Pretty sure I'll be picking this up with my PC friends since we played a ton of the first one. Between this and Anthem I'm set on loot-based shooters for quite some time.

Really fantastic, singleplayer experiences seem everywhere this spring; I'm stoked for RE2 remake, Sekiro, and Rage 2 so much, and when I want a time-passer game I just play MtG Arena.

I see very little need for a Division/Destiny/Anthem like in my life right now, and of those 3 Anthem is the only one that I'm remotely curious to see more of.

*edit* Oh but yes, as someone that lived near DC I'm excited to see how far virtual depictions of the metro and surrounding suburbs have come since Fallout 3.

@bollard: Just remember it's not on Steam.

Didn't the first game have a huge multiplayer hacking problem due to a bunch of calculations being done client-side? Or am I confusing this with another game?

Aye that's fine by me, you have to launch uPlay anyway so I'll just buy it direct from there. They do 20% off with their achievement point currency too, so it'll be cheaper than the Epic Store to boot.

I voted yes, but I wouldn't say I'm 'excited'. I'm looking forward to it and I'm intrigued to see how this one is received, when compared to the first game.

For all of its flaws, I enjoyed The Division quite a lot. My main issue with it was the lack of variety in environments, which seems to have been addressed in The Division 2.

@zomgfruitbunnies: It may have, but I'm not aware of it.

Edit - I looked it up really quickly. It may have had to do with the PC version mainly, but yes. I don't know how big the story was or how many people were affected.

@bollard: I believe that discount doesn't work on new games sadly. I tried to use my many many points to get AC Odyssey at a discount on uplay, but it wouldn't let me.

Nope. Destiny and Division had high highs, but incredibly low lows. They’ve killed any interest I have in lifestyle games.

They sound cool, but there’s too much bullshit to get through.

if it follows the prevailing ubi trend, it'll be really dope 12-18 months after launch. so my excitement is a bit tempered.

I played over 400 hours of the first game and got burnt out. Loved the story and setting but the endgame was horrible and constant meta nerfing by the devs insufferable. Bullet sponge enemies and convoluted crafting/gear mechanics turned me off. Might pick this up on Black Friday deal if it falls below $20 for the gold edition.

I am. My friends and I had a great time playing the first one together.

Also, Massive seems to be in-tune with their community, and have made some great improvements to the game over it's life. Hopefully they were able to create The Division 2 with these improvements in mind, and not scrap all the good shit and start over from scratch like some other developer I know.

Oh, bummer. I was hoping to use that to support them more directly, but I guess I'll be resorting to CDKeys again. It's a bigger discount, anyway.

Love Division 1. Division 2 is by far my most anticipate release this year (that we know of). Ubisoft made a lot of smart changes over the course of the first game that I think the second can take and run with. The impressions from the alpha seemed pretty positive.

"Excited" is a strong word, but I'm interested, sure. That first game was all right.

I'm considering it. I'm throwing an HTPC build down in my newly setup basement and need a GPU to go inside it. I'm eyeballing an RX 580 that comes with Division 2 and DMC5.

I really liked the build variety in the first game and how you could approach it, but there are so many games like it now and I'm kinda ambivalent.

I'm really interested how they overhaul the combat from the first Division. I'm liking some of the changes shown in the gameplay videos they released so far.

I hated how pvp turned out in the first Division. The meta felt look/felt so stupid, I never did any of it.

I guess there is going to be some story info coming out tomorrow.

I'm getting excited for Anthem the last couple weeks with the new videos they've shown. I'm indifferent to D2 right now, that might change as they show more as it gets closer to release. I liked the first game, it was way better than Destiny to me.

I've got a free copy that I need to redeem. I'm really looking forward to it though, I had a great time with the first one and the Survival expansion.

I really enjoyed the first one, but the location of the 2nd isn't as interesting to me, the gameplay seems identical which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but more of the same isn't really exciting me right now.
The theme of the marketing for this game also seems to be focused on "the end game", people who put hundreds of hours into games LOVE the end game, but it kind of puts me off, does it mean that everything leading up to "the end game" is shit?
I want to have a rewarding experience leading up to an end point of a story or a satisfying campaign, then stop and move on, if the best part of this game is the grind afterwards then i'm not interested.

@cikame: They're probably doing that because one of the biggest complaints and turn-offs for many players was the end game content of the first game. I think Massive wants to make it clear that they have that in mind this time around. Also, the gameplay does seem similar, but I don't think it is the same. As an example, one thing I noticed, while small, is that in this you'll be able to shoot armor off some enemies.

In the recent trailer, it seems to have the enemy type where they'll suicide run at you too which is new to The Division. That just deals with enemy type and I'm guessing there's more to it, like upgrades, equipment and etc. It's unclear as to what the DZ is like in this game as well. I don't want to say one way or another since we just don't know, but I will say that from what we've seen, I have no reason to believe the game from start to the end game content will be bad.

