The Divide: Enemies Within (Super Metroid 3D?!)

[Infinity's End]

How the hell did this pass under our radar for so long? Has anyone here played it? There's no Let's Plays on YT...

[CapCom]

Actually, I knew about it for awhile. We didn't have a recommended game section other than TJ's back then, and I either forgot about it or thought it was in TJ's section by the time we started making these

Divide is a pretty cool game. Graphics are obviously helluva dated, and the camera and jumping is really clunky, but the upgrade system and exploration mechanics are exactly Metroid. I remember it being lots of fun, and I especially liked the concept that the aliens stole tech from your suit and mutated.

It was also hard to find 10 years ago when I heard about it (even with the early Internet!), so it's probably pretty expensive to get a used copy these days.

[Emperor Ing]

Seems pretty cheap on ebay - roughly $15 - $40.

I think I might pick it up when I get paid next week - it does look like a pretty cool game, and well I'm a sucker for all things robot, alien, and Metroid*!


seems a shame that a game like this gets overlooked and ignored at large while garbage like Yume Nikki gets loads of fan love... That's how it goes, you know?




*aren't those three all connected anyhow?

[CapCom]

Eh, I just popped it in again. Although I played it for a lengthy bit of time, the game is REALLY clunky - moreso than I remember it. The controls involve lots of strafing, but the camera is the worst, ESPECIALLY for those big jumping areas - and there are a LOT of those. You basically have to hold Select and use the D-pad to move the camera, which means you can't be moving and shooting at the same time. There are plenty of spots where you need to jump, and you'll often have to change the camera angle. On top of that, there are flying enemies that attack you on the platforms. The word 'annoying' comes to mind. Oh yeah, the screen is dark as hell - this was NOT meant to be played on a flatscreen (or at least you'll want to crank your brightness).

The map system is also archaic compared with the Prime map system - you will be SO glad they built it. You can only view maps one room at a time, and the world map is really hard to read. You can't zoom in on a level you've been to, though they could have obviously made that possible. Couple this with the clunky PS1 controller, and it really makes me wish for Prime again! The one advantage the map has is you can immediately see where all the power-ups are, which is a big help because navigating the world is incredibly difficult.

Music is also pretty bland, generic stuff, and the enemy designs are also forgettable - not much character to them, even bosses. The plant boss I quit at reminds me of something from Neo Contra... Beware though: the boss rooms don't give you much warning, so you may end up stumbling into one without saving. Thankfully, the second boss lives right next to a teleporter!

Some things I do like are the weapons system, which gives you a ton of upgrades. It's a little odd though that there are a bunch just lying around close to each other in some places. There's also a REALLY great transition at the beginning where you are slogging through the jungle in the rain without the jump boost, and the forest is a complete maze, but it's like half-a-block-high walls, and then you find the jump boost and it's pure freedom. If there's one thing that will always be golden about this game, it is that. (though the very intro where the mech operates on just one leg is also memorable)

You have to look at the game from when it was made - late-gen PS1 title - and the limitations of the hardware. The ideas are certainly ahead of their time, but from a gamer's perspective, it really doesn't hold up. Gaming has just evolved SO MUCH in the past 10 years (actually, this came out in '99, so more like 13!) that they've improved on the ideas present here quite a bit over the years. I don't think I'll give this another run-through.

[Naner]

Amazon also has it for pretty cheap.

The concept sure looks interesting but, like Cap said, it looks very clunky. I might emulate it or check out the PC version, but it doesn't seem I'll go very far.

[Daya]

Even if this sems clunky, I might try this out. It looks interesting.

[VGMStudios]

How did you come about finding this IE?

VGM out...

[Infinity's End]

How did you come about finding this IE?

VGM out...

I think there was a post I saw on Reddit that linked to the HG101 page.

[rondus18]

Yeah, I set up an emulator and this game has not aged well. The platforming it quite bad and holding select to move the camera doesn't make any sense. Plus aiming up and down with the shoulder buttons to attack aerial enemies is not very intuitive. From what very little I've heard the PC version is better, but I can't find a copy of that and I'm not going to buy it on amazon just to find out it won't install on 64bit windows 7.

[CapCom]

It's a pretty safe bet that just about anything over 10 years old and not published in large numbers will not run on Windows 7 64-bit.

[Infinity's End]

I was finally able to play it... yeah it's damn near-unplayable. The whole hold-select-while-pressing-dpad-to-move-the-camera fucking sucks... controls are just absolutely non-intuitive.

I'll give some more time with it, but so far, I'm not liking this "search for the ability to jump" And the aiming to shoot enemies is just... shit it's annoying!