A fully fledged The Division experience on the go | CBT Review - The Division Resurgence
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✨Overview
The Division has always been described by me and my peers as 'Diablo with guns,' and this description holds true. It's a looter shooter with Action RPG elements, which can be quite addicting. However, I have always struggled to reconcile the concept of its realistic, grounded setting with its RPG mechanics. Suspension of disbelief is one thing, but seeing a Diablo-like game in a shooter's skin felt odd to me. Ordinary individuals with guns in our real world, yet they need to find legendary firearms to defeat bullet sponge enemies that are also supposed to be humans. Despite this, The Division's system works exceptionally well once you immerse yourself in gameplay.
Now, on mobile, we finally have our own version with The Division Resurgence, offering a fully-fledged third-person shooter experience on the go. The original two games were simply too extensive to be ported 1:1, so Ubisoft decided to create its own mobile adaptation. The good news is that it's available for a variety of mobile phones, not restricted to just the latest iPhones. The game is still not out yet, with plans to release next year, but I was able to get access to the Closed Beta that has started recently and will last until December.
📖Story and Premise
The Division Resurgence is set between the first and second mainline games and is essentially The Division 1.5. Resurgence plunges players back into modern New York City ravaged by a deadly virus and put on lockdown. The narrative revolves around the literal resurgence of chaos and threats that was originally resolved in the first game. This approach introduces a sense of continuity for series veterans while providing a fresh and welcoming angle for newcomers. Familiar faces make a return, adding depth to the lore and tying the mobile game seamlessly into the broader Division universe.
🎨Graphics and Art Style
The graphics maintain the signature style of the original titles, showcasing highly detailed models, immersive environments, and realistic lighting. For the most part, it feels and looks like a PS4 game ported to consoles. However, the mobile adaptation naturally comes with concessions. I was able to play the game on medium settings at medium frame rates (45 FPS) and my Snapdragon 888 phone held up pretty well. The game looks impressive as a mobile phone, although I do hope it can be optimized a bit more, since there’s still plenty of time before release.
🎮Gameplay
The Division Resurgence maintains the core gameplay loop that fans of the series have come to love. As a third-person cover shooter, the game emphasizes strategic positioning, quick thinking, and teamwork. The mobile adaptation successfully captures the intensity and tactical depth of its console counterparts, offering a compelling experience on a smaller screen.
The cover system remains a cornerstone of the gameplay. Players can seamlessly move from cover to cover, utilizing the environment strategically to avoid enemy fire and plan their next move. The touch controls effectively translate this mechanic to mobile, allowing for intuitive cover-based engagements.
In addition to the structured story missions, Resurgence retains an open-world format. Players can explore the ravaged streets of New York City, encountering dynamic events, side missions, and hostile factions. These can be done in either solo or in up to four players in matchmaking.
⚔️Combat
The shooting mechanics in Resurgence aim to replicate the satisfying gunplay of its predecessors. The touch controls provide a surprising level of precision, allowing players to aim, shoot, and switch between weapons seamlessly. The inclusion of a variety of firearms, each with its own feel and characteristics, adds depth to the combat experience.
I opted to make 99% of my experience utilize the touchscreen controls, and good news is that, they work pretty well. If you’re used to mobile shooters like PUBG or CODM, you’ll feel right at home with this one. Although it does include more than your usual number of abilities and moves to use, two weapons, three abilities, a cover button, a jump button, and a roll button.
🕹Controls
While touchscreen controls are serviceable, the game truly shines when played with a physical controller, which is fully supported with its own UI and button prompts shown on-screen. The difference is night and day for me, and it really felt like I was playing a console game. The implementation is really good, the sensitivity is just right, there is aim assist, and the bindings are all industry standard.
It even supported my Dualshock 4 controller properly with correct button layouts. UI and menu navigation is also supported for controllers, but it mostly gives you the glorified analog cursor navigation that we hate so much in console games. Still, its pretty serviceable and somewhat playable without ever touching the screen. The addition of industry-standard controller support, including compatibility with Dualshock 4 and keyboard/mouse, transforms the mobile experience into something akin to playing on a console.
⏫Progression
The Division series is renowned for its loot-centric progression, and Resurgence continues this tradition. Players can collect gear sets to unlock bonuses, encouraging exploration and engagement in various activities. The loop of finding, upgrading, and customizing gear remains addictive, ensuring a constant sense of progression.
The game features character specializations, each offering a unique set of skills and abilities. The choice of specialization contributes to defining the player's role in a team and adds an additional layer of strategy to both PvE and PvP encounters.
The Division hub serves as the central location for players to buy and sell gear, upgrade equipment, and manage their inventory. This hub maintains the franchise's identity, providing a familiar space for players to interact with vendors, customize loadouts, and optimize their gear.
💵Monetization
The shift to a free-to-play model comes as no surprise in the mobile gaming landscape. While the beta test isn’t an accurate representation of the final product, I could already see the foundations of monetization being built. Mainly with the cosmetics and its potential pay-to-win model with its option to purchase Premium credits, which then can be used to purchase bundles that can speed up progression.
⚖️Conclusion
The immersive world, engaging storyline, and addictive RPG mechanics of The Division successfully make the leap to mobile with The Division Resurgence. It’s basically The Division 1.5 made on the go. Honestly, aside from general optimization and bug squashing, the only thing left to do is implement a fair balance between in-app purchases and a rewarding progression system that will be pivotal for a balanced financial success / player satisfaction ratio.
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