The Divide: Enemies Within

by Playstation

Product Features

• FANTASTIC GAME

Product Details

• ASIN: B00002STKB
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,373 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

FANTASTIC GAME

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars The 3D Metroidvania before Metroid Prime, January 18, 2011

By 

P.F. Raccoon - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

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This review is from: The Divide: Enemies Within (Video Game)

The Divide: Enemies Within is an example of a game that was released before its time, and suffered for it. Released during the brief period when games were called "Metroid clones" instead of "Metroidvania games" and "outdated" instead of "retro", it was largely, unfairly, passed by.

But The Divide is, in actuality, a fantastic game that straddles the line between old-school game design and modern sensibilities. For those who don't know, "Metroidvania" is a small, specific genre, pioneered (and named) by Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The genre is best described as a mix of action and platforming, with some RPG elements and an emphasis on exploration. Of these ingredients, The Divide focuses more on action and platforming than the rest; at times it can feel like you're playing as the hero from a third-person shooter dropped into a 3D platformer. It's hilarious - and a bit saddening - to look back and realize that The Divide was panned and subsequently ignored largely for the same reasons Metroid Prime and Shadow Complex (a download-only Xbox 360 title) were universally well-received.

The Divide doesn't try to hide its Super Metroid inspirations, and being a 3D Metroidvania game, comparisons to Metroid Prime are inevitable. Metroid Prime was turned into a first-person game during development when it became apparent that there would be certain problems with a third-person viewpoint; The Divide, being third-person, falls into many of these same pitfalls. Jumping puzzles can be tricky due to the camera - it only offers two viewpoints, both of which are frequently inadequate, so you'll often have the choice of either not being able to see the platform you're jumping to or not being able to see the platform you're jumping from. Pick your poison, I suppose. Aiming, too, is more difficult than it should be, relying on the shoulder buttons to make up for the lack of analogue controls. The Divide, whether for inherent design flaws or just because it was rushed to release, is not a flawless game. It's not even a polished game, and people who expect the level of polish seen in, say, Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow or Metroid Prime 3: Corruption will be disappointed.

That said, the game works. The jumping puzzles, despite the unresponsive controls and frankly terrible camera, are more complex, intimidating, and just plain fun than the relatively simple platforming seen in other games of the same genre. And while you will fail these jumps time and time again until you become accustomed to the game, doing so will never lead to your death. At worst, you take a tiny amount of falling damage and have to restart the platforming sequence. Combat may be literally hit-or-miss, but the sheer variety of weaponry you'll unlock over the course of the game completely mitigates this. If you can't land a hit with the rapid fire gatling gun, switch to the much wider flamethrower. If the rockets aren't doing enough damage, use the short range but extremely powerful Particle Blaster. And if all else fails, fire off a homing missile or destroy everything nearby with a mighty grenade. In short, the game does have technical flaws, but some excellent design choices allow you to overcome them.

All in all, The Divide is a fantastic entry into a genre already stacked with fantastic games. If you have enough patience to look past some of the more glaring technical flaws, you'll find an intriguing, entertaining, and criminally underrated PlayStation game.

5 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a must buy, November 7, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Divide: Enemies Within (Video Game)

This is an awesome game. I was rather dubious when buying the game, but it was much better than I had expected. The plot is original, and the graphics are good. The characters are well created, and I just think that it is an overall great game!!