Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus Review

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(More customer reviews)The unfortunate thing about Dirge of Cerberus is that it has the curse of being in the universe of one of the greatest and most beloved video games of all time:Final Fantasy VII.There's no way Dirge of Cerberus could possibly stack up to Final Fantasy VII.To expect any spinoff to stack up to the original Final Fantasy VII name and legacy is unrealistic.Dirge of Cerberus is pretty different... for Final Fantasy, that is. For your basic shooter, though, it's really not that different from any other shooter.

A group of underground soldiers known as Deepground have plans to revive the dreaded Omega Weapon.In order to do that, however, they need Vincent Valentine.Throughout the game you'll play as Vincent Valentine, getting to the bottom of this mystery.The gold of the story is that it provides quite an interesting look into Vincent's past.There are moments when the story feels a little complicated, but it's still a good experience nonetheless.

Dirge of Cerberus isn't really an RPG.Square refers to it as an "RPG Shooter," but in reality, it's really just a shooter.The game has a rather simple formula for its missions.You'll view a cutscene that introduces you to the level.The cutscene is usually long, and you'll have to wait for it to load first, and then you'll have to wait for it to load after its over.Then you'll go into said level and blast everything and anything that moves.Then at the end of each level you'll fight a boss.Rinse and repeat.Every stage in the game is pretty straightforward.All you need to do is keep shooting at virtually anything that moves.In some missions there are other things you can do, but really, you don't have to do these optional events.They're just there so you can improve your score.The basic goal of just about every mission is to kill stuff.

A lot of these levels feel a little uninspired.Most of them are bland looking with not much of anything for you there.You can't tear apart the environment or anything like that.It's also sad that a lot of areas in some levels look the same.These stages don't really show you a lot of variety in the environment.You'll also find yourself visiting some pretty familiar areas like Midgar.When you visit most of these familiar areas, however, you don't really feel like you're revisiting anything in Final Fantasy VII.Also, you'll mostly find yourself in the sewers or something.It's also really sad that you can't explore more of the world.The game is set in such a linear path that you can't explore your surroundings.

Going through most of these levels isn't always bad.Most of the action isn't all it's cracked up to be.You simply aim and shoot.The game provides a nice targetting system that makes missing most enemies nearly impossible.Even worse for the gameplay, there aren't a whole lot of variety with the enemies themselves.You'll mostly battle soldiers.Though from time to time you'll battle other things such as mechs and dogs.Once you've seen one soldier, though, you've seen them all.They're downed within a couple of shots, and their attack patterns aren't really all that varied.Before long, the enemies will do the same predictable things they always do.The game becomes incredibly easy before it even gets a chance to get hard.When you're near the end of the game, the enemies will still have their same old attack patterns.They never ever change.Bosses can be tough, but the only thing that actually makes the bosses tougher than your normal enemy is that they have more health.

In addition, most levels have little in-game cutscenes of their own.Again, though, you have to wait for the cutscene to load and then wait for it to load when it's over.These moments wouldn't be so bad if they didn't constantly come in the middle of the action.One minute you're shooting up your enemies, the next the game is loading a cutscene that might only last for a minute, and then the next your back in the middle of the action.It isn't that these moments are bad, it's just that they're inserted at inappropriate times.

Using magic also has its own hits and misses.You can equip materia to your weapon and fire off a magic shot.This adds some variety to the stale gameplay, but you'll end up depleting your MP really fast.There's not enough of the magic to go around.Likewise, you'll find items called Limit breakers which will allow you to use Vincent's limit break for a limited amount of time.Using Vincent's limit break provides some more fun to the game.You'll get to rip most of your enemies to shreds, but unfortunately, it only adds more ease to the game.Even bosses become a cakewalk with the limit break.Even though it only lasts for a limited amount of time, you'll still be able to take down a boss using the limit break.

Weapon customizing is a nice addition, however.After each level you have a chance to use the gil you've earned from enemies to upgrade Vincent's weapons.Throughout most of the game you'll be using the Cerberus, though.It's by far the most potent weapon in the game.It's nice to be able to explore and customize a vareity of weapons at least.

Dirge of Cerberus isn't a long game.It may take you less than ten hours to complete it.Upon completing it, though, you unlock an abundance of extra missions and such.The standard game is nothing special, but the extra missions can really keep you busy for a while.They're a lot more fun than the standard missions, and ask a lot more of your skills.

Graphically, it's hard to judge Dirge of Cerberus.Most of the environments are pretty run of the mill for the genre.There's not a lot of vareity or interaction with anything in these levels.Most levels really aren't that impressive looking.On the other hand, the pre-rendered cutscenes are beautiful to look at.These cutscenes themselves look just as good as the movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.Outside of that, however, Dirge of Cerberus doesn't take the PS2 to its full capacity.Most of the music is alright.Nothing great, but good enough nonetheless.The voice acting is pretty standard.Not a lot of emotion, but at some points it goes along with the dark mood of the game rather well.Sometimes the characters not having emotion is what makes the voice acting good at some parts of the game.On the whole, though, it's not fantastic voice acting.

Dirge of Cerberus isn't really a bad game, but outside of it having the Final Fantasy name on it, there's really nothing in this game that sets it apart from other shooters and action/adventure titles.The Final Fantasy name is the only real reason to get this game.It's interesting to learn about Vincent, and to expand upon the Final Fantasy VII universe, but perhaps Final Fantasy should stick strictly to the RPG genre.

The Good
+You get to play as Vincent Valentine
+Vincent's past and story is explained rather well; the overall storyline of the game is pretty well done
+Beautiful pre-rendered cutscenes
+Neat weapons customization
+You get to use Vincent's Limit Break
+Tons of extra missions after the game is completed

The Bad
-Little innovation
-In game graphics are not up to standard for the PS2 or Square-Enix for that matter
-Poor voice acting in many spots
-Environments are bland
-There isn't enough vareity to the enemies, they do the same thing over and over until the end of the game
-The gameplay gets stale... fast
-The stages lack variety and exploration; they're all linear paths
-There's little challenge to the game

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Product Description:
Three years after the events of Final Fantasy VII an unknown group of seemingly unstoppable soldiers appears bringing a swift and bitter end to the peace enjoyed by the people of the world. The members of this enigmatic group are the ones who were trapped under the ruins of Midgar for three long years the Deepground soldiers. Vincent Valentine finds himself pursued by several elite members of the mysterious Deepground organization. An unrelenting chain of events leads Vincent to the truth behind his past and forces him once again to be the key player in a battle for the planet itself and all those living on it.Format: PS2 Genre:NO GENRE Rating:T - Teen UPC:662248906065 Manufacturer No:90606

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