Hands-on: The Division Resurgence feels like a proper mobile game

I'm usually suspicious when developers make a mobile version of a popular franchise. Take for example Diablo Immortal, which comes jam packed with absurd microtransactions.

But surprisingly, Ubisoft's Tom Clancy's The Division Resurgence doesn't seem to feel this way — at least, not at the start of the upcoming open beta.

It has premium currencies for cosmetics, and of course, you can also spend to get materials to upgrade your equipment faster. But that will only speed up your single player experience.

How this will affect the game's PVP modes though, I've yet to encounter, since I've only spent enough time in the game to write this hands-on.

But there is a monthly pass and a battle pass, which appear to be reasonably priced at S$7 and S$15 respectively.

The game though, is surprisingly fun. I've been trying out the open beta early, and it actually feels like a well-made game.

It plays similar to the established The Division games, which feature a third-person shooter looter set in a semi-open world. You do missions, gain levels, upgrade your equipment and engage in PVE and PVP combat.

The mobile game is similar, except you do it all on a touch screen.

I will admit that's a bit of a pain point, but if you're used to battle-royale games like PUBG Mobile and Free Fire, you won't feel so out of place. I did find it odd the fire button is located on the outer ring, which meant I kept accidentally shooting at nothing while trying to move the camera around with my right hand. You can't resize or move the button, too.

Thankfully the game appears to support controllers, as well as a mouse and keyboard. You can also adjust the style of the controls, but shooting and aiming feels easiest, as long as you don't accidentally press it while trying to aim the camera.

Similar to the first The Division game, Resurgence's story sets you in New York, this time in Chinatown, and you play as a Division agent that's off to save a city that's gone to chaos due to a flu bug.

You'll battle out with rogue militias with a plethora of weapons as well as high-tech devices. The game uses cover mechanics, and you can also set it such that you automatically take cover when approaching one. There are four "classes" to pick from, but once you clear you can switch between them.

They are Bulwark, Demolitionist, Vanguard, and Field Medic. Each class comes with their own signature abilities, which are powerful skills that can turn the tide of battle. The max level is 30.

Besides leveling your character, you have to also level up your gear. You can also mod your gear to make it perform slightly differently, allowing you to play differently from everyone else, though I suspect it will all become similar as the meta develops.

Resurgence features plenty of cutscenes filled with voice acting, and you can tap and hold to fast forward if it feels too draggy (which I did).

I do note that the Asian characters look overly anime-like, unlike the more realistic looks of the other characters. One of the main characters, Angela, also has a head that looks too big for her body.

While can solo, the game is best experienced with a team. You can also invite other players to your team to do missions together, as well as hunt in the PVP Dark Zone together.

For PVP, if you're worried about pay to win players, Conflict mode makes everyone have equal stats, which allows for more balanced gameplay. Note that I've yet to try these modes out due to a lack of time in testing the game's open beta.

Lastly, I'm not sure whether it's because it is currently in beta, but the drops for materials have been generous. It was enough to let me level up my gear to keep me competitive.

But if I remember anything from the original The Division games, this is usually so at the start, and then it gets really expensive to power up later in the game.

And that's where I guess, just like most free-to-play games, will hook you into spending if you want to keep up for the endgame.

The Division Resurgence open regional beta is set to launch on Tuesday (June 13), and you can head here to sign up.

Aloysius Low is an ex-CNET editor with more than 15 years of experience. He's really into cats and is currently reviewing products at canbuyornot.com

For more gaming news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooGamingSEA. Also follow us on Twitter, as well as our Gaming channel on YouTube, and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page!