Zero Divide

The Good

• Deep Combo's, Interesting Computer Characters

• Unique concept.
• Music is strange.
• Visuals are unlike anything else.
• Nice idea.

**The Bad**

• This game is painfully hard for an amateur 'fighter'.
• The artificial intelligence comes with artificial brutality.
• It's a little confusing at times, and unless you invest a lot of time into learning about each fighter you may find yourself baffled that attacking the scorpion thingy from behind (a grand seeming strategy at the time) actually resulted in quicker defeat.

**The Bottom Line**
I bought this game at the same time I picked up Perfect Weapon. A rental store had decided to finally clear the store-boxes in the back room by just shoving it all on a shelf and letting old games go for $5. While Perfect Weapon was a no brainer, I bought Zero Divide because the box (a big 'ol generation 1 cardboard/plastic case) left me in disbelief. Could this be another lost relic as horribly perfect as Perfect Weapon? The answer turned out to be a resounding "No". Zero Divide isn't broken, unplayable, or terrible in any fashion. I actually like the idea a lot - A computer virus in the 'real world' is compromising an important system, and hackers, AI, and security staff have created "Programs" to fight the virus to re-establish systemic order. Zero Divide plays out the battles between these different "programs" within the infected computers Mainframe - The winner gets to take on the Boss Virus and achieve the ambitions of its creator. Neat idea. GRAPHICS:

• There was a time before engines that were established and proven - a time when a games could be completely original and everything was programmed specifically - This is the time of Zero Divide. It really doesn't look like anything else, and although dated and a bit blocky, if you can get past that and simply appreciate the art - it still looks really cool. Like some strange twist on magic-eye with textures everywhere and polygons that aren't caught up trying to look human but like some fantastic organic machine. The visual design of the fighters is fantastic, by which I mean based in fantasy without regard for cell-shading or attempting a 'human' look. This was either a brilliant compromise for the limitations of making human characters or just a neat idea depending on how you look at it.

GAME-PLAY:

• For an out-side game that didn't cause much of a stir, there's a lot here - just like Ehrgeiz, the combo system seems to have a lot of work put into it. The ring-out's are Toshinden-esque, with a lot of strategy devised around how to get back up on the platform while attacking, how to knock someone off the platform completely, etc. A few of the stranger looking characters can actually attack backwards or forwards without turning around - THIS IS NEAT! What an idea that a program would show little regard for human concerns about 'forward' or vision.

ATMOSPHERE:

• The inside workings of a computer rendered in an interactive environment would be confusing. These levels are confusing - I'm guessing this was on purpose. The music is suitable if not stellar, and the sound effects aren't half-bad considering we're talking about computer programs and not people.

STORY:

• Like a lot of fighters, the story is a little bit one-lined with a lot left to imagination. The ending 'win' stories are limited but logical - I can't imagine that the developers expected players to 'really get into' the story and to feel compelled for it - but the game play covers that aspect quite well. You will want to kick the crap out of the other programs out of malice and anger after a few rounds, trust me.