 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus
- PlayStation 2
- Price: $49.99
- Genre: Action/Adventure
Common Sense Media says
Repetitive game is for teen or adult fans only.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this action game features lots of gunplay, sci-fi weaponry, and some sword fighting. Players blast humans, monsters, and robots, although there's no blood. Some cut scenes have intense (but gore-less) violence, like point-blank shootings or an implied beheading. A few scenes include smoking, some talk of drinking, and a lot of strong -- but scantily clad -- heroines.
What's it about?
Vincent Valentine, a minor character from Final Fantasy VII, is recruited in FINAL FANTASY VII: DIRGE OF CERBERUS to help the World Regeneration Organization in its war against the mysterious and aggressive Deep Ground soldiers.
As players push Vincent through this war, they learn about his painful past and inner demons. In fact, Vincent can briefly change into a powerful demon to thrash enemies, but he spends most of the game blasting soldiers with pistols, rifles, and machine guns. Players can customize Vincent's guns, buying upgrades and mixing and matching dozens of parts to modify the weapons. The Cerberus of the title is a three-barreled gun (inspired by the mythological three-headed dog).
Is it any good?
Final Fantasy VII, from 1997, is one of the most beloved games in the long-running Final Fantasy series. But only die-hard fans will love this spin-off, a repetitive shooter with too much storytelling. Players guide Vincent through tightly controlled, linear environments, gunning down generic enemy soldiers over and over. The differences between gun components are frequently hard to detect, and players can ignore options like Vincent's hand-to-hand combat and magic abilities and still cruise through missions.
What's more, the action and story elements are awkwardly integrated. A typical mission is book-ended by about 10 minutes of cut scenes, and the action is repeatedly interrupted by storytelling segments (and short loading times). The game's strengths come from the cinematic beauty of many of the cut scenes and the excellent music, which help bring this intriguing world to life.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about game sequels and games that are part of a series. Are you more interested in a game if you like the characters from other games? Can you think of another game you'd like to see made into a series? Movie sequels never seem to be as good as the original; is the same true for games?
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AGE
Pretty decent
Despite all the horrid ratings for this game, I rather enjoyed it.
Play through the game, most of the enemies do remain the same. Mostly you get Deep Ground Soldiers, but there are others that slowly change as you work your way through the levels. The most interesting one I found was in WRO HQ, the large guys with the huge guns. It made me panic a couple of times, making me believe the SUPER big boss was walking down the hell. Shoot at it, no blood, you're A+.
There are a things with tobacco...but Cid has had that thing since 1997. They're not removing it NOW.
The plot was intesting, although the deal with Shelke ticked me off to something bad.
The voice acting is mostly decent, although Rosso's voice is enough to make you think VAMPIRE. Which. She might be....
The language is normally pretty good, although with minor curses. Most of the cursing comes from the mediocere player as tehy try and shoot a large boss silly....and realize....wow. That wasn't so hard!
Overall, it was a pretty good game and does give wonderful insight into Vincent's history.
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AGE
Good FF game. Bad shooter game.
The only good Final Fantasy game other then 7
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AGE
Great Game!
I think this game was great! The fighting did get a little old after a while... The storyline is very interesting, and I didn't mind the long cutscenes at the end of a chapter. The tobacco in this game is mild. I feel that younger kids shouldn't play this. The storyline got confusing, and I thought the game was fairly difficult. I had to restart a lot, starting on the first level.
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AGE
This game is total crap. its repetitive and not worth the money, if your thinking that you want it rent it because you will be disapointed.
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AGE
I found it entertaining.
It was a bit short though. I was dissapointed in the emotional value though seeing as the best part of all the final fantasy games (for me) was the emotion in the end. Nonetheless I liked it.
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| Platforms: | PlayStation 2 |
| Available online? | Not available online |
| Genre: | Action/Adventure |
| Developer: | Square Enix |
| Release date: | September 1, 2006 |
| Price: | $49.99 |
| ESRB rating: | T for Mild Language, Use of Tobacco and/or Use of Alcohol, Violence |
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