

BEST OF ALL, THOUGH!

So, I had no idea where the screenshots I was taking were being saved. They weren't in the game folder, nor in the My Documents game folder. When I googled where the location was, it told me the location for PHOTO MODE screenshots.

So, naturally, I stopped actually playing the game and started being a photographer.

While there isn't a plethora of photo mode settings, the basics are there. A few filters, focus/DoF, a couple of emotes for posing purposes, noise addition/reduction and cinematic strips.

I love me some cinematic strips and a tiny touch of noise.

None of the filters are really interesting though. In games like Cyberpunk 2077 and No Man's Sky, there are a couple of filters I really like using, but in this, I think just No Filter works best.

Of course you know that means I'll be doing a screenshot showcase of this game at some point in the near future. Very near future. xD

So far I haven't even entered multiplayer mode with my partner yet, but that's okay. I'm slowly getting the hang of this game and will happily play some more of it in due time, but the next Path of Exile league will be here in a week and that's what I'll be turning to in coming days.

But when that phase is over, I'll definitely be trying out this a little more and getting right into it. 🙃

 

Until next time! ⭐️

 

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_{All screenshots in this post are courtesy of me, @kaelci and are from the game: Tom Clancy's The Division 2.}