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Compelling gameplay97% agree
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115 reviews
Improvements make for a vastly improved game.
We have all heard the pre-release bad reviews of Dirge of Cerberus but I chose too ignore those reviews and try the game for myself, however I was a bit sceptical and did not have high hopes as I fired my PS2 up but I am here too say don't beleive what your hearing the game is good! I'm sure that you have also heard about the changes that were made too the game, they increased Vincents moving speed, pulled the camera back so it's style and game play now resembles more Devil My Cry and the Ratchet & Clank games than Resident Evil 4 and they have givin him a dash move instead of a roll. I can only guess that the previous person too review this game was playing the Japanese version because he say's that Vincent controls sluggishly and the aiming and shooting is difficult, I have had no problems at all, Vincent moves fast and effortlesly and I was gunning people down without much effort right away, And boy does gunning people down look great, Square has spared no expense on the production values, the graphics, both cutsceens and in game are fantastic, just check out Vincent's model, he looks awsome. In the sound department Square pleases again as the game features some excellent music as well when you can hear it anyways over all the huge gun fights. The missions are varied, rescuing people, escorting people, turret guns, sniping, group combat with other soldiers aiding you and huge bosses. Vincent isn't lacking in fire power too takle these situations either as you have tons of gun upgrades, magic and his limit breaks which turns you into a huge hulking beast that can deal out some major hurt. Complaints: sure in close quarters at times the camers does get a bit wonky. Much like Advent Children plot wise I don't really know what the heck is going on and probably my biggest complaint thus far would be that Vincent has some really cool hand too hand combat combo moves but no real chance too use them, much like the saying never bring a knife too a gun fight it's also not a good idea too bring just your fists too one either, maybe later in the game their will be some ninjas I can brawl with. So thus far I would say don't listn too the bad hype, the game is good, go out and buy it. Now all I need is a hack and slash game with Cloud and I can die happy.Read full review...
the gun of Valentine
The RPG giant Square-Enix has released its third spin off of the classic Final Fantasy VII and has pretty much milked the title and its entirety. Square-Enix's newest installment to the Final Fantasy world puts a new spin on things. The genre for Dirge of Cerberus is what developers call a “Gun RPG”. Does Square-Enix deliver with its unique gameplay? Let's find out in the review!
Gameplay (5/5): There are two categories that describe the gameplay mechanism. There are those that hate the game mechanics and there are those that can get by on the game mechanics. Dirge of Cerberus is an action RPG with a definite emphasis on gunplay. Vincent's movements are sluggish and quirky (Think original Tomb Raider). Exploration and movement is all down from a third person perspective. When actual combat comes into play you press a button to pull out your trusty sidearm, once the sidearm is out you go into a view much like Resident Evil 4. At this point it becomes like a Time Crisis game. You are given an aiming scope and direct movement of the aiming scope via analog stick or mouse (Most will be using their standard PS2 controller). Aiming is a little difficult at first but you can tweak the sensitivity in the options menu to get a slower or faster movement. This seems like a decent setup for a “Gun RPG”. However, the system fails to live up to the action the game delivers to you. Think the sluggish aiming and movement of Resident Evil 4 trying to keep up with the action of Halo. The sluggish creeping movement works great in Resident Evil 4's environment. However, when you have the action paced environment of Dirge of Cerberus. The mechanics aren't in the user's favor. The gameplay mechanics are a step in the right direction. However, there is still much improvement to be done on Dirge of Cerberus's gameplay. Players can get adjusted after awhile and be able to get through Dirge of Cerberus but there will always be frustrating moments when the game mechanics just aren't in the user's favor and players must find some way around them. So the choices are; hate the gameplay or find the gameplay tolerable. I would have to say the gameplay is tolerable. This title can still bring you a good time.
Graphics (5/5): Square-Enix, enough said. These guys are the king of CG. Some of the cut-scenes in this game use the same CG animation found in movie Fantasy VII: Advent Children. The in game graphics are very well done and really bring that dark feel to the game. The level design good use a bit of work. Though not much room to complain in this area, the levels can seem a bit bland compared to the beautiful cut-scenes worked on by Square-Enix. Overall the graphics are up there with Final Fantasy X and X-2. Just great well rendered graphics!
