The final time I reviewed downloadable content material for Tom Clancy’s The Division franchise was in 2016 with Underground. It was a tough time for positive – the end-game was underwhelming, the stability was skewed closely in favor of enemies, the Darkish Zone was…nicely, the Darkish Zone, and so forth. At $15, Underground wasn’t even a bandaid repair of latest content material – it simply merely added a brand new exercise that wasn’t value pursuing after which nerfed the G36C, my beloved, for overperforming.
Quick-forward to virtually 9 years later with The Division 2 and Battle for Brooklyn. It’s the primary paid DLC since Warlords of New York launched in 2023 to mixed-skewing-slightly-
“There’s barely something new when it comes to goals or duties. The 4 new Management Factors are additionally positive, however I didn’t actually see the brand new promised gimmicks till the third, which had a rocket launcher turret powered by a generator that have to be destroyed.”
Nevertheless, the remainder of the expertise will really feel very acquainted for long-time followers. It’s acceptable if you already know what you’re entering into and there are some cool moments, however these anticipating a breakout new expertise could wish to mood their expectations.
The DLC begins with a misery name from Brooklyn because the participant battles the Cleaners in a bid to rescue Dr. Jessica Kandel, who returns from the primary recreation. You ultimately be taught that the group has some – spoiler – diabolical plans, this time revolving round a brand new injury sort referred to as Purple Flame. In between making an attempt and failing to rescue another minor characters, you meet up with Theo Parnell, take directions from the rightfully indignant Melanie Hoskins, and even struggle the Rykers and Black Tusk, the latter with their very own sinister plan.
The dialogue continues to be considerably hit and miss, and the facial features high quality in some scenes (particularly for Mel and Theo) undercuts them additional. Despite the fact that it’s actually exhausting to really feel any sense of dramatic rigidity – and never simply since you’re an unstoppable one-man military – developer Large Leisure tries. I’ll admit, the Refinery mission, which culminates in a shock ambush on The Bridge, the settlement/house base within the DLC, as you rush again to assist, does really feel thrilling. It doesn’t actually result in any lasting penalties, but it surely’s a cool sequence of occasions.
There are solely a handful of latest story missions this time, and Brooklyn as a complete, regardless of the brand new places, is fairly small. Don’t get me incorrect – it’s nonetheless satisfying to roam the streets, looting containers for Electronics, Water, and different assorted doodads to trade for one thing or the opposite. The Division 2 is over six years previous, and but Large nonetheless delivers a few of the best-looking post-viral outbreak environments on the market. From the intensive quantity of graffiti and ruined buildings to little particulars, together with deer and canine roaming the streets, piled-up trash baggage, and quite a few corpses, the eye to element is fascinating.
Outdoors of the environmental story-telling, discovering dialog logs (even when most aren’t fairly as memorable as the bottom recreation) and interesting with the facet actions – be it preventing patrols, stopping propaganda broadcasts or tackling Elite Enemy Territories – stays as satisfying as ever. “Stays” is the key phrase right here – there’s barely something new when it comes to goals or duties. The 4 new Management Factors are additionally positive, however I didn’t actually see the brand new promised gimmicks till the third, which had a rocket launcher turret powered by a generator that have to be destroyed. Which is a mechanic that seems a few instances within the story missions as nicely.
“It’s no secret that The Division 2 has suffered intensive crash points on PC for years. Whereas it appeared higher the final time I performed, they returned to an insufferable diploma, with crashes occurring anyplace between 5 to 10 minutes after booting the sport as much as half an hour in.”
Once more, nothing horrible or outright offensive, however it may really feel repetitive. Preventing the Cleaners, even with bells and whistles like seasonal modifiers and hostile modifiers, feels extra of the identical (although the capturing nonetheless feels pretty much as good as ever). The Purple Flame was launched beforehand however is now extra widespread amongst enemies. It’s a neat mechanic because it successfully reduces your most armor when you don’t use an armor restore equipment. It isn’t game-changing, which is seemingly Large’s intent, for higher or worse. Simply contemplate it a further wrinkle which you’ll not even care about besides on greater difficulties (and even then, solely barely so).
That very same familiarity impacts the principle story missions, although fortunately not all of them. For the shortage of originality that discovering 4 launch valves inside a time restrict on the Refinery presents, preventing in opposition to a boss and quite a few enemies whereas navigating the thick smoke could be very atmospheric. The hunt for the Rat Queen and subsequent battle are additionally pretty harrowing, whereas the ultimate mission affords an appropriately epic finale. I’m left considerably apathetic afterwards on the “revelations”, although they tie into the continued story. Nevertheless, the general narrative appears like a stop-gap greater than an enormous step ahead.
There’s new loot to chase in Battle for Brooklyn, together with the Measured Meeting Gear Set, which I didn’t interact with attributable to operating solo. I can see it working nicely for groups counting on Sensible Cowl, which makes a return, but it surely did little to dissuade me from my Crusader Protect/Assault Drone frontlining technique. The Imminence Armaments Model Set, which will increase risk and Pistol Injury, might go well with that method, although I didn’t collect sufficient items to essentially experiment with it.
Maybe essentially the most annoying facet of the DLC – and the replace as a complete – is the soundness. It’s no secret that The Division 2 has suffered intensive crash points on PC for years. Whereas it appeared higher the final time I performed, they returned to an insufferable diploma, with crashes occurring anyplace between 5 to 10 minutes after booting the sport as much as half an hour in. I attempted virtually all the pieces to repair this – verifying recreation information, deleting the shader cache, enabling Exploit Safety in Home windows, turning off latency and enabling Nvidia’s Quick Sync, you title it. And whereas it improved for some time, it’s since gone again to crashing in minutes. Your mileage will fluctuate on this entrance however contemplating the mission size, it’s extraordinarily annoying, even when you can reload at sure checkpoints. That’s not doable within the open world, by the way in which, so good luck.
“They are saying you’ll be able to all the time return however by no means actually return house, and whereas I wouldn’t maintain Brooklyn in such excessive regard, it might have used a bit extra to really feel like a particular homecoming.”
Whereas I’m essential of how completely secure Battle for Brooklyn is, it does supply a great quantity of content material for its worth. There’s additionally one thing to say about sticking to what works quite than introducing a brand new mode that in the end gained’t pan out. Plus, the gameplay, presentation (with some exceptions) and sound design stay stable. If you happen to’re a fan and simply need some first rate new content material to run by means of, both solo or with associates, alongside the brand new season, it does the job.
Nevertheless, given the progress that The Division 2 has made inside its seasons and free updates, I used to be anticipating a bit extra from Battle for Brooklyn, and never simply when it comes to extra story missions. They are saying you’ll be able to all the time return however by no means actually return house, and whereas I wouldn’t maintain Brooklyn in such excessive regard, it might have used a bit extra to really feel like a particular homecoming. Because it stands, this can be a stable DLC providing, by no means outstaying its welcome or making an attempt to be one thing it’s not.
This recreation was reviewed on PC.
