FINAL FANTASY VII: DIRGE OF CEREBUS
Square Enix, PS2, $49.99
Put away that 20-sided die and warm up your twitch reflexes, because the latest Final Fantasy offering from Square Enix isn’t an RPG (gasp!) In what some would consider blasphemy, the venerable role-playing game series is taking a severe departure from its roots, presenting the sequel to the best-selling FFVII as a first-person shooter. However, this is a Final Fantasy game so there are several standout features separating Dirge from your average Doom clone. Foremost is an awesome storyline following one of the lesser-known (but more badass) FFVII heroes, Vincent Valentine, as he takes on the mysterious Deepground organization that’s threatening the city of Midgar. As far as weaponry, everything from long-range sniper rifles to demon-transformation powers is available to you and all are customizable to help keep the baddies pushing up daisies. You can also choose between third- and first-person perspectives and actually switch between the two on the fly. For some battles, the FPS mode is all but necessary; others require the wide-area view of a third-person camera. While this style of gameplay may be considered ineloquent by the Half-Life crowd, Dirge pulls it off with surprising ease and very little frustration. By blurring the lines between several genres, Dirge of Cerebus ends up a fast-paced, action-packed gaming experience that just may be good enough to have the RPG-faithful giving up their weekly Magic: The Gathering soirees. Chris Zimmerman
www.square-enix.com

Love: Turning into a flame-spewing demon, crushing enemies
Hate: Extra-long cut scenes
Final Word: Lucky seven!