Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

"Solid shooting with everyone's favorite Valentine."

Vincent Valentine was always my favorite character of Final Fantasy VII. How can you not like someone who has a claw for a hand and you find sleeping in a coffin? Square-Enix decided to make Vincent the star of Dirge of Cerberus, while trying their hand at a console shooter. How did they do?

Story: 8/10

The story is well done, with plenty of new characters being added to the Final Fantasy VII universe to carry on the plot. The game features Vincent Valentine, an optional gun-wielding character in Final Fantasy VII, and is set in a post-Final Fantasy VII world. An organization known as Deepground, headed by a few elite generals, is kidnapping people and holding them in containers. Fortunately, Reeve Tuesti (better known as Cait Sith) set up the WRO (World Restoration Organization, I think) to help the people. When Deepground starts targeting him, and at Reeve's request, Vincent decides to take up his gun again.

The story was thought out well, and pieced together as you progress in the game. The cut-scenes are also well done and inspire you to keep on playing right up until the final boss. It was hard to care about some of the secondary characters, and their relationships with others, but Vincent's story is really fleshed out and interesting in this game.

Gameplay: 9/10

Yes, this is a shooter. When I first heard they were putting Vincent in a shooter, I was glad yet nervous. I generally don't like console shooters, I've had too many bad experiences with them and prefer them on my PC. Thankfully, Square-Enix didn't drop the ball here. The shooting is very comparable to Resident Evil 4's "over the shoulder" view, which makes the shooting a lot more controllable, in my opinion. If you have a scope on your gun, you can also go in a "first-person" view to pick off enemies who are further away. When the enemy gets too close, you can also use your melee attack to dispatch them (So that's what the claw is for!). There are also buttons to run, duck, sneak, and manual-reload.

There are essentially three different kinds of guns Vincent can use. He starts out with his trusty cerberus, a tri-gun that shoots three bullets at once. He soon finds a rifle, suitable for picking off snipers and such, and a sub-machine gun which has a much faster rate of fire. You can also "level up" these guns to be more powerful and hold more rounds, just to name a few options. You will also find certain attachments you can put on your gun to customize it even further, giving it a bigger stock, or longer barrel, for instance.

At the end of each stage, you are graded on how well you did. Factors like hit percentage and damage received will effect your score (didn't they do this in Resident Evil 4, too?). Also, in true RPG fashion, Vincent will gain levels which allow him to have more health, a stronger attack, and a better defence.

You can also use magic in this game, although it's very limited. Scattered throughout the levels are mako points, which you can absorb and let you cast one, yes one, spell through your weapon (if you have the right attachment equipped). These "spell-shots" are very powerful, though, and can take down multiple enemies at once.

Vincent's limit breaks also make a return, though it's barely worth mentioning, since you only really have one to choose from. This is probably the one thing I wish they could've done better (add them all in!).

The gameplay is very addictive once you jump into it, with several different scenarios to accomplish and a variety of enemies to kill. Don't be surprised to get some help along the way from some of Vincent's friends!

Graphics: 8/10

The graphics were done well enough, but were lacking in alot of areas. For instance, Vincent's cloak was constantly moving about as he ran around (which looked really good), but his hair was staying in place, like he had some sort of super-gel in it. Normally this isn't a big deal with video game characters, but Vincent's hair is too long for it to stay like that.

There are several different areas you'll be fighting in throughout the game, and the backgrounds and graphics in each are well done. Some of the larger area's graphics can get repetitive after awhile, though. Blowing up barrels can lead to huge explosions, and the magic effects look great. You can also change guns on the run, and when you do this, they'll look exactly like how you made them look on the customization menu. Most of the new characters had great designs, unfortunately not all of them.

The cut-scenes are superb, showcasing the PS2's power and really giving the story life. As a bonus in the game, you can also unlock artist's pictures and drawings, as well as video clips by shooting vials hidden throughout the levels.

Music & Sound Effects: 8/10

The music is fitting, but overall forgettable. I really can't remember any of the songs used in the game, but I don't remember any of them being bad, either. The sound effects are well done, especially the voice acting. Nothing in this category should disappoint you.

Re-playability: 7/10

You do have a bit of re-playability available in unlocking all of the extra content, but aside from that, I can't see anything else you would want to do once you beat the game. It is also a very short game, which I finished in one weekend.

Overall: 8/10

I think this game gets a lot of flak, but I don't know why. It's not like Square-Enix was trying to make their next blockbuster RPG here, after all. This is a solid shooting game, with very addictive gameplay. Any shooter fan should enjoy this title, but knowing Final Fantasy VII's story does help. Have fun & keep playing! Later...

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/16/07