My fav one.
With almost myth status, the seventh episode of "Final Fantasy" also invented a new concept: to be a series within a series. The game has expanded and there was a whole line based on its characters and universe, which he named "Compilations of Final Fantasy VII". The project includes an animated computer graphics, "Advent Children" recently launched a mobile game, "Before Crisis", a title for PSP, "Crisis Core" and this "Dirge of Cerberus" for PlayStation 2.
The strongest characteristic of "Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII" is a first-person shooter - FPS in the English acronym - but to a lesser extent, there are also elements of action and combat, such as "Devil May Cry ". Add to that bits of RPG, as the enhancement of the protagonist and the use of items, and here's the recipe from the game.
The central character is Vincent Valentine, a somber-looking shooter, equal to its past. Not bad for one that was just a warrior optional in the original game. Some years after the episodes of "Final Fantasy VII", a group of elite soldiers, the Deepground, want to relive the powerful Omega weapon and destroy the world, but they need Vincent to do so.
Of course, "Dirge of Cerberus" helps complete the puzzle of the chronology of the universe of "Final Fantasy VII, which involves genetic experiments with alien beings, an unscrupulous corporation and those who fight this organization. However, the focus is on the same story of his own character, until now involved in many mysteries.
The game starts promising, bringing videos into beautiful computer graphics, a specialty manufacturer of Square Enix. The quality is very close to "Advent Children", released to DVD, or a visual delight. The problem is that the rest of the game does not match the expectations of the presentation.
As mentioned, the mechanical key is the same as a game of first-person shooter, but here the vision is in third person, with the character being shown on the left side of the screen most of the time. Until there is a typical view of FPS, but like many movements that go back to third as fast jump and displacement, it is impractical to maintain this type of camera. And the same command to turn this vision also triggers the shooting accuracy - it depends whether the gun is with a telescopic sight - then this is a case of bad configuration control.
The command of the sight is not bad, bringing good sensitivity and precision, and is balanced with the forward speed of the character. This was a change that the producer did for Square Enix North American edition and as a result, the character is far more agile and comfortable to control. For those who do not have much intimacy with the genre, there are options for targeting semi-automatic and even automatic.
In addition, Vincent has a number of typical movements of action games and adventure, like double jumps and rapid shifts. Here, the hits "melee", ie hand-to-body, can be made as a string of attacks, but are not very efficient because it is not so easy to hit and at the end of the "combo", the recovery the movement is slow, leaving the player very exposed to attacks. All this is deliberate, because the mechanism is the main shot, but it is still a bit frustrating.
Being a game of "Final Fantasy VII" could not miss the magic. In fact, they function as a common shot, but stronger and affect a much larger area. On the other hand, spend magic points, ie, its use is very limited. There is also a feature called Limit Break, which makes Vincent turn into a monster, making it much stronger and recover your energy doing over time.
The vein RPG is still present in the experience points that improve the character's attributes, like power shots and spells. But the points are counted only at the end of chapters or when you die, and therefore the rise of "level" only happens in those moments. In addition, the player can use items like potions and "phoenix down", which allows resurrect the character when your energy reaches zero. Are all typical items from the world of "Final Fantasy". But as the game pauses for choosing the items, the game becomes much easier. It would be healthy for the game just kept the system to use items in real time, which is done with the directional cross-shaped.
One of the highlights of "Dirge of Cerberus" is the weapon system. Unlike other games, there are many templates, but several pieces for the player to assemble his weapon. First, pick up the body, which can be a pistol, shotgun or machine gun. Then, the options passed on the type of pipe: long, normal or short. In addition, there are more questions, as accessories - Materia crystals, for example, the use of spells - and ammunition. Still, each of these parts can be improved in stores, with the payment of money.
However, the artificial intelligence of enemies, combined with a simple structure of phases, degrades the gaming experience. The location of the opponents is always fixed, as well as their behavior: either they follow a "script" pre-determined or are completely inert, making no more than a few timid steps. The difficulty is not very high, but opponents are capable of attacks that can take a good chunk of your energy bar.
The maps are relatively large, but with simple structures. There are some less obvious places where items are hidden, but are not actually very complicated. With the exception of minor scrolls hidden in crevices - some so very hard to notice - there is much to explore.
Despite the limitations of the intelligence of the opponents, the game play. Most of the fighting is kind of bureaucratic, but there are some good moments. The biggest problem is in the first half of the game, with frequent interruptions to enter non-interactive scenes. They even may be cut, but to return to the game, already has lost the rhythm. And some of those scenes seem out of place or too carried away, getting to last up to ten minutes. Except for hardcore fans of "Final Fantasy VII", this seems an exaggeration.
Fortunately, in the second half of the game, in which there are many interludes, the adventure rolls looser. Amazingly, the best of "Dirge of Cerberus" comes after the end of the main mode. Because, with this, 45 extra missions and appear independent of each other in times of pure action. This feature is unique to the American edition, as compensation for the withdrawal of the online mode. To have a little more variety, there are scenes in which one uses artillery and even stages of stealth, led by the comic Cait Sith.
Each phase has one main goal, but as you go along, there are new missions, more urgent, how to save civilians and defeat certain amount of enemies. All this will be taken into account in the results screen, at the end of the chapter, and the money they receive depends on your performance. You will also be evaluated in various aspects such as the time it took to finish the stage, the amount of used items, enemies defeated, damage received, the precision of her shots and more. To each is given a rank, the maximum is S, as well as a note to the average of the counts.
The camera is another problem of the game. In most situations, it works fine, but just appear places closed to arise some shortcomings. The main thing is when the camera gets too close Vincent's head, covering all the player's vision. The map is a useful resource and you can walk through the phases leaving the letter semitransparent. But it's still too opaque to see something. Better would be if you had an indication in some small corner of the screen.
Visually, there are two distinct moments in "Dirge of Cerberus": the first, the characters are made with lots of detail and true to the traits of Tetsuya Nomura, the "character designer of the series. In non-interactive scenes, traces of the "dolls" are impressive. In general, seem to have been painted by hand, so well-made. Even some hair more complex, such as Lucrecia were very well modeled. Attention is called some female characters, like the unprecedented Rosso, with its beautiful red hair and yarn physical gifts, and a peculiar clothes, but not of its own. The men also maintain the style of the artist, with that much air through metrosexual.
Furthermore, the scenarios are too generic. The producer could have explored more the universe of "Final Fantasy VII," but chose locations without personality, which could be any other game. They are not ugly, but it's all very "square" and clean, with no life. Enemies, impersonal and repetitive, do not help. At least the technical part, there is no problem: the flow of fabric is very smooth, 60 frames per second to be precise, and rarely there is some slowness.
The soundtrack is another area that could have used the legacy of the RPG, which featured masterful compositions. Here, the songs are just right, without getting excited. However, the question the weaker the sound effects: the lack of impact weapons - seem a toy - and the explosions are distorted. Best for the voiceovers, bringing voices and characteristics for each character, but missed most actively in the activities.
"Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII" has improved over the original Japanese, but not enough to become a great game. Fighting to have fun, but in the first half, the player is stopped at any moment to tell the game a little more history. So much so that the title looks better in the second half and the extra missions. Still, no substance to become a game of first-person shooter robust. As for the fans in "Final Fantasy VII" will be a treat a little more fill in the gaps of one of the most mysterious characters in the series.