Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

"Dirge of Cerberus only exists to establish not only bottom of the barrel for Final Fantasy 7 games, but more importantly, for Third person shooters."

Intro - As small of a fan as I am of Turn based RPGs, for all intents and purposes, Final Fantasy 7 was an okay game. I mean, as so incredibly overrated as it is, I thought the story, gameplay and graphics were all pretty good. But dont look at me to find a Final Fantasy fan: Look at all the people that played this game religiously and watched Advent Children. Those are the real FF7 fans. And those, unfortunetly, are the people who are going to be most displeased with Dirge of Cerberus. Those are the people that have been anticipating the hell out of this game, only to find a game thats not only going to disappoint a hardcore FF7 fanboy (The one you see at anime conventions dressing up as cloud), but someone who likes to play any game that involves shooting things.

Story - In Dirge of Cerberus, you play as Vincent Valentine, who was a secret character in the almost decade old RPG Final Fantasy 7. The thing about Vincent is that he's got a shady past, is immortal, and wields 2 badass guns. So what better character to put into a shooter based on an RPG, let alone any shooter? Anyhow, a group of mercenaries called deepground want to revive Omega Weapon (a baddie from Final Fantasy 7), to try and destroy the planet. But they need Vincent to do so. So as Vincent, you have to figure out why you're such an important part in these freaks plans. The story is kind of confusing at times, but the pre rendered cut scenes are really well done, and certainly not lacking in the graphical department. I would go so far as to say they look as well done as Advent Children. But the story could've been much better if the game wasent 12 hours long.

Graphics + Sound - I dont know if its just me, but does the latest Final Fantasy game look sort of.....Bad? I dont know, but to me the graphics just dont jump out at me. During gameplay, the camera is so zoomed up towards Vincents back that seeing the mediocre graphics wont be a problem for you, as long as you get used to Vinnies long ass hair. The enviroments look sort of repetitive. It almost seems like your playing a corridor FPS like Doom cause its environments are bland and indifferent to eachother. However, as I said before, the pre rendered cut scenes look as well done as Advent Children and some of Pixars films, so you'll be entertained by those. The music is pretty good. You can always count on SE for good music and sound to set the mood.

Gameplay - Up to this point, my score and my review headline may seem like a typo, due to the praise I've given the story and graphics. But no story has ever made or broke a shooter, and as much as the FF fanboys will cry about it, thats what this game is: A shooter, not a beloved decade old RPG. I am going to tell you right now that based on playing this game, I can say with 120% confidence that Square Enix does not know how to make a third person shooter. Square Enix did RPGs much better, but shooters? Come on. Dirge of Cerberus is bad as a shooter and an entry in the Final Fantasy 7 compliation. The gunplay is the least fun thing about this game. Gunplay is an essential part of a shooter game, but Dirge doesnt do it well at all. Its just so repetitive and not fun, and trust me, you will be fighting the same enemies throughout the game. As I said before, Dirges level design makes it feel like Doom, only in Dirge its so linear and so sickening that you cant help but feel bad for the people in Japan, who think this is what the definition of a shooter is, since this is the only one they would ever play. The camera is zoomed so close in behind Vincents back, that its hell to try and control this game and aim your gun. When you're done Dirges 12 hour long run (I'll be amazed if you make it), you'll be tearing your hair out and your controller will be in peices due to the fact that this game is so terrible to control.

Replay Value - If your blood preassure isnt through the stratosphere by the time you finish the game, you can play a few dozen 'challenges', like getting through X level in Y amount of time or defeating a certain boss. But those are just as bad as the main game.

Multiplayer - A shooter without multiplayer? Square Enix screwed up bad. This game requires a hard drive and PlayOnline, but thats not compatible with some new PS2 models (slimline), so SE scrapped Multiplayer. It could've made the game better, honestly, it could have.

Conclusion - Dirge of Cerberus had so much potential. It starred a badass, dark guy with dual pistols, it had a decent story (rare in many shooters these days), and an 'incentive' (cue shuddering) to play after you're done the game. But the gameplay was just executed badly. Everything about it was just not fun. I was excited to play this game, but it just turned out to be a terribly generic game. Final Fantasy fans, dont play, unless A) You have VERY low expectations and/or B) You wanna find out some stuff about FF7s coolest hero. If you are a fan of FPSs, Third person shooters, or any game where you fire guns, avoid this game like the plague. Its not fun. At all.

Overall:

Story - 7/10

Graphics - 6/10

Sound - 6/10

Gameplay - 2/10

Replay Value - 2/10

Multiplayer - Uh oh....

Oh yeah, dont play this game.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 08/21/06