At the end of the day, both Destiny and The Division are less games and more platforms for additional content to be plugged in over time. Destiny launched as the barest shell of its future self; a filing cabinet of a game that would see two DLC packs in its first year, before The Taken King revamped the most integral components into something more resembling a 'full' product. The Division on the other hand is relatively feature-complete, its future being to add additional mission packs and raids to an already solid foundation. The thing is, you could tell right from the get-go that Destiny was going to be better in time. It's handful of environments and lack of story realisation only served that sequels would nail it in due process. The core gameplay at the heart of the experience is exemplary, and Bungie need only - somehow - surmount the negative press ahead to continue strongly. Whether they can or not is another story. On the face of it, Destiny can take Guardians all around the galaxy, its maps and weapons being as elaborate and ridiculous as the whims of the designers themselves. The Division is forever rooted in a future reality on Earth, and on a long enough timeframe - even if we journey all around said earth - that's going to hamstring potential, especially when the core appeal of a loot-shooter is in receiving the unexpected. Winner: Destiny
The Winner Is: The Division (5-3)
Ultimately, there's only so much longevity you can get out of a base offering of content that just doesn't have the substance. Destiny's focus on replaying missions is comprised almost entirely of 'Go here, defend this' setups, and yes, you can point to the raids or new Taken King content as expansions of things through puzzle elements and occasional modifiers to combat, but it's not a patch on the more immediate selection of what's going on in The Division. Any given game session will see you travelling across the city, indulging in two or three side missions or encounters along the way (thereby repairing something, clearing an outpost, rescuing hostages etc.), before tackling a main story mission and really getting to see a studio with the financial might of Ubisoft get put to work. There's an insane level of detail on both a major and micro scale, that gives The Division's collective world an exciting feeling of discovery - a sensation missing from Destiny, when the full game was immediately crippled by having ostensibly the same length as its initial beta. There's just more to Ubisoft's shooter; a larger game world, more weapons, more ability combinations, more excuses to re-spec and play again - even if its heart is business-minded and designed by committee, The Division feels like it respects your time in a way Destiny never did. Let us know in the comments where you stand on The Division and Destiny, alongside which other areas you'd pit them off against each other!
