| |  | From: Square Enix
Category: Video Games
List Price: £29.99
Buy New: £17.99
You Save: £12.00 (40%)
New (14) Used (4) from £13.73
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 326
Platform: Sony Psp
Rating: To Be Announced
Media: Video Game
Operating System: Sony PSP
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7 x 3.9 x 0.6
MPN: FFVIIPSP
EAN: 5060121822771
ASIN: B001AM83EW
Release Date: June 20, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-8 of 8 | | « PREV | | |
 Swing and a miss July 27, 2008
4 out of 15 found this review helpful
Crisis Core acts as a prequel to Final Fantasy VII and focuses rather disjointedly on the events before Cloud joins AVALANCHE and the original game which shook the late 90s begins. If you've not yet given it a go but consider yourself a moderate fan of FFVII, then you'll probably have a few questions. Does FFVII:CC weave a narrative worthy of merging into the oncoming plot traffic of its predecessor? Does it whisk you back a decade in time and fill you with warm, nostalgic memories of a time spent staggering between glorious pre-rendered works of art and whirling random encounter transitions? Are some of the darker elements of the plot handled with a degree of mystery and subtlety? The short answer to all of these questions is a faintly dejected `not really'.
Advent Children hardly set the stage for reassurance. Whilst the visuals and action were bang on form; the pacing was sloppy, the introduction to the final encounter was about as epic as a cucumber sandwich and for some reason Square lovingly topped the whole experience off with the kind of whimsical 'feel good' ending usually confined to daytime movies about mischievous runaway moppets.
The trend of outstanding CG effects remains strong and character models and overall animation in the glorious array of FMV sequences rival anything showcased in the aforementioned movie spin-off. The musical score as we've come to expect from anything made by Square fluctuates between varying levels of greatness. The voice acting however... well, let's just say three out of four isn't bad.
It's not that there's much particularly wrong with the English dubbing besides the odd awkwardly delivered line tripping over the clumsy dialogue like it's an obese cat sleeping in a doorway, the issue is that there's not much right with it either. To make matters even more distressing, we've been outright denied the opportunity to switch to Japanese audio with subtitles.
The combat system is very much your straightforward hack and slash picnic, Press X to hit target with sword until said target collapses in a heap, and Press Square to perform a roll-stroke-dodge combination which can be used to cavort out of danger (or often into it, should you get a bit carried away). You can also scroll through a selection of spells and skills which you've either found on your escapades or created using Materia Fusion. It all seems perfectly acceptable until the fetid abomination which is Crisis Core's limit break system rears its ugly head, anyway.
The DMW (that's `Dull Meter Watching' for those in the know) System does away with all that overrated nonsense everyone keeps banging on about, baloney like fast paced combat, strategy, customisation and fun and instead replaces them with a much more desirable spinning wheel.
If the battle designers of Crisis Core are to be believed then not only is the brutal crucifixion of strategy in games long overdue, but also slot machines are apparently a vastly superior form of entertainment far beyond our human comprehension. The best approach is to just go along with it. Struggle against the flow of the DMW and you'll have gnawed the corners off your PSP sooner than you can say "modulating phase", though it's difficult not getting a little deflated/annoyed/homicidal when it happens on the very last badly injured enemy.
Nonsensical happenings crop up now and then leaving you scratching your head or twisting it in a lupine manner trying to work out what on earth just happened. On one occasion, Zack had to save a village due to be bombed, from being bombed twenty seconds sooner by what I can only assume was a secret invisible rocket-launcher located in another dimension. To save the day, our dashing hero strikes the rockets with his sword, forcing them to rather smoothly split in two as if they were forged from Danish pastry. The entire scene makes absolutely no sense and worst of all forces you to partake in hideous `QuickTime' events a la shenmue. These silly attempts to crowbar in needless gameplay elements with no thought for context breaks flow and calls into question just what in Gaia possessed the designers to implement such sloppy game elements in the first place.
Overall, Crisis Core is saved by its gorgeous visuals and stunning FMV sequences but underneath all that you can't escape the sinking feeling that you're plodding through a shallow and often befuddling stab at an action RPG.
The Good
- Impressive FMV sequences
- Masses of quick side-missions which can easily be picked up when on the go
The Bad
-The tiresome DMW System ends up slowing down gameplay the point of agony
-Clunky dialogue and voice acting
-Fragmented story Frisbees immersion straight out of the window
-Side-missions suffer from `Quantity over Quality'
-Many scenes are lacking in the dark atmosphere which made the original stand out from the RPG crowd of the 90s
-Some real odd moments of nonsensical happenings
 Genesis June 30, 2008
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
Final fantasy VII was and a land mark game and any one who played it will never forget the strong emotional story. Crisis Core acts as prequel focusing on a Zack, a character that was relativly minor in the original game only appearing in brief flashbacks and occassional referances by other characters. Zack is a likable easy going guy in many ways the opposite to Cloud, but through the game grows up from a 'puppy' into a well rounded mature character. The story starts with the disapperance of Genesis, a solidier first class, and friend to Sephiroth and Angeal (Zacks mentor). The major story revolves around these three.
The game itself is nothing short of impressive, with obiviously high production values. the graphics and FMVs are arguably the best seen on the psp to date. The combat is easy to pick up, use the shoulder buttons to cycle through the materia and x to select, square to dodge and triangle to block. The main game is however very linear and can be completed relatively quickly. Missions are used to add some variety, they can be accessed via save points, these are set around a few maps with a boss at the end. The early missions are really easy but become nightmarishly hard as more are completed. Missions are in effect the grinding system of the game where the best materia, items and accessories are found.
Apart from the linear progression in the story mode there is nothing I can fault, it is a joy from start to finish (and has a New Game+ with all collected materia, items and accessories in tact). The DMV controls leveling, limits, bonuses seems out of place at first, but is easy to get to grips with after a while.
Best game on PSP June 26, 2008
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is undoubtedly the best game on the PSP, especially so if you played and made the connection with the original FFVII. The story is brilliant, giving a lot of extra back story behind Zack Fair, Cloud's first real friend in Shinra and add's a lot more depth to the ever-enigmatic character of Sepiroth. The graphics, for the PSP, are incredible; easily the best looking game i've seen on the system. In all honesty, at some moments you look at the scenery around you and it is truly breathtaking - i've seen worse looking 360 games.
The combat system, though, is very different from the original game, and takes a bit of getting used to - but only a little but. the learning curve is fairly gentle and the combat and customisation is so intuitive that you can be as involved or as removed as you like and still do quite well.
This game is really a must have for any FFVII fan - great story, great graphics, intuitive combat and brilliant customisation; in other words, exactly what you'd expect from a Final Fantasy game.
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