We love the new Snowdrop engine for the upcoming Tom Clancy’s The Division. Why? Because it looks absolutely gorgeous. The beauty of The Division lies in its ability to create a complex day and night system, dynamic weather effects and realistic environmental changes. Considering all this is packed up in an open-word survival shooter game, it’s that more impressive. Ever wanted to see a post-apocalyptic Manhattan covered in pure white snow? You will be able to in The Division, but you won’t have much time to admire the scenery, as snow will quickly turn to ice during the cold winter days. The recent facebook activity of The Division developers Ubisoft graced us with a few new stunning screenshots, highlighting the capabilities of the Snowdrop engine. Especially impressive is how the game handles lighting and light effects. Everything is dynamic, from objects obscuring vision and light-sources to shadows and sunlight. This recent OutsideXbox video highlights what the game is capable of, at least vissually: The Division will be coming to next-gen consoles Playstation 4 and Xbox One, as well as the PC, even though desktops were not initially considered by Ubisoft. Forget about playing The Division on previous-gen consoles Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The game will simply require hardware that these older consoles can no longer offer. It is indeed a technological leap forward, and The Division is certainly among the few games that truly look next-gen. There will be an application for mobile devices though, which will be linked to the game itself, and players will be able to keep track of their characters and allies anytime and from anywhere. Gameplay-wise, we don’t know too much yet. Surely, The Division will be focused on exploration, survival, and most likely some crucial objectives, but since it’s an online and vast world, it will probably come down to how players want to play it. Everything hints at a complex 3rd person shooter gameplay that will revolve around tactical positioning and scavenging for supplies. Looking closely at some of the screenshots, we can see a large variety in item-types available as well, from various weapon attachments to canteens and gas-masks. The Division is aimed at a 2014 released, but there have been rumors and indications that the sheer size and complexity of the game will require more time to be polished. We’ve highlighted that The Division might be pushed back to 2015. Even though the gaming community is craving for the new Tom Clancy game, we’re really expecting a lot from The Division, so if it does get pushed back in favor of better quality, we’re not going to object. Are you Excited as i am to get a true next-gen title?
