Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

To understand Dirge of Cerberus, one needs to understand the approach of the creators behind the title. Final Fantasy as a series has always tread a thin line, that is to appeal to the casual gamer and still provide innovations that will stimulate the Hardcore RPG niche. In that they've found incredible success and a highly marketable title. What we have here is a bit of a divergence into the shooter genre, as with previous attempt at milking the FF franchise via spin-offs this game is highly playable, but far from perfect.

So as I stated in the first line, you must understand Square-Enix's approach. Who is the demographic for this product? Obviously FF7 fans, but also the casual gamer. Therefore they decided to make this in a way that would not alienate those RPG fans who may not have the coordination or EXP with FPS. This leaves it a bit of a lackluster Shooter for FPS fans, and potentially the casual gamer as well. Yet it also helps ease in those wandering into new territories.

Gameplay 6/10

As already established the creators goals with this project hindered the overall quality of the product. However it wasn't completely mangled, in fact it's quite good for what it is. A simple straight forward shooter. As with any FPS you navigate through rather linear landscapes, popping caps into fools. The enemy AI is rather pathetic, most enemies choosing a spot to stand and unloading ammo at a rate seemingly unconcerned with supply. Thus they're easily picked off with even minimal precision. The main game tends to lack challenge, again trying to keep the uncoordinated RPG addicts happy, however Extra Missions and an Ex Hard mode are included to compensate, however these are only unlocked after beating the normal and/or hard mode. The Save system is a bit convoluted, and lacking flexibility. I could see it seeming unforgiving to some, and too forgiving to others. I personally felt it worked great, but wish there were more options or customization in how to save. It will only keep track of your most recent pass through a check point within the level, so this means only one save per checkpoint and a save at every checkpoint. Completely unnecessary if you ask me

You have three slots for fully customizable firearms. The weapon customization system, an element carried over from the RPG genre from which this game stems, is one of the highlights of the game. SE doing what they do best. The firearms are assembled from various optional and non-optional parts, Frame, Barrel, Scope, Accessory, and of course a slot for Yuffie's drug of choice, and our favorite little jewel of condensed Mako energy, Materia. Now, I for one was disappointed with the Materia, it doesn't level up, you only get 3 elements, and you can only equip one, seems tacked on just as a small tie in. Then again much of this game seems thrown together just to justify the title. Magic serves as a nice special attack, but I found myself only using it when required, and even then usual opting for melee. They also tacked on Limit Breaks, but I found those much more useful as it refills your life and boosts your attack and defense while in Galian Beast Form.

Graphics 4/10

I've been awed by a lot of graphics these days, a far cry from the dot that eats other dots I grew up with (I'm not that old, but the rate technology advances, can make anyone feel like a relic, from some ancient forgotten analog world). I wasn't awed by these, they're good, and it's obviously up to SE's high standards, especially the cutscenes, which are gorgeous. With the graphical quality being above par, you may ask why the low rating?

Tetsuya Nomura. Don't get me wrong, I like the guys work, especially the work from the early part of his career. I wasn't quite sold on his character designs for FFX, seemed a bit too hip, and geared toward a younger audience. Then there was the atrocious work displayed in Kingdom Hearts, in which these new characters would feel right at home. Now Kingdom Hearts includes among its demographic very young children, however this game doesn't, or perhaps shouldn't in my opinion. FF7 was released, 13 years ago, we're adults now (or reasonably so), not to say there aren't devoté among the younger generations. The game focuses on one of the darkest most serious characters in FF7, and we get baddies that look like they could be chumming it up with Goofy and Donald. It just doesn't fit, not with the game, not with the story, and certainly not with the classic tale told over 3 discs. I'll try to withhold my disdain for where SE has taken FF7 (or FF in general) as of recent, so I'll mention it now and drop it. All I'm saying, the character designs are awful and fail to fit in, feeling out of place, which can lose the believability required of any narrative media, especially in the realms of Fantasy.

Story 6/10

Most tout this as the sole justification for the games existence, if such were the case I would weep for the state of the Gaming Culture. Not that it's bad, it's rather straight forward, protagonist goes through some seemingly significant self discovery and overcomes the obstacles put before him. A formula millenia old, nothing wrong with that, it works. It's nice to see innovation in story telling, but certainly not required. I was somewhat disappointed with the characterization of Vincent, as a character of some degree of complexity, he seems oversimplified here.

Where things really shine is not in the story itself, but the presentation. I really ain't concerned with graphics, definition, resolution, framerate, ect, but what I've truly come to appreciate about 3D games, is the ability to present things in a way completely unimaginable back in the 2D age. The use of lighting, spacial placement, and other compositional elements to create mood or evoke feeling. Well tread territory in film, is now being integrated and incorporated into gaming. This game is a great example of how elements of cinematography can be employed to great effect in gaming. It also displays a potential that film could not, you can do a lot more with animation, things you could never pull of with traditional film. It's a shame that the great presentation has to carry the weight of a mediocre story and constantly combat the poor character designs to retain it's believability.

Sound 6/10

Unremarkable. So I'll follow up with a few remarks, another disappointment, I was never really enamoured by FF7's score like so many others, I acknowledge Uematsu's skill, just not overwhelmed with it. I assumed going into this I would get much of the same, skillful yet forgettable background tunes, with an occasional highlight (remember "One-Winged Angel"?). However Uematsu is nowhere to be found, I guess he left Square some time ago, shows how little I pay attention. Anyhow, it seems he was replaced here by one Hamauzu Masashi. Well, Hamauzu is no Uematsu. His music is without feeling, and the approach here is far to Rock oriented for an FF title or a proper score. He seems to take a back seat and let the visuals do most of the talking, I guess in a way that's part of his job, but even background music should complement the narrative rather than simply exist for it's own sake. It seems like he really didn't care much for this project (I don't really blame him for that, but show some work ethic), as his other scores, are scores better. From what I've heard at least.

Oh, yeah and the game has some sound effects too (not to discredit the hard work of the many FX engineers).

Overall 6/10

It seems all I've been doing is gripping about this game. A bit unfair I'll admit, it's a good game. Kept me entertained through it's short duration and offered me enough incentive to invest time in the New Game+ feature and some of the Extra Missions. I think it just tried to market itself to too broad a demographic and ended up failing to deliver to any singular demographic. Trying to please everyone, often doesn't please anyone.