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Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus Review (continued)
More User Submitted Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus Reviews
Date: 2006-12-30
The Chorus Of Cerberus
The Dirge of Cerberus looked promising from afar, seeing as to how it's predecessors Final Fantasy VII (VG)and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (Film) were both hailed with great reviews and sky rocketing sales (and constant fan bases being created all around the globe).
Many Final Fantasy Players would have expected the fighting style of 'Dirge of Cerberus' to be similar to the other Final Fantasy Games (seeing as to how 'Dirge' totes the Final Fantasy title) but it is a pleasant surprise to see that the meelee type attacks and freestyle type battles can be a nice difference from the usual (seeing as to how 'Dirge of Cerberus' does not necessarily boast itself as a Final Fantasy game).
I Do not recommend this for persons purchasing it only because it is a shooter, there are numerous amounts of cut scenes and videos within the game that are needed to explain the complex story of Vincent Valentine.
These numerous cut scenes could also be personified as a positive thing in a way that it is much like watching a sequel to the film (FF VII:Advent Children), which I personally enjoyed VERY much. Also, if you are a fan of the sub character Vincent Valentine, who is the main character in this game, then the large amount of in game movies also tells a very intriguing tale of how he had come to be (which is not explained in the original game), the cut scenes also flashback so it could also be considered a prequel to Final Fantasy VII (in a sense). If you are strictly just a Final Fantasy VII fan then you will also enjoy this game because of the return of characters from the original game.
I personally highly enjoyed this game and would recommend it to any Final Fantasy VII fan who wants to know more about the sub character Vincent Valentine.
Date: 2006-12-19
Unfortunatly wont appeal to everyone, but it might still be right for you
Quickie out of 5
Graphics - 4
Sound - 3
Gameplay - 3
Story - 5
My Tilt - 4
Overall - 3.8
Quick review of the Dirge of Cerberus: FFVII, this game immediatly follows the end of FFVII but doesnt really require much knowledge of the details at the end of FFVII, but does require knowledge of the FFVII world. The game will unfortunatly only appeal to a select group of people who enjoy FF games and Console Shooters. If you fall into this group (and its not a small group) then you should at least try this game out.
You play as one of the more mysterious characters from FFVII Vincent Valentine, an expert marksman who has even more mysterious abilties of transformation.
The graphics and story line are great with awesome pre rendered CG cutscences, they are a little too often however kind of chopping up the action, but soon you'll realize it looks so cool you couldnt careless. The translation pack on this game was not the best, some poor dialog might leave you rolling your eyes, voice work in the game is way above normal and while not the best for small supporting roles, the job is very well done for the main characters.
Gameplay takes a bit of getting used to, odds are good if you play Shooter type games at all, that you play them on the PC also, and know the tribulations of aiming with only your thumb. Compared to other Console shooters, I found the controls very acceptable, and melee is also quite a viable option in this game, altho melee controls are decidedly less fleshed out than the gun controls.
Probably the best aspect of the game (besides the setting) is the customization you can give to the weapons. You can equip 3 guns at a time for easy changing, all guns start as the base model and can be upgraded for in-game money or Gil. X would become XII then XIII and then split into three different branches and continue upgrades from there. Also there are mods or accessories to add to each gun like magic, extra defence, a sniper scope, or long or short barrels for extra range or more rate of fire. All of these changes display on the weapon in game and for me at least this gives the game some real replay vaule, trying out different guns in different situations with different accessories. I almost forgot to mention not only can the base gun be upgraded but also the accessories can be upgraded as well, so theres quite a few combinations.
The backround sound is good, decent, it didnt really jump out at me at all, but it hasnt driven me to insanity so that makes it above average at least.
In conclusion I have to say again that this game might really only apply to those that know of FFVII and enjoyed it, and also enjoy console shooting games. Granted this might be a good place for you to get you foot into the door of both genres at once, but there are better places to start. I came into this game expecting something not very good at all, but was surprised to find that it was quite enjoyable, you might do the same!
