Ehrgeiz

"Cloud vs. Sephiroth ........ Round 2!!!"

While flipping through the pages of an old video game magazine that I stumbled across while cleaning my room, I came to a full page advertisement that would change my life. On this page there was a picture of Cloud Striffe, the hero of a game that I have spent over a month of my life playing (I have actually done the math), Final Fantasy VII. There were also the words ''He's Back...'' in italics at the bottom of the page, and ''Ehrgeiz, God Bless the Ring'' at the top of the page. Stunned, I sat there in awe just imagining what force of nature could have done this, and wondering how quickly I could get this game and finally prove that Cloud is the greatest fighter in the history of video games. So, I quickly through all of the crap under my bed and went to the store and bought this game.

When I first turned it on, I was expecting a regular fighting game, but what I had gotten was so very much more. There is a Quest Mode that can hold its own with any adventure game out there, and an ample supply of mini-games that will keep you occupied for hours and hours on end. Then, I got to the fighting. Since I am not a very big fan of the whole fighting genre, I was not expecting anything overly spectacular, and I did not get anything less than what I had expected. Before Square made their smash hit Bouncer, they made a similar game known as Ehrgeiz.

As I had mention earlier, there is an incredibly deep Quest Mode that is the games best non-Final Fantasy Vii related feature. You can choose from one of two people to explore the inside of the world that you live on. During this time, you must find different objects and treasures, and ultimately save a man who has been trapped inside of there. It may seem that it is kind of trite, but Square did an excellent job in keeping the entertainment and replay value extremely high.

With all due respect to it, Ehrgeiz was not made to be an adventure game, it was made to be a fighting game, and that is why I bought it. Now, I have not played many fighting games and do not consider myself an expert on them in any way, but what I played was great. The levels themselves are not very large in overall area, but just about every one of them have multiple levels. The controls are not as responsive as I would have liked, but they are decent nonetheless. On a whole, the fighting is not the best out there, but it is still very fun to play.

If there is one aspect of the game that is not quite up to par, the graphics would be that. Outside of the FMV's the graphics are filled with polygonal errors that seem to occur in the background. Cloud and his fellow gladiators are very well made and move with fairly decent agility. It seems as though there are some really good graphics that are alongside some mediocre ones.

Ehrgeiz, although not living up to its Final Fantasy VII like advertisements, is still an excellent game to have and to play. With a great fighting system and a ton of characters, not to mention the huge Quest Mode and Mini-Games, Ehrgeiz is one of the most underrated games fighting games. Even if I did buy Ehrgeiz just to see Cloud one more time, it was worth everything, and seeing Cloud and Sephiroth go at it in one more strife, I truly believe that God did bless this ring...

STORY LINE: 8/10
GRAPHICS: 7/10
CONTROLS: 7/10
SOUND: 6/10
GAMEPLAY: 10/10
REPLAY VALUE: 9/10
CHALLENGE: 10/10
MULTIPLAYER: 10/10
ORIGINALITY: 9/10
ENTERTAINMENT: 10/10
BUY RENT?: Buy this game as soon as you can, especially if you are a fighting fan.

OVERALL:9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/28/01, Updated 12/28/01