Tom Clancy's The Division

There's definitely some decent meat to chew on in The Division, but it's usually surrounded by too much gristle to enjoy it for long. Both in combat and out, there are some clearly good ideas, especially the tense and dangerous Dark Zone. But they're not spread evenly or interwoven cleanly enough to form a cohesive, consistently enjoyable loop. Ultimately, The Division's overly busy, conflicted design philosophies drown its best ingredients in a bland slurry that never quite comes together into a cohesive dish.

Despite oddly overpowered enemies and repetitive level grinding, The Division succeeds thanks to its rich world, strong campaign, and impressive online functionality.

Smart, stupid and scrappy, The Division is an ambitious online RPG that delivers strategy and spectacle in equal measure.

The Division is a challenging co-op cover shooter and a gorgeous open world diminished by bloated and unnecessary RPG tropes.

The Division's MMO aspirations get in the way of its shooter fundamentals

There's a definite delight to claiming the spoils of your killing, though. The Division scratches that 'gimme slightly better loot' itch, hard and fast. You're constantly bagging vaguely superior gear and flicking into the menus to equip it and make your character slightly more powerful or useful.

The spongy, fantastical gunplay stands at odds with the Tom Clancy brand, but The Division features some great combat arenas and a well designed loot system that keeps you coming back for better gear

Ubisoft's online shooter will be familiar to Destiny veterans, but its gritty take on New York amps up the misery and leaves us powerless to care

"The Division" rewards tactical thinking. One memory I retain from my week with the game involved running up and crouching behind a concrete abutment, while on the other side an enemy was shooting. I tossed a health station behind me to regenerate my health then tossed a turret behind the armored gunner. As he staggered from the turret, I popped up from behind cover and eliminated him.

At level 26, I'm enjoying The Division. At level 30, I'm worried it'll get repetitive.