E3 2013: The Division’s Secret Weapon is its Companion App

Ubisoft’s impressive open world action-RPG kept one key detail out of its reveal.

The most impressive moment of Ubisoft’s E3 2013 press conference came at its end, when a new game called The Division was announced. An original entry into the Tom Clancy paranoia-fueled universe, The Division deals with a semi-dystopian future where a nasty virus has wiped out a decent chunk of the population by blossoming during the rampant shopping spree of Black Friday. Cut to next scene, and it’s up to you to help contribute to the restoration of society by embarking on a slew of missions that usually involve pointing a gun and firing it at someone. This all might seem familiar, but the kicker is that The Division is billed as an open-world online RPG, meaning that Ubisoft’s digital recreation of New York City is populated by hundreds of other players trying to accomplish similar goals and build their own unique characters.
The action we saw at E3 was pretty similar to what was on display during the conference. A gorgeous recreation of a derelict Brooklyn became the playground for a squad of four players to wander through, collect loot, upgrade their characters, and embark on quests. Ubisoft stressed that customization is key here, and that you’ll be able to mold any sort of avatar that you have in mind. Again, all of these sound pretty familiar, but what they didn’t tell us at the press conference is that The Division comes alongside a companion app that allows a tablet-user to become a guardian angel, a good samaritan, or a legendary troll.

During my guided demo, a member of developer Massive Entertainment logged into the app while three other players explored Brooklyn on their PlayStation 4s. Once the app-user joined up with the players on the ground, the tablet displayed an aerial view of the block which they were exploring. The tablet allows a player to become a drone in the environment, and they are privy to a suite of skills each with its own specific cool-downs. Tapping a skill loaded it up, and then tapping somewhere on the screen engaged the ability in that area. Many of these were classic MMO staples, such as an armor buff that boosted the stats of your party, and a healing spell…err…whatever drones are capable of that revived injured allies.
But don’t think that the player using a tablet is forced to become a conscientious objector – other skills include marking enemies so that they appear on your partners’ radars. But the most impressive and most useful skill I witnessed occurred when the three ground players were pinned on a rooftop by heavy enemy fire coming from a building across the street. The PS4 users were completely helpless against the onslaught of bullets, but luckily the player with the tablet could summon an airstrike that rained fire upon the enemies and completely destroyed the building.

While Ubisoft’s unveiling of The Division’s companion app was brief, it left me thinking off an infinite number of possibilities. I love the idea of sitting on my couch and killing some time by popping into a complete stranger’s game and helping them get through a quick mission or two. But even better than embodying a guardian angel is the idea of becoming a completely vile troll. Will The Division allow me to man a drone, buddy up to a party for a bit, and then just turn on them? What if I chose to fire that airstrike on my allies instead of the enemies? The Massive Entertainment folks weren’t quite ready to speak on those specific details, but they assured me that The Division’s focus on providing on open world shooter in the guise of an RPG means that players can create any type of person they can imagine. Since I can imagine being a complete and utter prick, I guess that means I can become one in The Division?
Ubisoft has made a big push in recent years in favor of asymmetrical multiplayer. Whether it’s having a 5th player manipulate the world of Rayman Legends on a Wii U GamePad, or helping a buddy hack through Chicago in Watch Dogs, the studio speaks with a strong voice towards innovating the ways players interact with each other. Having multiple people being able to experience a single play session through the lens of completely different genres is slowly becoming an important part of the multiplayer landscape, and The Division seems poised to stakes its claim in that new frontier.