Music & Sound (4/5): I was longing for some nostalgic tunes from the Final Fantasy VII days. However, none of that is to be found here. They gave us a few dramatic orchestrated compilations mixed in with guitar riffs. The songs are well done they just don't really stick with you. There are 2 songs done by Japanese music artist Gackt. These songs are well done and I actually enjoyed their incorporation in parts of the game. Sounds are good but not great; normal gun shots, screams, and voice acting, nothing to complain or boast about.
In closing this game is a good game is worth looking into. It's around 12 hours of playing time so it's rather short.Read full review...
Never doubt SquareEnix's potential...
Alright, first things first - this game was underrated by many and I can see why: Fans of the Devil May Cry or as Adam Sessler from X-Play would say, "This is a Devil May Cry gone RETARDED." I'd like to agree on what he said about the game, but the game does have some great qualities; The CGI movies are top-notch and very well-done as usual, the weapon customization is decent, and it is quite fun to play, though a bit too easy throughout. The only downfalls Adam sessler and I found in the game are the limited amount of moves you can do about in game(Sessler mentioned about seeing the cutscenes when Vincent does a super flip and shoots down the helicopter easily without breaking a sweat and saying, "geez, why can't I DO that in the game!"), enemies find you automatically-even when sneaking(Sessler was annoyed that if you're hiding behind a wall and approach a certain distance, "the enemies could see YOU!"), and I'd also say the storyline needs a bit of work as well.
Overall, this game is pretty good but just suffers because it's nothing like Devil May Cry - maybe a poor imitation, but nonetheless awesome, because it's a Final Fantasy VII game. I would have given it a "Below average" if it was another franchise having a character like "Lupin" or something, but it's FFVII, so that makes up for the flaws.Read full review...
Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (Playstation 2)
well its good and its cool.....
well its about this guy vincent valentine that is a superb character / hero and can be easily nominee of best character of the year.
Now it has superb cutscene graphics like resident evil but the gameplay ones are decent It has good gameplay with gun shootin well puzzles and any other combination
Sound is decent too not anything exciting but overall this game is good *** and half is my mark since its close to good and very good but of course they are some nots like the boring repetitive gameplay and graphics that get a bit lame after playing resident evil 4 or kingdom hearts but ITS GOOD BUY IT! ! !
This game is enjoyable than the others and has most effective theme in the game. i like it a lot.Read full review...
Seems like fanfare to me
Before I delve deeper into this game, let's understand what it's all about - Dirge of Cerberus is a shooter made by people who make RPG games. Shooters and RPGs are virtually on two opposite sides of a spectrum, and whenever a company jumps from one side to the other, the result is usually less than desirable. Part of a five- or six-part Final Fantasy VII revival, DoC lives up to my expectations.
I liked Vincent in FFVII and FFVII: Advent Children, so I had hoped this game would be excellent even though I knew it would be in vain. At first, I was impressed with the graphics (same processor as Advent Children), but that wore off quickly. As I progressed through the game, I saw more and more relations to Devil May Cry: Undead/demon uses special abilities and guns to kill monsters, kills his way to the truth, everything broken into missions, graded at end of mission, and EXP usage awarded at end of mission. I don't mind these being here because DMC is another great game, but I also notice a lot of flaws that DMC didn't have. For one, DoC has rather unintuitive controls that go against my logical reasoning, and changing them is an inconvenience. Oftentimes, you will find the camera too close to Vincent, allowing enemies to get in cheap shots because you can't see them. Also, the EXP build-up feature that allows you to save all of your EXP after dying is sort of cheap. Lastly, while I am a big fan of FFVII, I wasn't entirely impressed with this game's inclusion of certain characters and plot, which sometimes left contradictions.
My biggest gripe with this game is its gimmicky feel. Not only was this recreated with other games only available on mobile phones, but this one has a "Secret Mission" only available on Amp'd Mobile for the next three months. When I get a game, I'd like to play the whole game; I don't want to play most of it, then have to buy a phone plan plus any other applicable fees to play the gist of the game.
DoC is not a bad game, it's just not outstanding either. I think I'll stick with DMC.Read full review...
