The Division 2 Is Ancient By Live Service Standards, But Still A Great Game Pass Addition
Loot ‘em up.
It’s tough out there for new live service shooters. Getting one off the ground these days has become an increasingly fantastical dream, with even a game from the creator of Destiny 2 running into potentially insurmountable problems before it launches. So if you can’t count on a new game that lets you endlessly blow up bad guys to acquire mountains of color-coded loot, maybe the answer is going back to one that’s been around for more than half a decade.
The Division 2 launched back in March 2019, and it kicks off its seventh season this week. The new season and a new paid DLC both launched on May 27, the same day the venerable shooter joined the Xbox Game Pass catalog and became easier than ever to get into.
You might find The Division 2 a bit hard to get into at first. I still remember laughing out loud at the opening’s wild firearm worship, which plays on all sorts of conservative tropes about patriotism and crime. The story doesn’t get better from there, but that’s not what you’re here for. You’re here to turn down the volume on the dialogue, put on a podcast, and shoot the infinite number of hostiles patrolling Washington, D.C., and on that front, The Division 2 delivers.
Like most live service shooters, The Division 2 is considerably better with other people, and its introduction to Game Pass should ensure a much larger player base. The campaign is split across repeatable story missions, and you’re also free to wander the wastes of D.C., hunting for loot and completing side activities like shutting down pirate broadcasts and defending important landmarks. It’s the sort of open-world vigilante sim that’s uncomfortable to think about too deeply, but tremendously fun to actually play.
The Division 2’s gunplay feels great, and its reliance on technological gadgets helps keep it fresh. Homing explosives on wheels, flamethrower turrets, and drones that spray healing juice on your allies are all potential parts of your kit, and switching up what you bring can have a huge impact on how the game plays. Diving into a mission means stepping off the street and into bespoke levels with some pretty exhilarating setpieces. The best of them play with level design in some interesting ways: you’ll get thrust into long-range battles with enemies across a giant courtyard, or jump across rooftops to pursue rogue agents.
The Division 2 has made notable improvements over the years.
That was all true of the game at launch, and seven years of updates have made it even better. New modes have been added, including extraction missions and a roguelike mode, on top of the game’s existing player-versus-player zones. New weapons and tools have been stuffed into the arsenal, and smaller tweaks have refined shooting and movement to make the game more enjoyable moment to moment. Season 7 brings a boatload of new missions and rewards like mods for your weapons, while a new milestone feature grants players premade sets of gear every few levels to make it easier to try new builds.
This all comes as the Battle for Brooklyn DLC launches. While not included with Game Pass or PS Plus, where The Division 2 is also available, the DLC takes players (obviously) to Brooklyn, where the first mission of the original Division game took place. It might be a while before newcomers are ready for it, but it adds yet another set of missions outside of the standard D.C. setting, along with new tools to play with.
It may not be a shiny new live service game, but there’s something to be said for any title that can remain popular for as long as The Division 2 has. Despite being around for six years, it’s much easier for newcomers to get into than games like Destiny 2, and its focus on cooperative play over its optional competitive modes means you can learn the ropes without being bullied by players with years of experience and gear. So if you’re feeling the urge to loot, let The Division 2 provide you with sweet, sweet color-coded treasures.
