Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

""Dirge" has never been used more appropriately."

This is one of those games I couldn't help but import because the premise alone had me captivated- a pseudo-first-person shooter with light role playing elements set in the Final Fantasy VII universe? Throw in cinematics crafted by the same talented team that brought us Advent Children and what could possibly go wrong? Oh how naive faith has made me...

The story takes place three years after the conclusion of Final Fantasy VII. Though wounded, the people of Midgar have enjoyed peace and prosperity as they attempt to rebuild the planet. This peace is shattered as Deepground SOLDIERs, fighters who have been trapped alive under the ruins of Midgar, begin attacking towns in search of Vincent Valentine in hopes of discovering the location of the ultimate weapon, Omega. The plot is actually a fairly solid follow-up to the classic RPG that spawned it, fitting in well with the established canon while expanding on several characters that were otherwise largely ignored in the epic scope of Final Fantasy VII.

Without a doubt this game's strongest characteristic is its graphics. Though the environments are a tad repetitive, the overall detail of the characters, the backgrounds and the animation itself all weave together to create a believable setting for Vincent to tromp about it. The artistic style leans a bit towards the comic book side (heavy lines, sharp contrasts) but it works in this setting in the way it wouldn't work in a traditional Final Fantasy RPG. The star of show, however, is the CGI cutscenes, forged by the same wizards that brought us Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. It's this footage alone that makes Dirge of Cerberus a must- purchase for hardcore fans.

Perhaps I was expecting more because, despite its non-traditional entry, it is stamped with the Final Fantasy name, I was disappointed with the audio presentation. Yes, the voice acting is passable enough (as well it should be since the voice actors from Advent Children lend their "talent"), but that really about the best I can say. From there it goes downhill with overly-generic audio effects and a hit-and-miss soundtrack that offers a few good additions to the Final Fantasy music collective, but overall offers nothing worthwhile. That said, SquareEnix did attempt to punch things up a bit by adding two new songs to the North American release, but truly nothing of note (no pun intended).

When one is creating an action game, certain rules must be followed in order to actually call it an action game (even if it is a hybrid of genres). Chief among these rules (nay, commandments) is "Thou shalt not hinder the effing action!" In these case, Dirge of Cerberus' deadly sin is the manner in which performing in sort of attack, save an unaimed shot, seems to force you to stop mid-run, select your attack (or target), and then execute it. This game would have easily been served with Devil May Cry-style controls, but instead the developers decided that actually making the game fun or exciting wasn't a priority. I must admit, however, I did enjoy the weapon upgrade attachments, which made for some pretty interesting gun combinations in the way you could mix-n- match power, speed and precision with various barrel-types and the placement of a selection of accouchements.

As much as the controls are at fault for ruining what might have been a great game, so too does the design play a part in its demise. Foremost in this is the level layouts, which are often uninspired, boring and simplistic mazes offering little choice or freedom of movement despite the illusion of openness the artists have painted for us. Since the Playstation 2 version of Final Fantasy XI didn't receive the same widespread acceptance over here as it did in its home-country, gone is the PlayOnline powered online mode (which requires the HDD), giving North American gamers little replay value. In fairness, SquareEnix did attempt to rework the games controls, speed up the action, add new music and generally tweak the hell out of the engine (thus producing a version far-superior to the import), but it still doesn't fix core issues with the design or gameplay.

Despite the mediocrity of the actual gameplay, there are bountiful rewards for your efforts- A new difficulty mode, a cutscene viewer, an extra ending, hidden items (including weapon attachments), an art gallery, a sound gallery, a character viewer, a handful of trailers, and a smattering of extra side missions (which are reworked versions of the Japanese online maps) all await the diligent gamer who is willing to suffer through this game multiple times.

As a generic first/third-person shooter, Dirge of Cerberus deserves nothing more than bargain-bin status. However, the property it is affixed to and the incredible cinematics that accompany the game elevate it to an average grade at best. Fans should approach this game with caution and zero-expectations. Everyone else should stay the hell away.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 08/07/09

Game Release: Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (US, 08/15/06)