Is this all Square-Enix has to offer?
When I think of Squaresoft, and Square-enix I am normally filled with adoration for this group of people who brought me my absolute all time favorite game Final Fantasy VII. To tell you the truth I actually just bought another copy so I could beat it again. From this point of view I generally find one over-used comments that seem more of a attempt to be cool than anything. This comment is that square-enix is milking this title for all its worth. I seem to remember however them choosing not to remake FFVII, and as far as I can tell, Dirge of Cerberus doesn't really talk about Cloud much at all, this not some dumbass sequel. This game has more plot and depth then most games ever have. This game is not "milked for all its worth," if anything Final Fantasy VII could use some more milking like DC if you ask me.
(Story 5/5) As I said above this game has a lot of depth, it works very well within the original FFVII story. Nothing really seems far fetched at all, the story revisits old towns such as Kalm, and Nibelheim, and stays focused mostly on Midgar, everything from the local beasts to the buildings are taken from the original and enhanced to the point that sometimes you have to take a break to deal with the nostalgia. The story itself is one full of all the usual suspects like romance, suspense, twist & turns, and of course some explosions and acrobatics. And I have to say this game really brings you back into the world of Final Fantasy VII without seeming like a sequel at all, Dirge of Cerberus is a separate entity of its own, it has its own plot and while being fully functional without playing the Original, if you have played it, you will be ecstatic to play this so called "spin-off."
(Game play 2/5) Well when I first wrote this review it was three times to long…I have a lot to say about Game play. To make it short, I rather hated the game play. They made it into a rather sad first person shooter. The environment although looks nice is rather restricting (Can’t jump from floor to floor or onto most of the boxes.) The AI in the game needs way to much work. They cannot be snuck up on and will always know where you are regardless of whether or not you hide. Not to mention with only 5 or so weapons, 15 or so upgrade items, and your standard potions and ethers, the only great thing about the system is the upgrade process. And don’t expect materia to play a major role either. This part really brings this game from Final Fantasy level, to your average FPS game. In other words, a great idea, I loved shooting things with Vincent, but why couldn’t they spend a little bit more time on the system and environment?
(Graphics 5/5) Not much to say on this, can’t beat the opening graphics and the occasional excellent scenes…would have preferred to see a bit better of a transition (Like running down a hall and suddenly you are no longer controlling Vincent instead he is running right into a perfect CG)
(Extras 5/5) There are your usual mini-games, bonus features and other such stuff that are always nice.
(Overall 3/5) Pretty much the story and graphics make up for it a lot, but you know I just couldn’t really get over the fact that Square-enix didn’t seem to spend much time on the game play at all. On a closing note, don’t look to hard into the game play though, it would be a shame if you missed the excellent story or couldn't feel the nostalgia of once again being in the FFVII world.Read full review...
Not Bad
Well I havent written many reviews but I had to about ths game. True FFVII fans may be dissapointed because they wanted a sequel but this isnt it. Its not a RPG by a long shot its a good quality shooter of sorts, when you look at the character Vincent Valentine you dont see a RPG type of character you see a Dante from DMC thats what Square wanted to do with this game and they did it very good. No its not in the same league as DMC its a rung below but its a fun game and deserves better reviews.
Iam not a square fanboy but I do like their games they have alot of quality games and like many publishers they do make some crap titles but this isnt one of them. I didnt find the camera crappy and the controls are tight from doing combos and just handling vincent all around felt great. To the serious diehard fans of FFVII I would say a rent at most but to the Shooter fans it would be a shame to pass this up.Read full review...
This wouldve been great when the PS2 first came out.
I purchased this game, like many other people, because it is about Final Fantasy VII. This game seems to be a few years too late, it would have been an excellent game when the PS2 first arrived. The gameplay is fairly good, there are a few glitches, but nothing major.
One of my biggest problems is the enviroment. I mean, there is a set path, and you cant stray from it, you cant even jump over the railings on stairs, or over certain boxes. There was a tower I climbed, but when I jumped off the top, I went about a foot off the edge, then dropped straight down because there was a small railing in front of it at the ground. Plus it feels like Phantasy Star because there is areas that you have to kill all the enemies to get a card key to open a gate...regardless of where you are, even in the wilderness theres laser bars.
