Parents' Guide to Divide

Sadly proving that a great story can't make up for broken fundamentals, this top-down shooter falls apart before it really gets going. Divide is set up to be a classic top-down, arcade-style shooter, one that's driven by an interesting and a mysterious cyberpunk story. Unfortunately, it's not driven by great gameplay. The problem is this seems more like a good first draft than a finished game. For instance, you spend a fair amount of time walking around, but there's no map and nothing to indicate where you're supposed to go, even when the story dictates that the character knows where he's going. When you get into a gunfight, you're almost always outmanned and outgunned, while your lack of ammo is matched only by your lack of health. You can't even run away half the time, since the guards are excellent shots and will just shoot you in the back while you're trying to figure out where to go. There also are numerous technical and graphical glitches, including a terrible checkpoint system that often makes you replay the same tough sections over and over. All this is why Divide feels less like a compelling mystery or an exciting adventure than an exercise in futility.