[REVIEW] Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core (PSP) - Another must have game...

To celebrate the 10 years since the original Final Fantasy VII was released on the original Playstation, Square Enix is taking it back with Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core for the Playstation Portable. Crisis Core is actually a sequel to the story of FFVII, but takes place in the same city of Midgar and those locations outside of it. The story in Crisis Core isn't about saving the world however; it's more of an inside job within the influential company of Shinra, and its army SOLDIER.

You play as Zack Fair (who was a friend of Cloud in FFVII), a SOLDIER agent looking to move up in the ranks. Not give away too much of the story, the first mission pits Zack and his mentor Angeal against a group of folks called the Wutai to investigate the disappearance of their fellow SOLDIER agent, Genesis. From there the story gets much more in-depth and dramatic with appearances from old favorites like Sephiroth, Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith. This should keep you motivated to finish the game.

The gameplay of Crisis Core isn't like the role-playing games of old, it's an action RPG where you can run around during a battle, dodging attacks, and casting your attacks. You're confined to one space during the battle, and once you win, you can continue moving forward. You have your basic attack, plus magic spells, items to use, and special attacks that you select by using L and R triggers and pressing X to use it.

Another aspect to the battle system is DMW or Digital Mind Wave. It's like a system similar to a slot machine with six slots - three with numbers and three with character headshots - that randomly spin during battles. If two of the headshots match, you'll automatically go to a separate screen where the slots will keep spinning. If some of the numbers or headshots match, your character or materia will level up or you'll be able to perform a limit break attack. The thing is, you have no control over it. You can't stop the slots; you can't level yourself up on your own, or your material, and you have to depend on the DMW to perform a limit break during a tough and intense battle. Thankfully, it comes through most of the time. The system takes some time getting used to, and later on you'll being to appreciate it.

Graphically, the game looks just as good as any game on PS2 and is one of best looking games on the PSP next to God of War: Chains of Olympus. The CGI is masterfully done, and the in-game animations are up there with any other Final Fantasy game. If there was any downfall with the game, it's that you can't skip through the cut scenes if you've seen them before, which could become a bit tedious, but if you're a PSP owner, this is a must-have title.

Q's Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Gamer 2.0: 9 out of 10

Gaming Age: A-

Check out the trailer here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DOAUhEYI7OA