Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII
Developed and Published by: Square Enix
Genre: Fantasy Action Adventure, Third Person Shooter
Platform: Playstation 2
Cost: $19.99 (now)
Released: August 15, 2006
A part of the “Compilation of Final Fantasy VII” being released by Square Enix, Dirge of Cerberus was released about five months after the movie sequel to the game Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Dirge of Cerberus follows Vincent Valentine, a mysterious character that you encountered in Final Fantasy VII and appeared again in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Dirge of Cerberus reveals much about Vincent’s past as he tries to stop a group of people known as Deepground, who are trying to bring about the end of the world.
Unlike other Final Fantasy games, which are RPGs, Dirge of Cerberus is a third person shooter. The gameplay graphics are not that fantastic, but the cutscene graphics are amazing, reminding one of graphics in the CG film Advent Children. The colors throughout the game seem pretty washed out, but the washed out colors really seem to represent the state of the world after the movie Advent Children. The graphics are realistic, especially when it comes to the world you are playing in. The in-game sounds are helpful with finding your enemies, although 3D sounds would be much better. The soundtrack is reminiscent of Final Fantasy VII, which is just nice and nostalgic for those who have played VII. Gameplay is actually pretty irritating. The camera angles are very poor and most of the time it has to be adjusted by the player. Along with the camera angles, aiming your gun is a pretty big pain, mostly because they are the same controls. Even with a training mode available, the gameplay is not very player friendly.
Of course, I have to compare this game to all other games from the Final Fantasy series. It is an incredibly different type of game compared to the other Final Fantasy games, which were just fantastic RPGs. Dirge of Cerberus has a great plot much like the other Final Fantasy games. The gameplay is nothing like Final Fantasy fans are used to, but it cements the fact that Final Fantasy games all have fantastic stories and interesting, original characters.
Overall, while it tells a great story and sheds light on a character that was once very mysterious and everyone was curious about, Dirge of Cerberus was a bit of a pain to play. It was frustrating to try to aim and keep your camera straight. The beauty of the cutscenes and the story make the painful gameplay almost worth it. I would give this game a six and a half or so out of ten and recommend it to diehard Final Fantasy fans just to help complete the story. If you’re not into Final Fantasy, I would stay away because the frustrating gameplay is just not worth it.