Date: 2006-12-13
A nostalgic return to my gaming roots
Oh, FFVII, you were so well loved. This game was quite a bit of a nostalgia trip for me. Forbid, its not actually the original, but it was definitely fun. If you don't mind having to break for a five, ten, or however long cut scene every few minutes of gameplay, its not so bad.
That's my main complaint about DoC, honestly. We all know, Square Enix, that you guys are pretty much the forerunners of the standards set for graphics, but stop rubbing it in. Please. Its easy to be spoiled by your games due the quality of the graphics, I'll admit. I can always play a game that might have superb player experience, but not be as impressed with the graphic display nearly as much as I was here. And sure that's common, since most other gaming companies don't compare. And every Final Fantasy fan does love cut scenes. Still however, this was a bit of an overkill. I don't need a cutscene every time a new enemy to defeat walks onto the stage. Do I mind the massive cutscenes that reveal details about Vincent and his past? No, not really. How about the major bad guys? Doesn't bother me. But I do mind that I have to get a new cutscene when I have to fight gargoyles.
Outside of the cutscene overload, is this game okay? Yes, it is, unless you are serious about the FFVII world, in which case the standard it had to live up to was too high. This game is simply a fun play. It is nothing special or unique, nor is an RPG like most FF games, which probably throws a lot of the people who would normally enjoy this sort of game off.
Despite being fun, it combines a lot of things I hate into a game. Pre-Resident Evil 4 camera angles, for example and a an almost pathetic version of the Devil May Cry autolocking weapon system. The latter would not be bad if it wasn't for the fact that Square Enix must have been inebriated when they designed it. I found it substantially easier to just change my guns manually than to figure out how the autochange and save functions worked. When I'm fighting a boss and he's attacking nonstop, I really can't be bothered to figure out which button does this or what button does that. Ontop of it, it took me about three or four hours to truly "master" (loose wording here) the said system.
Other dislikes were I am not overly fond with Vincent's background story. It felt shallow, but maybe, in all honesty, I didn't like Lucrecia. I can't say much more without spoiling the game, but I felt let down that a character from the original canon that I liked, ended up being a character, when further developed, felt self-centered and vapid. The final boss was far too easy, also. I like working hard for an ending and sadly, this was a major let down. All of the other bosses combined were more difficult.
So, in closing. Was this anything like my first FFVII experience? No. Will the die-hard FFVII like this game? It depends, I did, despite its major flaws. It handled itself with decently good storytelling even if I didn't agree with it, unfortunately the catch, and for some the killer, was gameplay wasn't the best.
Date: 2006-11-30
More like a movie than a game.
Final Fantasy VII for the ps1 was (and still is) considered one of the best RPG's ever created. The same cannot be said for the spin off of a side quest character that tries too hard to be hard core and ends up being mistaken for a Devil May Cry clone.
The good news:
-You can customize your weapons to cause maximum damage.
-It's kind of neat to see final fantasy VII characters in 3-D with voices.
The bad news:
-This game is horribly paced. You can't get into the game play because there's a cut scene every two minutes or so. Most of them have nothing to do with where you are fighting so they seem terribly misplaced and you just don't really care enough about the characters to WANT to watch them. This game is way too concerned about being an animated movie rather than an actual game.
-The aiming system is shot and you cannot lock onto enemies the way you should be able to. If this had been fixed, this could have at least been an average game.
-The same goes for the camera, you never face the direction you want to face and that immediately gives this game the score that I've chosen for it.
I love Final Fantasy VII for the ps1. I even liked Advent Children a little bit. But this is criminal for anyone who likes the franchise.
Date: 2006-11-23
A great game
When I went online looking at reviews I started to get rather edgy about buying this game, but OMG! This is a great game. Sure it isn't the best FF game out there, but it is definately one of the better gun games out there. Sometimes the graphics get rather distorted, but I think that the A+ graphics in the middle of the game really make up for it. I'm glad that Vincent finally gets his own game. In short you people who hate this game are wierd.
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