'Tom Clancy's The Division' release date nears as gameplay revealed

Ubisoft website

Being one of the most anticipated games this year, fans are eagerly scrounging for any news and updates on first-person shooter "Tom Clancy's The Division." Anticipating this, developer Ubisoft revealed teasers about the gameplay. 

In an interview by German PC magazine Gamestar, it seems that Ubisoft strayed from the paths of previous online multiplayer gameplay and will keep script narratives and film sequences to a bare minimum. Focusing instead on what some would call an "emergent story" tactic, gamers who play "The Division" will weave a specific story based on their own decisions involving game scenarios. However, there would still be a general script to the title's storyline.

"Tom Clancy's The Division" will have the gamers start from a distressed New York City following an outbreak of a deadly smallpox virus. They would function as operatives of an elite, covert ops only known as the Division, and will work to stop threats on the U.S. soil, both foreign and domestic. They will also work to contain the smallpox epidemic to keep the order. 

One of the domestic threats that gamers will focus on is the introduction of a single-minded faction called the Cleaners. This special group is dedicated to eradicating the smallpox problem in the game, but use extreme measures in doing so. Armed with a flamethrower and with a full gear in tow, members of the Cleaners faction burn anything and everything in sight, including New York citizens. 

Previous multiplayer online games have a story structure that contains narratives that players see after playing a certain quest or mission, but "The Division," according to Ubisoft's Martin Hultbergin, "We have tried to make the film sequences to an absolute minimum."

This means that when gamers venture into forked roads in the storyline, the game would instead feature progressive action scenarios and will have the maps continuously evolve in order to keep the game interesting. 

"Tom Clancy's The Division" is expected to be released this year for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.