Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus for PlayStation 2 Reviews by Gamers

I love Final Fantasy VII and the fact that a game based in its universe was set to be released got me very excited, until I heard it was going to be a shooting game starring Vincent Valentine, who, although cool, was certainly a very minor party member. Nevertheless, I had to play the game and hope that I could suffer enough through the gameplay to get the story. For a shooter (Not my favorite genre), Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus probably fails, but it at least at times is quite fun while doing so. Square Enix brought the customization of weapons and experience points to the game, making the missions a bit more fun because you know that you can level yourself up, the only problem is that you have to wait until the end of a level in order to collect on your experience points; although this is counteracted by the fact you can choose to take gil (money) instead of experience points. The graphics in the cg cinemas are what you would expect if you have seen Advent Children, simply stated: gorgeous. Unfortunatly, like Advent Children, I feel the story leaves a bit to be desired, but for a shooting game is pretty impressive. The control is probably the weak point of the game as turning a corner can sometimes get frustrating when your not looking the right way after the turn. A moving camera is implemented but could be a lot easier to use. The aiming system gives you the choice of manual, automatic, or a combination of the two and even on automatic, the aiming is a bit spotty until the gun really locks on to the enemy. The thing I liked the most about the game though was the customization of the guns, which allowed you to choose what type of barrel to use, scope to use, a materia slot to use, allowing for a lot of variety to the weaponry. Overall, while a fairly fun game to play, I would definitly rent before buying, especially for FF lovers.