Those who played FF7 most likely remember Vincent Valentine, the former Shinra goon, who was altered into a coffin dwelling Frankenstein-esque thing by Professor Hojo, who did so that he'd be out of the picture as far as Lucrecia was considered. He is tragic. He is brooding. He is, naturally, still handsome. And now he has his own PS2 game which should show to all of you what persistence can earn you in this world.
The game is called the Dirge of Cerberus, a reference to the three headed dog that guards the entrance to Hades, and no doubt has a sign above him reading "Do Not Feed the Hellbeast." The game itself takes place three years after the events of Final Fantasy Seven and starts off with a paramilitary group, who up until this point, have been trapped under the ruins of Midgar. Since the destruction of the city, they pop up and begin to raise havoc. They are known as the Deepground Soldiers and they are the main opponent Vincent will be facing in the game.
The trailer shows that at least one other character from the previous release of FF7, Yuffie, makes an appearance as she is seen in the ruins of Midgar in charge of some kind of relief operation. The trailer gives little details as to what the fuss is about, but as Vincent makes a reference to "the others", we can only assume that many or all of the FF7 characters will make an appearance. The Japanese intro is a bit more informative as it shows Cait Sith and Cid there, but the details are still scanty anyway you look at it.
What is certain, though, is that Dirge of Cerberus has gotten the facelift we are all hoping for with Final Fantasy Seven . The computer generated images are utilizing the character designs and the voices from Final Fantasy Seven: Advent Children . The in game character designs are a fry cry from the block handed and bug eyed characters that we grew to like, love, hate, or barely tolerate in the original game.
It would be more accurate to classify the game as a shoot 'em up instead of an RPG. Although it does go into Vincent's back story, talking about who he is and where he came from, and following up with a helping of personal growth, the game is by and large all about Vincent running around and shooting things up. Do we mind this? Ehhhh..not really, no. There are a couple of other modes that feature Cait Sith and the Highwind 2 in some way, but if you don't like the sound of gunfire you might want to look elsewhere.
You can check out the game's website here at http://www.dirgeofcerberus.net/ and there will be a more in depth review of the game right here at Mygamer
so stay tuned to this site as well. Come on, it'll be fun!
Nick McCavitt at nmccavitt@mygamer.com