Witness the truth behind Vincent's tragic past as the story unfolds through Square Enix's world-renowned cinematics.

In a nutshell:
Revisit the world of Final Fantasy VII three years on from the end of the original classic game. Take control of the mysterious ex-Turk Vincent Valentine in this wholly original third person action adventure.

The lowdown:
Part of the ???Compilation of Final Fantasy VII???, that already includes Advent Children and a mobile game, this is the first official follow-up to the series??? most popular entry on a home console. You may have heard though, that it didn???t go down so well when it was released in Japan earlier in the year. To Square Enix???s credit though the game???s being given a thorough revamp for its Western release so that it???s faster and much easier to control, with a lot more combos and aerial moves and a slicker first person view. The game was originally intended to be a role-playing version of Half-Life, so hopefully the new Western version will properly realise this goal.

Most exciting moment:
Shoot ???em-ups like this are unpopular in Japan so just seeing a developer of Square Enix???s standing attempting a game like this is exciting. It even includes an option to use a mouse and keyboard as a controller, just like a PC shooter (although the Japanese game???s online mode is being removed).

Since you ask:
Apparently Square Enix see Final Fantasy VII (and XIII) as twenty year long projects so even after the Crisis Core game on PSP this may not be the last time you see Cloud Strife and co. in action.

The bottom line:
One of Final Fantasy VII???s most obscure characters stars in the most unlikely spin-off ever.
HARRISON DENT

the story is set just one year after the events of Advent Children, which is interesting to follow. The CG scenes are amazing, its like watching a movie sometimes. Unlike Crisis Core, the story doesn't relate very much to the original Final Fantasy VII, but it gives us a new theme to concentrate on. Added a lot of new storyline into the characters which may not be as important in the original game..so they did a good job with that.

I remember when this game was originally released and it got pretty negative reviews.This didn't matter to me as it was part of the Final Fantasy franchise and I would have bought it anyway.What I found when I finally got round to playing it was a tough game with tricky contols but ultimately a game that I enjoyed.

The star of the show is Vincent Valentine from Final Fantasy VII and it is based one year after the events of Final Fantasy VII Advent Children.It isn't like a typical FF game but that doesn't mean that it strays too far from the feel of those classics,the feeling is always there that you are still in that world.For me the graphics are generally excellent and although there are some very long cut scenes there is still the chance to get down to some serious gaming.It isn't easy but it is addictive.

There are some pleasant surprises along the way with quite a few 'special guests' making an appearance.I think that this is an underrated game and it is well worth investing in.

Dirge of Cerberus is by far and away the worst entry into the final fantasy cannon, let alone the FF7 series. The game is a incredibly lacklustre shooter that would just have been ignored if it wasn't for the words 'Final Fantasy' in the title. The gameplay itself is poor, enemy ai is incredibly basic and it is a incredibly easy game to beat, you don't even have to change your gun much. Its a short game too, it can be beaten in 8-10 hours (if you watch the numerous cutscences). Even though the gameplay is poor the storys good right? Well short answer no. Final fantasy games are known for having epic involving stories, the same can't be said for this game. It follows Vincent Valentine, a secret charachter in the original. You find out a little about his past and deal with a new threat to the recovering planet. All in all its pretty dull. The graphics are varied, on the main characters they're pretty good and detailed same can't be said fo the enviroments which are very very bland. The best idea in the game is the gun modification which is pretty fun, changing the barrel on a gun will affect its range for instance, and all parts can be upgraded, however it completely makes leveling up a bit pointless. There is not much point getting this game as its pretty poor, though if you are a massive final fantasy fan and are a completist it might be worth a rent.

