Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

I will start this review by admitting that I have never finished "Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII", a long-awaited sequel/spin-off of what is arguably one of the greatest RPG's of all time. I bought it the day it was released in 2006, and I tried playing it, but it left a very sour, underwhelmed taste in my mouth... For such a legacy as "Final Fantasy VII" (a 1997 release for the Playstation) has, this game feels very rushed and full of incomplete ideas. I never felt motivated to finish it.

Let's break the game down to the basic categories...

Graphics/Visuals... 8 out of 10- The in-game, pre-rendered FMV video sequences are incredible. The videos are the same high quality as the CGI-animated feature "Advent Children", and are all gorgeous and remarkable to behold. And I will say, the in-game graphics aren't half bad. Character models, though stylized with "anime" inspiration, are cool-looking, and animation is tight and smooth. But the game looses a few points for repetitive visuals. Some of the levels feature areas that look identical to one-another (such as the opening level in Kalm town, where I kept getting lost due to very repetitive design), and some animations are kind of weak. But overall, a solid game visually.

Sound... 8 out of 10- I'm not going to lie, I missed Nobuo Uematsu's music in this game, which was scored by a different composer. But the music present is very decent, albeit unmemorable. Sounds are also all very good, and in general, the voice acting is all pretty darned good. (Particularly uber-voice-artist Steve Blum as our hero Vincent Valentine) However, some performances are kinda flat, and the pronunciation of certain words is debatable. (Although I suppose it comes down to personal interpretation, but everyone I knows pronounces "Maka" as "May-ko", whereas this game calls it "Mahh-Ko.") It's a very solid audio presentation, which suffers slightly due to a few sore thumbs and a forgettable score.

Controls... 3 out of 10. Here's where the game starts to fall apart. The controls are very mixed. Somehow, the control system feels simultaneously too simple while still being too complicated. They are also very loose, and the camera controls are clunky, clunky, CLUNKY. (You'll almost always going to accidentally move the camera in the OPPOSITE direction of where you want it, and even swapping it in the options doesn't help, as it's response is very sensitive.) The game is obviously taking inspiration from hack-and-slash games like "Devil May Cry" with it's action-oriented gun-play, but the controls aren't precise and are too "wonky" to make gameplay fun.

Story... 4 out of 10. My other huge problem- the story is very convoluted, and without knowing every exact detail of every facet of the "Final Fantasy VII" franchise, you will get lost. In addition, the game does a very poor job as establishing what is going on, and the overall intent of the story. It's very sloppily told, leaving you guessing way too often. And not in the good way of guessing what will happen next due to suspense, but in that bad way where you get totally lost and frustrated. I've played the first part of the game several times (each time giving up due to "meh" gameplay and bad controls), and I honestly can't tell you a single detail about what's going on. All I can gather from the sloppy plot is that Vincent is good, and the bad guys are... uh... bad. (?) Silly, simplistic-yet-convoluted plot.

Overall... 5 out of 10. This game gets a lot of sympathy points for the great visual and audio presentation and the built-in love for "Final Fantasy VII." But the gameplay sucks, and robs the game of a lot of the fun. I didn't even get into the other huge problem (lack of difficulty settings in the North American release, which makes the game near impossible with the clunky controls), which is also tedious.

I'd recommend this game only to huge fans of "Final Fantasy VII"- for others, it's too mediocre to really care about.

I absolutely and sincerely hope this is not the shape of things to come. I saw this played from beginning to end - twice - and dared not pick it up for myself. When I did, I can assure you I put it down again, sharply. Absolutely the worst kind of spin-off is one that does not draw on the original material to any level other than a superficial one, and this is about as superficial as they come. Set in Midgar and thereabouts - fine. Includes characters in a cameo form - okay. ... what? Is that it? Format is dreadful, voice-acting atrociously bad; I mean, does anyone actually finish a bloody sentence!!? Cringe-worthy from start to finish, with some pretty, mo-cap CGI FMV sequences thrown around.

Diabolical, SquareEnix. Fo'shame!

This game is like Crisis Core in that it makes me want to see Final Fantasy VII remade on the Playstation 3 or the Xbox 360. That game would simply amazing on said consoles as that game had an amazing story, however the graphics are very blocky especially by today's standards. Heck, Final Fantasy VIII which story wise was inferior to seven had better graphics. I realize for some reason people think that it would only be bought by people familiar with that game, but considering how well it sold that would make it an instant hit, and I am sure many people who have not played it would buy it because it would be intriguing. This game is interesting and has some nifty story elements as this one focuses mainly on Vincent from seven. In fact, the only other character from seven who plays a big part is Yuffie. Ironically, both she and Vincent were characters you did not even have to get in part seven to win the game. The game is an okay shooter, it is kind of linear though and you are not going to get to see all that many locales from seven present in this game. There are some interesting new characters and some bizarre story points involving some strange little girl and these weird people that have apparently lived underground. The ending scenes involving the other FF VII characters is not something I cared for all that much as it kind of makes out that Vincent is the strongest of the bunch, which goes against Advent Children as it made Cloud to be far and away the strongest character. Still, it was fun revisiting Midgar and this world, if only I could revisit in full.

I'm one of the biggest fan of FFVII so, naturally, when i heard they were making a sequel, i ran to the store and bought it. DoC is a great game. I enjoyed seeing all those cut scenes about mysterious and gloomy Vincent Valentine, my favorite FFVII character.

I was happy to see a lot of Yuffie Kisaragi too. Since this story takes place three years after the original 1997 game, she has become more reliable and mature. Some people complained about not seeing enough of Cloud and the others. Well, this game is NOT about Cloud or Tifa or Barret. It is Vincent's story. I think Vincent is an excellent choice of main character because of his connexion with Shinra and Hojo.

The music was beautiful and so were the graphics. The in-game movies were amazing, and I loved Steve Blum as Vincent Valentine. His voice is perfect to play this character.

I thought the game was a bit short though. When set on easy, you can finish it within 10 hours or less.

I think this game is worth buying. It is an excellent sequel to Final fantasy VII so ignore the bad comments and get right on it!!

Final Fantasy VII was one of the best selling RPGs of all time. So it's no big surprise that Square has made a couple of prequels and sequels to it. SE's latest, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, is a hybrid third person shooter/RPG. As such, on top of running and gunning, you'll be buying upgrades for your gun and leveling up the game's main character, Vincent.

The game is fun to play, but the levels feel too linear and simple. Furthermore, you won't be pulling off any of the awesome stunts that Vincent did in Advent Children. Your athletics is limited to a double jump and some punching and kicking. The gunning is usually fun, and DoC's weapon customization system makes it even better. Unfortunately, you'll often feel like your in a shooting gallery, because your enemies are so darn stupid. They will sometimes run up to you and just sit there, waiting to be shot. Also, the game is somewhat short; I completed the game in only three days.

Graphics are pretty good; the character models are great, but the environments tend to look a little bland. It's OK, though, because each level looks very different from the last.

DoC's sound is very good, because of great voice acting, crisp sound, and brilliantly composed music.

The storyline is top notch. While I don't want to spoil anything for you, I will say this: This game may make you cry, especially if you cried during "that" one scene in Final Fantasy VII. You'll also see many classic locations, including Shinra Manor and Kalm.

Overall, DoC is a fun game, but if you're looking for the next great Final Fantasy game, this isn't it.