Another problem I had was the weapons. You get like, 3 major kinds, and they are upgraded quickly. The amount of weapons is lacking compared to what there was in FF7.
The enemies are very unintelligent. They dont chase you unless you are running in the path they were originally going to take, and when that happens you cant shoot them because the camera gets all messed up. I just beat extra hard mode, which was added to the english version, and it wasnt actually hard. Normal was like extra easy, hard was like easy, and extra hard is like normal. I have not played the extra hard + yet. The bosses are also really stupid. There was only one boss that was annoying, but that is because she moves really fast and its hard to lock onto her.
My biggest problem, the story. They added a new group of people called deepground. They were Shinra's secret that broke loose. Now, not a bad idea in itself, but, the characters that were part of it were poorly done. It seemed like a ripoff of Metal Gear Solid Subsistance bad guys. Each of the deepground had an ability they used for battle. Again not bad, but the ablilities were stupid. Like one guy is super strong, has a machine gun the size of a house, plus hes insane. But this is my opinion. Though what isnt my opinion, what they messed up. Shinra Mansion, they butchured it. They added rooms, took out a key place, and had a key place in the wrong spot. I mean, the library was so huge you could get lost in, and in FF7 it was small area with a small room. Vincents room was on the right instead of the left. Another thing was this new town they added. It felt like a town that was added just to be destroyed so they wouldnt have to destroy another main town.
Other things about the story would have been the dialogue. It was horrible. And on top of the horrible dialogue was the horrible acting. Granted there were a few that were ok, like Vincent was done ok. But I mean, its like a kid wrote it. Nothing made sense, and when main characters, like Cid, were talking, the words didnt match what they would actually say.
But, I am a Final Fantasy VII hard core fan. I could pick it apart for hours, though I wont. The reason I am giving this a 4/5 instead of a 3 or lower is because regardless if the story is bad, the acting is bad, enviroments lacking, it was still a fun game. Plus there are extras, so after I beat it in 11hrs, I had another mode, and a completely new difficulty level. So there is replay value even if the game is lacking. I believe the sequel could have potential if they fix a few problems, (assuming there is sequwl). Like materia, and story.Read full review...
Not your average Final Fantasy Game
We all know the world of Final Fantasy 7 and this doesn't disappoint when it comes to being the same world we all know and love. The game is set after the game and movie, but changes main characters to one who remaind in the shadows, (quite literally at times). The game style is a third person shooter; you go through the game by completing missions with scenes that cover the story in between. It was an interesting spin to see a third person shooter mixed with some of the elements of an RPG but once you get past that it's quite fun. It is lacking a little story wise to my disappointment and is a very short game, but one you can play many times over.Read full review...
The Final Story in the Final Fantasy VII Franchise.
When this game originally came out back in 2006 i was happy because it was like an epic final farewell to the PS2 Era of gaming, ending it with a game related to the best game of the PSOne Era FFVII the original.
However... this game wasn't an RPG nor was it an Action RPG (At the time Action RPG games were popular) instead this game turned out to be a Japanese Third Person Shooter with Lite RPG Elements... it's new thats for sure but did it Work?
The quick answer, No, but that's Okay, since what matters most as a true FFVII fan is we got to see environments from the original FFVII in Late PS2 quality graphics, which at the time was refreshing and looked amazing at how a PS2 FFVII remake COULD have looked. it's to bad the picked Ol' Vincent Valentines Side Story over the main course.
All in all Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII wasn't a bad game but it was not a good game either. i like to think DoC:FFVII as a "What If" game that could have been, and for that alone it's worth it. but it simply didn't have the Magic that the Original FFVII had.
But hey at least we got to know one of Final Fantasies series as a whole most mysterious character Vincent Valentine better, and if this game did anything, it accomplished in making Vincent Valentine look even cooler than ever before, after this game his popularity spiked big time. the game may have been average at it's best but the story was great.
The Compilation of Final Fantasy VII pretty much ends here when it comes to the Storyline / Plot of the Video games (The true last Video game to the FFVII Series was Crisis Core: FFVII i think) however the ending of this game does leave room for a yet another sequel. perhaps some day maybe.Read full review...