The Division: 3 Ups & 6 Downs From The Beta Playthrough

Ups...

3. The Dark Zone Is A Phenomenal Selling Point

Whether they realise it or not, Ubisoft have happened upon one of the most interesting multiplayer modes in quite some time. The 'Dark Zone' is an area of New York that still features heavy contamination from the virus that's wiping people out left, right and centre. The main city you'll explore is chock full of enemy AI, leaving the DZ to basically be the game's multiplayer mode, but in a neat way, you approach it in the open-world, where merely stepping through a doorway 'boots' you into a server. It's all very seamless, and saves having to search for any games. You walk through, and suddenly the enemies within are almost always human, the loot they're carrying up for grabs... if you want to go 'Rogue'. Doing so turns the eyes of the entire Zone your way. Extraction points will pop up and count down to a helicopter's arrival, which if you can offload your gear without scores of teams baring down on you, means you get away with all your treasures. Die, and it all gets dropped again. Everything is up for grabs, and there's no thrill like betraying your fellow man and attempting to survive long enough to make it back out again. Regular enemies roam this area too, but as its the real-world players that have amassed the most goodies, you'll want to weigh up teaming up with taking out whoever you're rolling with - knowing they could do the same to you at any moment.