However, I agree with you though. I've never liked the idea that in these types of games the game 'really starts' when you get to the end game content. I didn't feel like that was the case with the first game though, and I, again, doubt it'll be that way with this one. Sure, it kind of felt like you had the repetitive side missions just to make sure you're leveled up for end game content, but aside from that, I had a blast playing it. I hope it's a little more varied this time around, and that's one of my worries, but even if it isn't, I might be okay with it as long as what's there is strong enough.

Another example of a change, as opposed to the JTF helping you out (I don't think they do anyway), I think you save citizens, and then after that, they go about the world on their own routines, fighting enemies as well. At least that's what I understand from what I've seen in interviews. The grind is never why I personally like playing any type of game; it's part of what makes it fun to see through, sure, but it's never the part that makes me want to stay. Also, free DLC. I have no idea how that'll turn out though.

I really enjoyed the first game and I'm cautiously optimistic for The Division 2. Admittedly, one of the reasons I liked the first game was the snowy NY setting. I am not sure how I feel about the D.C. setting.

Here are two new trailers. One for the story and one for the PVP (DZ stuff). The dialogue for story stuff is a bit... cringe-y at times in my opinion, but still, I think it looks good. The Dark Zone seems like more Dark Zone albeit with its own twists within its setting. I've read that the people that make Rainbow Six: Siege are helping with it, and I know there are a lot of people out there that liked what became of that game, so hopefully, it'll turn out well.

I was well over 100 hours into the first game before I decided to even go into the DZ, but it wasn't as bad as I had expected so I won't hesitate to do it in two (although, I might wait for as long as I can before going in). The last time I went into DZ and had turned on voice chat though (first and last), I really didn't like it, so listening to people will be turned off into the second game if possible. Lastly, I just felt people were killing to kill. I had no items as I had just extracted them all, and I turn a corner and someone automatically went rogue to kill me. It was fine though considering all I was trying to do anyways was get out of the DZ.

Still, when voice chat is off, it can more often than not be more thrilling than frustrating. As someone that doesn't really lug around weaponry good for PVP in the game, I don't have much of a chance against rogue players.

After watching the last trailer I am now interested. My only issue is I won't have any friends playing the game, so I'll be stuck playing solo.

I am interested in Anthem but on the same day Metro: Exodus comes out and my focus is purely on that game so I sometimes forget that Anthem is also coming out then too. I'm someone that actually really loves playing similar games, one way or another, right next to each other. I do get burnt out on the same type of game sometimes and pine for something different, but when new games are in the equation, not really. I really hope I can see everything I want to see out of Anthem and Metro: Exodus before The Division 2 comes out, let alone that few games that are already coming out, or are now out this month.

For as much as I love Ubisoft's output this generation, I don't trust them to do a story well when it features cool action guys in a politically charged setting, no matter how much they want to deny that the latter is true. Still, I loved The Division and I'm really excited for the sequel.

The conversation around The Division after launch was a real bummer, because I feel like I had a totally different experience than most people posting on the game's subreddit. There was a lot of controversy about the end game not being particularly deep and people were hitting the level cap very quickly, but I took my time going through the content and strolling through New York City. I really loved the atmosphere of the deserted cityscape. By the time I finished the last story mission I had played for probably a month straight, and I came away from it feeling very satisfied. The idea that The Division needed to have an infinitely playable end game was completely foreign to me, and I was taken aback by how many people blazed through the entire game like the end game was the only thing that mattered.

It had me thinking a lot about our relationship to loot games, and how the presence of loot and leveling gets people to believe that they should be able to play forever instead of finishing what's there and stepping away until new content comes out. Nobody complains about the lack of an end game in The Last Of Us, for example, but these kinds of games are different for whatever reason. It's weird!

I've still barely touched Division 1, unfortunately. Not the game's fault, I like it, it's just that I had started playing it at a bad time and it got shelved (similar deal with For Honor). As it stands, I'm interested in getting back into it and seeing if I'll even be up for a sequel by the time I've explored the original more fully.

On the bright side, like the first game, it'll be dirt cheap or free by the time I'm ready to take a look at it, haha.

As a creative dog who loves spending hours with body and face sliders -
if they make a deeper character creator in The Division 2 then I'm all in.
The character creation in the first game was, well, non-existent if I remember right.
You basically picked a pre-made face and that was that.

@nateandrews: I kind of agree, although I know why The Division 'needs' to have end game content as opposed to just being finished. It's a multiplayer-centric game which is meant to have people coming back to it, where friends and/or family can get together and play a bit before going back to their life. A game that'll last you all year and maybe longer.

The Last of Us is just story-focused (albeit with a multiplayer portion) where it's totally fine to complete it and move on as it doesn't ask you to stay longer. That said, that's referring to how it's geared toward people that like multiplayer. As someone that doesn't necessarily care for that part of the game, I play it still despite that. I have also beaten The Last of Us about ten times. I still play both.

I think because of how I enjoy playing The Division, the issues that many people had with it, and subsequently made them drop it, never affected me so from the get-go I loved the game. It wasn't until I was around 120 hours in that I stepped into the Dark Zone as I just had no desire to play PVP.

