Review By: dapsycho | Posted: 07/11/2006
Final Word:
In the end, Vincent Valentine proves that quiet emotionless bad asses are cool, as long as you don’t have to spend a lot of time with one.
Graphics
Here, at least, the game knows what’s it’s doing. The cutscenes are incredible in this game, beyond anything that’s come out so far. If you’ve seen Advent Children, you’ll be seeing almost the same quality graphics here (if you haven’t seen Advent Children, go do so). Even outside of the cutscenes, the graphics are nice, with detailed textures, fluid movement, and tons of character animations.
Music and Voice
The music works, keeps the blood flowing, but when it comes down to it, it’s just your standard high energy pap. Disappointing from a series which is famous for its music. Japanese pop star Gackt is the big name associated with this project, and he’s definitely a big name, but his theme song is uninspiring and uninteresting.
On the plus side, the voice acting isn’t bad at all, I’d even say it’s good, especially considering some of the lines the actors have to pull off. And special mention goes to Yuffie, whose voice fits perfectly with the character.
Level Design
The choice of locations is good. Each stage is different enough from the last that you don’t get bored running around similar locations. Even so, the levels themselves get old after a while and are far more linear than they needed to be. Add to this the fact that there aren’t any puzzles, and you’ll be desperately wanting a new stage at the end of each level. You’ll visit a lot of locations from FF7, but none of them look familiar, having been changed beyond easy recognition. This removes some of the potential fan service that seems to be the point of the game.
Another disappointment is the lack of environmental interaction. There are only two things besides enemies you can affect with your guns. Supply boxes, and explosive barrels. Everything else, from windows and bottles of wine to wooden barrels and cardboard boxes, are indestructible. C’mon, SquareEnix. You could break almost everything in Metal Gear Solid 2, and that was five years ago. Or are things just built really solidly ever since Meteor Fall?
Replay Value
The game has a good amount of replay value, with hidden items to find, several difficulty modes, and the ability to carry over your weapons into one of these modes.
Finally, there’s the extra missions, which pretty much save this game from getting a really low score. Seriously, these are the best thing that Dirge of Cerberus has to offer. It’s worth beating the game just to get to these. Basically, they put Vincent in different locations and give him objectives, like kill 100 soldiers, or make it through the level in five minutes. A lot of work went into the extra missions. Enemies not in the main game make appearances here, and the levels are unique, too. Granted, some of them can be highly frustrating (stupid missile melee) but the majority are highly entertaining.
Why buy?
The main reason to buy this game is if you’re a fan of Final Fantasy 7. This game caters directly to fans. If you’re not, then it’s a lot harder to justify the fifty dollar price tag. If you’re looking for an action game, go try Devil May Cry 3. If you’re looking for an RPG, try out the original Final Fantasy 7. If you’re looking for both, go play Kingdom Hearts. If you’re looking for a shooter, Halo is always available to you. Dirge of Cerberus has elements of all these games, yet ultimately fails to deliver a perfect experience in any of the categories. Does that mean it’s a bad game? No, but it left me very unsatisfied.
Here, at least, the game knows what’s it’s doing. The cutscenes are incredible in this game, beyond anything that’s come out so far. If you’ve seen Advent Children, you’ll be seeing almost the same quality graphics here (if you haven’t seen Advent Children, go do so). Even outside of the cutscenes, the graphics are nice, with detailed textures, fluid movement, and tons of character animations.
The music works, keeps the blood flowing, but when it comes down to it, it’s just your standard high energy pap. Disappointing from a series which is famous for its music. Japanese pop star Gackt is the big name associated with this project, and he’s definitely a big name, but his theme song is uninspiring and uninteresting.
On the plus side, the voice acting isn’t bad at all, I’d even say it’s good, especially considering some of the lines the actors have to pull off. And special mention goes to Yuffie, whose voice fits perfectly with the character.
Level Design
The choice of locations is good. Each stage is different enough from the last that you don’t get bored running around similar locations. Even so, the levels themselves get old after a while and are far more linear than they needed to be. Add to this the fact that there aren’t any puzzles, and you’ll be desperately wanting a new stage at the end of each level. You’ll visit a lot of locations from FF7, but none of them look familiar, having been changed beyond easy recognition. This removes some of the potential fan service that seems to be the point of the game.
Another disappointment is the lack of environmental interaction. There are only two things besides enemies you can affect with your guns. Supply boxes, and explosive barrels. Everything else, from windows and bottles of wine to wooden barrels and cardboard boxes, are indestructible. C’mon, SquareEnix. You could break almost everything in Metal Gear Solid 2, and that was five years ago. Or are things just built really solidly ever since Meteor Fall?
Replay Value
The game has a good amount of replay value, with hidden items to find, several difficulty modes, and the ability to carry over your weapons into one of these modes.
Finally, there’s the extra missions, which pretty much save this game from getting a really low score. Seriously, these are the best thing that Dirge of Cerberus has to offer. It’s worth beating the game just to get to these. Basically, they put Vincent in different locations and give him objectives, like kill 100 soldiers, or make it through the level in five minutes. A lot of work went into the extra missions. Enemies not in the main game make appearances here, and the levels are unique, too. Granted, some of them can be highly frustrating (stupid missile melee) but the majority are highly entertaining.
The main reason to buy this game is if you’re a fan of Final Fantasy 7. This game caters directly to fans. If you’re not, then it’s a lot harder to justify the fifty dollar price tag. If you’re looking for an action game, go try Devil May Cry 3. If you’re looking for an RPG, try out the original Final Fantasy 7. If you’re looking for both, go play Kingdom Hearts. If you’re looking for a shooter, Halo is always available to you. Dirge of Cerberus has elements of all these games, yet ultimately fails to deliver a perfect experience in any of the categories. Does that mean it’s a bad game? No, but it left me very unsatisfied.
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