Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

"Love It or Hate It"

It seems that people either love this game or hate this game. I am in the category that loves this game.

Sure, it seems like Square's just making Final Fantasy VII sequels to make money... actually, that's probably exactly what it is. What's really sad though is that I don't really mind.

This game actually felt like a decent sequel to me- though it does have a few flukes...

Story: 9

Despite what many people say, this game's story is pretty good. It reminds me of a Metal Gear Solid knock off- but with Final Fantasy VII characters in it.

What I really like about the story though, is that they didn't just recycle Final Fantasy VII's storyline. There is a totally new storyline here that builds on Vincent Valentine's (one of two "secret" characters in FFVII) hazy and troubled past.

The premis of this game's story is as such: 2 years after Meteor Fall (fans of FF7 will know what this is), the world is attacked by a group of Super-Soldiers called DeepGround. Vincent finds his fate connected to DeepGround, fighting them off while trying to figure out why he's connected to DeepGround.

The only thing that I didn't about the story: during the (somewhat repetitive) cutscenes, you will find yourself wondering, "Haven't I've played this part before?"

Gameplay: 7

Which brings me to my next problem: this game can be repetitive! There are few changes in gameplay until near the very end.

The difficulty in this game is rather pitiful- even on hard mode, you probably won't have any trouble finishing this game. You'll probably find yourself turning off all the help functions that are turned on by default- and you'll still probably breeze through this game.

The shooting in this game is a bit weird. Your cross-hairs can be slightly off the character and still hit them (more easy problems). There is a Melee attack, but you'll probably never use it since Ammo is pretty easy to come by and you can buy it from various locations.

The best part, I would have to say, is the Gun Customization system. You can totally customize your gun to anything you want. For instance, you can set up your gun for long range or short range battle; you can make it a machine gun (if you have the parts); you can equip scopes; etc. Unfortunately, once you find something you'll like, you'll probably stick with it the whole game. I, for instance, used a Long-Barrel Cerberus (Pistol) the whole game. It would've been much more fun if they would have added necessity for changing up your gun.

The dash would be more useful if there wasn't such a lag in it. After you dash (which can deflect enemy bullets), there will be roughly a second in which you can't do anything.

There's also a Limit Break mode, but most of the time, you'll want to avoid it. It's helpful in a real pickle (since it heals you fully), but it's slow. Speed is very important in this game, which means that most of the time, your Limit Break mode will be decimated in seconds.

Fortunately, some of the boss fights are intense. Not difficult, but fun. I feel that Square-Enix did a pretty good job designing them.

Sound: 8

The music isn't anything amazing. A couple scores by Gackt Camui are a happily accepted change, however.

The voice acting is surprisingly good. With the exception of Hojo and Shelke, that is. It's actually easy to listen to them.

Graphics: 9

This is probably the best part about this game. The graphics are very good. Don't get me wrong- they are by no means realistic. A single expression on someone's face, however, reveals everything.

The backgrounds have their moments, but later in the game, they get somewhat redundant. At least it's not like the recent Castlevania installments in 3D.

The real piece-de-resistance are the cutscenes. They're done by the same staff that made Advent Children, and, as such, they are pretty! It's just too bad that they're pretty few and far between- but when you DO see them, you'll enjoy them.

Extras: 10

Good mother of God- there are a LOT of extras in this game! Very surprising, considering how linear this game is.

There's a movie gallery, art gallery, and model gallery- all of which will keep people like me entertained for many, many hours! There's also a music gallery, but I don't even bother with it. Gackt's songs didn't even make it there.

There's also a Mission Mode, but it gets so freakin' difficult that, unless you're a hardcore gamer, you probably won't finish it. And even if you are a hardcore gamer, you'll probably snap your disk if you attempt too many of these (crazy missions like "Beat (such-and-such deepground member) Using Cait Sith!"- which is not fun EVER. But it's entertaining to see the little cat-thing get torn to shreds.

Overall: 8

This is a game that you'll either love or hate. The first thing you need to know, however, is that this is NOT Devil May Cry. Don't compare it to it. Vincent came before Dante and the gameplay is in no way similar. Ignore anyone that says otherwise- there may be something wrong with them.

I seriously recommend this game if you're a Final Fantasy VII fanboy (or girl, to avoid being sexist). If you're looking for an RPG, then this game is not for you. If you're looking for a shooter, this game is not for you. It's definitely different, but I feel that it adds to the overall quality of the game.

Pros:
-Excellent Story
-Pretty Graphics
-A LOT of Extras

Cons:
-Very Repetitive
-Very Easy

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/15/07