Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

There are two ingredients to the action: lots of shooting or up-close combat. While the gunplay itself is uninspiring (especially if you play in first-person view), there are lots of cool ways to customize Vincent’s arsenal. The three main guns, as well as any hidden ones you unlock, have attributes that can be modified with accessories and upgrades. The power, range and speed of each gun can be changed, allowing you to have three very different weapons. Close-quarters combat seems like an afterthought - the wonky camera makes hand-to-hand irritating and confusing. Thankfully, you don’t really need it for the vast majority of the game.

The game’s linear level design is also outmoded. The bland backdrops are technically unimpressive, which is a stark contrast to the beautiful characters and elaborate production values. The levels make you feel like you’re walking through a series of boxes, fighting bad guys in each one. The look of the boxes changes from chapter to chapter and you never really feel like you’re in the world of FFVII until you watch another achingly beautiful cutscene.

Now it might sound like there’s not a lot going on with this game, and if you’re not a fan then that’s absolutely true. Fans will find a lot to love in the cutscenes, story and music - three ingredients you'll eat up with ravenous glee. The pre-rendered scenes are nearly as good as those found in the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children DVD and the in-game scenes are quite good too. These aspects, alongside a stirring and memorable score, appeal to this audience directly, and that’s precisely what you have here: an action game made for RPG players.