One of the most highly anticipated games for this year is Tom Clancy's The Division. We already know that Ubisoft is looking to make a huge splash with its new IP – they even pushed the release back to an unspecified date some time this year in an effort to make sure the game meets gamers' high expectations.
With The Division just a few months away from launch (hopefully), it looks like the developer is ready to reveal more details about the game. In a new podcast focused on The Division, developers from Ubisoft Massive shared some information about the game's PVP areas, known as Dark Zones.
According to Ryan Barnard, the game director for The Division, The Dark Zones are a little different than the normal PvP arenas players are used to. Rather than having to back out of the game to play PvP, players can head to a Dark Zone and jump in. Barnard shared his thoughts on the new PvP mode:
"It's another one of the great ways that we're really changing up what's been done previously in this genre. We want PvP to be important. A lot of times it's hard in a mainstream game... people are a little averse to it, it can be a little freaky; it's generally very competitive."
Barnard added that dying in the Dark Zones won't adversely affect a player in the campaign, though there's still a risk involved with entering. There are special items in the Dark Zones that can aid players throughout the game; however, if a player dies before they can extract with the item, they will lose that item permanently. Barnard was quick to mention that these items aren't required in order to complete the game, or even do well, but they will definitely benefit the players that have them.
We are excited to see how this new PvP method turns out. On the surface, the premise seems like a positive new direction and one that will encourage players to participate in PvP. We would have loved to see something like this in The Last of Us, for example. While the multiplayer PvP area in that game was okay, it felt very removed from the campaign, almost like an afterthought.
Dark Zones, on the other hand, are meant to feel like they're part of the game, so we imagine the feel will be much more synchronized with the campaign. Hopefully the transition from the campaign to Dark Zones is a seamless experience on the gaming platforms. If it is, we expect the Dark Zones to feel like they add to the full experience of The Division, which will definitely keep us going back for more.
In addition to the Dark Zones, Barnard also revealed there will be a Social Hub that functions as a non-combat zone similar to Destiny's Tower. While we don't know much about this Social Hub, we anticipate it'll be a place where players can gear up and connect with other teammates to play campaign missions in co-op.
With the Game Developers Conference next week and E3 in a couple months, we wouldn’t be surprised if Ubisoft continues to reveal details about The Division in coming days and weeks. Stay tuned to Game ZXC for the latest on The Division.
What do you think about The Division's Dark Zones? Are you excited for the new PVP model, or would you rather see a traditional PVP arena? Sound off in the comments below.
Tom Clancy's The Division is set to release in 2015 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
Source: The Division Podcast
