I don’t normally get excited by the promises of “next-gen”. I waited for about 18 months before getting a PS3 (partly because I needed Metal Gear Solid 4) but partly because it normally takes that long for the tech to really get going. I don’t just mean the red ring/blue light of death, but it takes a while for developers to really get their teeth into the power behind the machines.
Then I saw this trailer for the upcoming Ubisoft release: The Division. Dude. I mean. Seriously. Dude.
The trailer explains that the Snowdrop engine was designed alongside The Division, as well as giving a run down of some of it’s features. Global Dynamic Lighting, Day/Night cycles, Procedural Destruction (which looks particularly impressive) and Dynamic Material Shaders that react to the changing weather. It looks spectacular.
The trailer gives me the same kind of excitement that I felt the first time I saw a trailer for S.T.A.L.K.E.R and how impressive the game world and atmosphere looked, especially when enhanced by the lighting. If The Division can be half as impressive now, as S.T.A.L.K.E.R was then I think we’re onto a winner.
I mean. Dude. Come on. That’s just not fair.
The Division was one of the few big games that came out of E3 that I’ve stayed excited about. The co-operative team based survival set up of it really intrigued me, as did the setting. The idea of a collapsed society that isn’t because of zombies is a welcome break (I know it’s too early to tell but I’m hoping for 0% zombies), and especially one set in a derelict New York is hugely reminiscent of the fantastic DMZ series of graphic novels, which I urge everyone to check out, with a healthy dose of Twenty Minutes into the Future.
In case The Division has slipped your mind: here is the piece on it from E3 and you’ll find a gameplay reveal trailer below.