It's no secret that Square Enix don't make shooters. These type of games tend to sell like week-old sushi in Japan (I guess they aren't as blood thirsty as the west!) so Square Enix do what they do best - the weird and fantastical. This is Square's first attempt at a third person shooter, and while it's not bad, it's far from perfect and probably won't attract the type of person who plays gun porn-fests like 'Black'. With Dirge of Cerberus, as with other games in the Final Fantasy canon, it's the story that's most important, and here this game excels. The main protagonist - Vincent Valentine - was nothing more than a bit-part player in FFVII and initially it seems strange to base a game around him rather than one of the major characters like Cloud or Tifa. However, his importance in the FFVII world is wonderfully realised and you will plough through this game, regardless of its shortcomings, just to know what happens to Vincent. So what's wrong with this game? The main issue I have is the fact that it is simply too easy. There are always enough health up items to prevent any of the battles being difficult. The CGI scenes are gorgeous, and wouldn't look of place in Advent Children, although I must confess to finding some of the scenes done by the in-game engine a little over-long and tedious. Infact, some of these scenes go on for nearly ten minutes, and interesting as the story is, sometimes you just want to get on with things. Enemy AI is a bit disappointing too. They have one attack stratergy and these are predictible and generally easy to beat. These things do take some of the fun out of the game, and probably mean that the re-playability is low. All in all, this is an essential purchase for fans of FFVII, essentially because of the storyline. For fans of third person shooters, you'd probably find more of a challenge elsewhere.

Well.. last time i played a bit of FF 7 was in 1999 and i hate shooters - so what made me buy the game???

1. AC movie
Having recently seen FF Advent Children i went online in search of further information about the characters. Vincent was definitely the one i wanted to find out more about. He has little screen presence in the film but he captures attention. Now that i know more about him I am really pleased that Enix made a whole game for him. His story needed to be told and the game does it well.

About the game:

So i bought it.... As i said before i don't like "shoot them up" games but this one is good. To be honest the other reason i bought it was so i could watch cut scenes and FMVs (btw you can check them on Youtube to see how beautiful they are).

1. Camera
This is one of those games where you have to control what characters sees by moving the camera. I must agree with others that in terms of controls it's awkward. Actually i think this will drive you bonkers!!!! If you don't constantly move the camera you will be fighting enemies which you can't see. I found fighting Shelke really frustrating because she is very fast and by the time i get to turn Vince around she already dealt a lot of damage by attacking from the back.

3. Shooting mode
This one is another frustrating feature. Yet again you have to move the camera to lock on the target and then shoot. Damn..! A lot of hard work. I found close combat more effective then shooting.

4. Enemies
Some are harder then others but i guess seasoned gamers will find them all easy.

5. Weapons
The game uses weapon upgrade option which i found quite good. I would recommend to change experience into Gils so you can upgrade your arms.

2. Game play
I like that the game is quite short because i suffer from short attention span. Btw there are about 20+ extra missions which you get to play after you beat the game once.

3. Music
I actually really enjoyed soundtrack to the game. Its not intrusive and most importantly - not creepy. Unlike Resident Evil and Silent hill games where music is plain scary (in my case it gave me a nervous disposition) the game's music is really calm and doesn't make you jump. The only one i didn't like was the credits song - Redemption.

4. Cut scenes and FMVs
Some people complained that there are too many cut scenes. I found it to be true only in the beginning where its necessary to explain the story. Actually i really enjoyed the combination of game and films more then just plain shooting for 40 min.

FMVs - are totally amazing. AC style with great definition and detail.

5. Saving
The game automatically saves your progress after completion of a mission or before a major boss fight. It also records all previous missions and allows you to start from an earlier one if you wish. If you kill Vince before completing the mission then you get to keep the points which are used for upgrading or shopping. I think this is really cool. I had to fight Shelke about 20 times during which i went up 4 levels. he he

5. Walkthrough and help
I prefer to play games with a walkthrough at hand simply because i want to collect all hidden and special items. I would recommend using one because you need to collect memory capsules and trust me you won't find any of them without help.

Conclusion:

Even though there are clearly better designed shooters out there, i found that there are very few games that actually make you feel sad for the character. Yes, Vincent's story is pretty sad :( I guess a lot of FF and DoC fans see this game as a way of closure for Vincent. I think Enix has done a good job of developing his character without overcomplicating the game.

I give it 5 stars for not being long and hard, good story line , nice cut scenes and beautiful FMV.