Dirge of Cerberus - Final Fantasy VII (PS2) Review
Posted by Shawn Struck on 08.30.2006
Is this latest offering a Valentine to FFVII fans, or is it more like a nastygram? Find out inside.
DIRGE of CERBERUS- Final Fantasy VII - stars Vincent Valentine, the enigmatic bonus character from the original Final Fantasy VII RPG. It takes place about 3 years after the end of FFVII—Vincent Valentine uncovers a secret project of the Shinra Corp of old call Deepground: mutated and twisted super soldiers and beasts that were sealed off and buried below Midgar now making their way to the surface and terrorizing the citizens of neighboring Kalm.
If you're going to plunk down your hard-earned Gil for DIRGE of CERBERUS expecting a traditional RPG game, you're going to be surprised. More than any of the back-story curves and turns, it seems the biggest twist is that it's actually a cross between an over-the-shoulder view action game and first-person shooter, and not an RPG.
While DIRGE of CERBERUS is theoretically playable from the first and third person perspectives, repeated playings have shown that the game is really only manageable if you stick to the first-person view. Vincent's jump, melee attacks, and double-jump moves are rarely useful, and the clunky targeting system is even clunkier if you're not in first-person mode.
So, what Materia combine to make this game a whole? Let’s take a look:
Graphics
The graphical presentation is fairly polished; cinema scenes are shown in both pre-rendered and in-game graphics and do a great job of showing off the character models. The various level environments in the game feel vibrant and alive, and the enemies and explosions are rendered in high-quality; it really looks like the game attempts to stretch the PS2 to its limits. Sadly, there are also plenty of jagged edges during in-game scenes, suggesting that maybe they stretched a little too hard. It’s a shame that the levels as they are get underutilized, as pretty as they are, as we see in the…
Gameplay
The strongest part of DIRGE of CERBERUS is the weapon customization system. The gun selection is pretty sparse (rifle, handgun, machine gun, semi-automatic), but you can customize both the stock, ammo types, rate of fire and so on in a variety of way. There’s a one-touch weapon-swap feature that keeps any cumbersome menu screen management to a bare minimum.
The awkward targeting mechanism makes third-person view nearly unusable—and there is practically no use for the double-jump and melee attacks anyhow. The level designs are very straightforward, which is also a shame—there is plenty of potential in a game that could blend third-person and FPS elements effectively.
There’s also the occasional stealth mission or two (where you get to play as Cait Sith's ), and a few shooter-on-rails levels that have you grab a heavy machine and blow up wave after wave of enemies. While none of these levels are particularly well-done, they aren’t terribly bad either. The only purpose they seem to really serve is to break up the monotony of level-grinding stage after stage of FPS action, and those stages do the job well enough.
Sound
The game features the same voiceover talent from the Final Fantasy: Advent Children movie, along with a few new characters, and the voice part is fairly well done. The music is appropriately energetic and fast-paced, but aside from a few mixes of original Final Fantasy tunes, the music seems to fade in the background.
Lasting Appeal
There is plenty of offered content to entice you to replay the game once you’ve beaten it; you unlock everything from an art gallery and behind the scenes renders to a bevy of bonus modes that become available after you beat the game (including optional side-missions). Another nice touch would be the multiple endings that are available.
Fun Factor
So the US version doesn’t get the multiplayer combat, but instead gets bonus missions. This addition, and several tweaks to the gameplay for the US audience, do serve to make some refinements. Unfortunately, what enthusiasm one has for the game is whittled away whittled away by the limited level design, simple AI and clunky targeting, and then is finished off by the “Poor Pacing” limit break. The tempo is what hurts the meat of the game—action --- more than anything else. The first half of the game lurches from gameplay… to long cut scene… to gameplay… to long cut scene... and back, really gumming up the works and slowing down the tension at points.
The 411
Does DIRGE of CERBERUS make the best use of its potential? No. It’s fun in places, but it never quite gels as either a third-person action title or a first person shooter. It makes entertaining use of familiar places and characters, and expanding on back-story nearly hinted at. But all that potential is buried under clunky cameras, uneven pacing, and targeting issues, leaving you with the sense that it could have been so much more.
Graphics
7.0
Awesome character models, detailed levels and pretty explosions brought down by infamous jagged edges.
Gameplay
6.0
Customization of your gun makes for varied gamplay; no real use for double jumps and limited level design make 3rd person view useless.
Sound
6.0
Great voice acting, perfectly copmpetent music.
Lasting Appeal
7.0
Lots of unlockables after you beat the game: galleries, bonus missions, etc. Multiplayer would've been nice.
Fun Factor
6.0
Poor AI, clunky targeting and uneven pacing make what could have been an awesome game into a
DIRGE of CERBERUS- Final Fantasy VII - stars Vincent Valentine, the enigmatic bonus character from the original Final Fantasy VII RPG. It takes place about 3 years after the end of FFVII—Vincent Valentine uncovers a secret project of the Shinra Corp of old call Deepground: mutated and twisted super soldiers and beasts that were sealed off and buried below Midgar now making their way to the surface and terrorizing the citizens of neighboring Kalm.
