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Two of the biggest videogame publishers are bringing out their big guns early this year in the form of shared world shooters, in other words there answer to Bungie's Destiny.
Bioware's Anthem is out on 22 February and Ubisoft's The Division 2 on 15 March 2019.
But do you really have the time to indulge in two service-based titles with an endless amount of contents? Probably not. After spending some time with both the game, let me analyse the most important attributes the games have to offer and which suits you more.
The 4 attributes which will be discussed in detail are-
Story/Universe, Gameplay, End Game, Risk Factor.
Without wasting any more time let's just get right into it.
#1. Story/Universe.
Anthem
Bioware's Anthem features a vast open world Sci-fi environment which is quite different from the Mass Effect series.
Aside from exploring Fort Tarsis-the hub place of the game where you can talk to different NPCs and get missions, the open world of Anthem is drop dead gorgeous to look at.
The dynamic weather system and the overall verticality the game provides make it tempting to explore its open environments.
On the same time, talking to NPCs in Fort Tarsis reflects a shadow of Bioware's incredible history when it comes to storytelling.
In short, both the lore(including the characters) as well as the open environments looks super interesting and is begging to be explored.
Seems like Bioware really did go all the way for this game.
The Division 2
The world of The Division 2 is not as enticing as Anthem. This is also because Anthem offers something completely new and fresh but even if we don't count that, The Division 2's world still looks very uninspiring to look at, whether it be visually or the level design.
In fact, most of the buildings and the locales lost vastly similar to the original The Division's Newyork based setting. Seems like Ubisoft pulled off the same game here like it did from the transition between Assassin's Creed Origins to Odyssey or even Far Cry New Dawn from Far Cry 5.
In short, The Division 2's world doesn't look exciting and fresh enough to tempt you to explore it first instead of completing the checklist of stuffs its world offers.
Winner- Anthem.
#2. Gameplay
Anthem
I was a bit of sceptical about Anthem's gameplay before trying out the demo that aired last week. But after spending about 10 hours flying across its beautiful landscapes and fighting off Scars, I can happily say that Anthem is not fooling around when it comes to its gameplay.
In fact, it seems to be its strongest aspect yet.
Providing you with four Javelins to choose from, each with different playstyles and weapon loadouts, the game provides you with a huge number of opportunities to style your play.
Also, Anthem is one of the only game that provides so much verticality when it comes to its combat. Players can always find cool vantage points by flying off and picking out targets from afar or go loud while continue to hover around in the sky. The level of opportunity is limitless and this is Anthem's greatest aspect. Bioware seems to be aware of this and is so emphasizing on providing more open vertical areas for different combat scenarios the game offers.
Also, the enemies are quite different and varied, not just visually but also when it comes to their behaviour and attack patterns. They are not just enemies with bullet sponges. They all have different abilities and require the players to tackle each situation differently.
The Division 2
The Division 2 builds upon the strong gameplay aspects of its prequel The Division.
It still features precise gunplay and even better controls when compared to the original.
The enemies are smarter this time around too, forcing the players to tactfully approach a situation.
Overall the gameplay and combat are as addictive as it was in the first game though it's very much identical to the same, meaning if you didn't enjoy The Division then you most certainly won't have anything to do with The Division 2.
Also since the game provides not a lot of new skills and abilities, I can see the game getting very repetitive after a few hours. It's nothing new when you compare it to other Ubisoft titles in the market but is worth mentioning.
Winner- Anthem.
#3. End Game
Anthem
Being a multiplayer service based title, the most important factor for any game is for how long is it going to keep the players engaged. The only way to do that is of course by providing more contents to the players after the credits roll.
When it comes to Anthem, Bioware has indeed offered some insight on the free updates the game will be receiving, however, there are no concrete details on how the game will evolve once it releases.
Maybe we will get more information on this once the game releases but for the time being Anthem's end game looks pretty empty.
EA and Bioware will be sure to keep the game going on for a long time but seeing their track record it seems very unlikely.
The Division 2
Since the time Ubisoft announced The Division 2, they have been emphasising a lot on how the end game of The Division 2 is the most important aspect of the game.
And after trying the same during the recently held private beta, I can confidently say that its good.
You see when the credits roll in The Division 2, a new faction called Black Tusks to take over the game's world. They are extremely skilled high-level enemies in the game and will require a tactful approach to every encounter. Also, playing it solo is not recommended.
Aside, the difficult enemies and unique combat scenarios then the main game, the end game of The Division 2 will offer 3 new skills and signature weapons to the players to make the combat fresh.
Winner- The Division 2.
#4 Risk Factor
Anthem
This is something really important of a factor and many people choose to ignore this.
Anthem is Bioware's first take on a multiplayer (MMO) genre and they claim to provide both good stories as well as gameplay scenario this time around. We all know how stories in multiplayer games always take the sideline and most companies chose to focus on refining the gameplay elements of the game.
Assuming that Bioware's completely new experience with such a title as well a new universe attracts the fans of both the attributes-story and gameplay and ends up satisfying none of them. How disastrous would that be? (Look at Bethesda's Fallout 76.)
The Division 2
Ubisoft had the time to learn from the mistakes they committed in the first game so they undoubtedly know what they are doing with the 2nd game and has the much-needed advantage here.
The player base of The Division knows what exactly to expect from the game.
In other words, expectations are believable.
Winner-The Division 2.
This was all just a personal opinion of course. What do you guys think which is more suited to your taste? Tell me in the comments down below.
