The Division: Good game in parts

Tom Clancy's The Division comes with its share of kinks

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It felt just like the old days. Crouching for cover, stalking an enemy, mounting an attack. But instead of the rather dimensionless figures on the screen, reality was staring me in the space. I could literally see the sweat patches on my team mate's shoulders. But the adrenaline rush was like that day 16 years ago, when I first played Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear. Oh, did I mention I was playing Tom Clancy's The Division (Rs 1,799 for PC)?

The game is set shortly after New York goes into lockdown following an outbreak of smallpox. You play as a sleeper agent of The Division who is called upon to restore law and order.

Back to what I was doing. I was trying to secure an area in downtown Manhattan, but I was unable to subdue the boss, even with several head-shots. As I progressed in the game, I realised he wasn't the only one I had trouble with. There were several of those "bullet sponges", as some have called them. On one occasion, I crept up behind an unsuspecting enemy and fired several bullets into his head; he didn't even flinch!

However, in terms of darting for cover and firing, this game has no other; take cover, highlight the next place of cover and press the button - you're sprinting there in no time.

As you carry out each mission, you gain a skill/talent - healing, arms or armour along with XP. But this is where you might lose interest: After some hours of skirmishes, the enemies appear the same, who match your progress while you rack up points; and that is when you should visit the Dark Zone.

This is possibly the best part of the game: Here, you need to battle enemies with the maximum loot; kill them and they're yours. But you can't just add it to your booty; this place is contaminated so you need to ask a chopper to extract it. This sends out a signal to all players in the Dark Zone that an extraction is afoot. All one needs to do is kill the player with the booty and make off with it before he respawns. Of course, this makes you a rogue agent with a price on your head. But that doesn't stop people from gunning you down, I found to my chagrin.

The Division is very good in parts - the detailed bleak picture of New York, the cover mechanics and the gameplay, especially in the Dark Zone - matched by a few jarring disappointments like erratic AI, hammy voice acting, repetitive scenarios and the need to be online every time you play. In sum, it is a typical Tom Clancy game that could have been better.