@geirr: Yeah, the character creator in the first was no good. You can now go back and customize your character some (not the face though), but it's still with the same amount of choice from launch. As a person with ginger hair color, I was disappointed that you couldn't get that hair color. All around the choices were lacking.

@ntm: Very true, I think the reason why I have a different perspective on it is because I didn’t really play with friends. I always did matchmaking for missions but outside of that I was exploring the city on my own. That’s why I ended up really taking in the atmosphere of the city and going at things at my own pace.

It may not be on Steam, but it launched through UPlay anyway.... So I think this is a play by Ubi to drive people to buy it directly from them - they know a large amount of PC people probably wont bother with the Epic Launcher. I ended up buying straight from the UPlay Launcher - it just makes sense.

I'm a destiny / FFXIV player.

On one hand im afraid of another deep loot game to get in on. On the other, i loved the division and wished there was more to the endgame. In a world where UBI post release support is a thing they're known for, this one could be a good un'.

And if its not, it'll probably get better with time anyway.

What i am worried about is Anthem. I feel BioWare is going to make the same exact mistakes Bungie made with destiny (and i played through all of its ups and downs). That said, having put my hands on it, its the iron man game disney cant make. It feels SO GOOD, but i have a feeling it'll be empty and boring till they get their Taken King.

So i DONT preorder games, but i'll most likely pass on Anthem and wait for Div2.

@geirr: Yep. This is one of the things that kills me about it. None of the people were very attractive (and it may have a thing they were going for, normal ass people.) but every game i make i try to make Alicia Keys with a gun/sword and not having that was a downer. I instantly cared less about the cosmetic aspect of the game later on.

It also has killed my destiny play. I hop on when theres a patch, play the content, see that i STILL look like a leveling hobo, and wonder why im even attemping to get loot.

Its also why i have a billion hours in the ff mmo. Glamour is the real endgame, and it keeps me hungry.

Just a bit of an update on how the game works since people have been playing the beta. A video by MassiveG:

Is anyone playing the private beta? I played a few hours of it. I like it so far, but the game can still do with some polish. It's not bug ridden, but I ran into a few. One of them being where I was in cover and standing up, my characters legs were clipping through the floor so it felt as if he was crouching. There were some sound issues too, one being that the automatic fire from a gun was raspy, like crackling in a microphone if you will. Another issue that also pertained to sound was when I was inside a building, and all sounds were muffled aside from the music. That's really all the issues I've had so far.

I think those that hated the bullet spongey-ness of the first might like this more. I'm not saying that they'll love it because they still don't go down realistically, but they do go down faster depending on how much armor they have on them, and where you hit them in the body. Another thing is that now they react to where they get shot, so you can actually shoot enemies in the leg and they'll fall to the ground whereas in the first game they'd simply take the shots and not react, or react little. I'd say that it definitely feels more realistic than it did, and their reaction to gunshots makes for more impactful shooting, but for those that absolutely hate bullet spongey-ness, they probably still won't love it.

Setting wise, I like it, but I don't really feel like getting too far into it. I'm kind of hesitant to even play the beta much because I don't want to repeat the same sections again in the final game, and I just don't want to spoil it for myself. I'm not sure about anyone else, but I am not seeing the impressiveness that HDR brings out compared to what the first game offered, which didn't have it. Plus, I like having the first game relatively dark with neutral lighting on as it felt more realistic; the second game doesn't have that. It's really not a huge issue, but I'd be lying if I said that I couldn't optimize it more to my liking. The music is good again with some of the same tracks from the first (the themes basically), just remixed a little; it's a bit more metal-ish in spots, which isn't an issue, and isn't prevalent mind you.

Not sure about the story, but I think from what I've seen of it, characters are well-acted, and the dialogue is fine. Oh, and you can't really character create in the beta, but... it's the beta. I like the enemy chatter fine too, but I the enemies can repeat themselves, especially when there are two of the same enemy types coming at you. You might hear a woman charging at you say the same thing more than once. I eventually quit and I'm not sure how much more of the beta I'll play because as I mentioned, I don't want to spoil it, and two, the game keeps kicking me out after about fifteen to forty minutes in.

The enemy spawn system during missions is really bad, basically it requires you to know in advance from where later waves will enter. I found myself numerous times in situations where they spawn at my flanks or in my back which usually means you will go down.

This de-emphasizes aggressive, offensive approaches since moving fast through a given combat area to close the gap and/or flank opponents yourself, might push you beyond a given trigger point and might spawn additional enemies before you took down the first group.

@wolfstein_3d: I didn't play enough of the missions to dispute that (only played two), but from what I played, it was fine. I did worry that it'd happen though because there are rooms that have multiple doors and you can't really tell where they're going to come out from until they come. I guess I got lucky because I got into cover in so I was safe from their fire. It's kind of a guessing game but to me not a huge issue from the few hours I put into it.