It's been some time since I've purchased Dirge Of Cerberus. Honestly, I ordered it right on the day it was released over here. Being a Final Fantasy VII fan, I wouldn't waste this chance to see the story unfold.
Unfortunately, it seems the game was a bit rushed, and that can be seen right on the level designs, as well as some gameplay mechanics. To start off, level designs could've been better is Square-Enix just put their soul into it (like just any other Final Fantasy game) and reach the level of design they usual have. Also, the idea of a third-person/first-person shooter with RPG elements is quite a nice add-up. Melee combat was also a nice touch, but it's rather useless once compared to the arsenal of guns you'd be carrying, unless you first stun them with melee and then shoot away. Also, the usage of the double jump is almost non-existant. You will rarely (or almost not) need it. Still, the game is quite easy if you get used to the controls. The add-on of the extra missions (unlockable by hitting certain objects along the chapters) are nice, but not too entertaining and frustrating, for it puts you surronded by a large number of enemies with the lowest level possible for you to clear it. Another nice 'replacement' was the Easy mode for the Extra-Hard, which is proving to still be much more of a challenge, making the player resort to first-person mode to snipe off most enemies from a distance. Also, the AI lacks substance, practically just shooting at you when you show up and not try to take cover from your in-coming fire, you know typical 'I'm here so shoot me' stuff. Overall, it's nice but far from being perfect.
Character models are well done with the exception of the sub-characters such as enemies, allies and monster are so bad that it makes want not to see them.. Cait Sith still looks funny tho. Fortunately, the FMV cut-scenes are Advent-Children quality, which means they're at their best as they have always been. And the voice acting is decent, although it would be nice if we could hear the original Japanese voice acting (which is, most of the times, much better than the English ones), so don't worry about having to skip the scenes just to avoid hearing the characters talking. Anyways, just to sum up, if you're a Final Fantasy VII fan and want to know how the story unfolds, while enjoying a decent gameplay with awesome FMVs but still having to put up with the bad level design, boring AI and bad enemy design, go ahead, because there's still much more to know about how the story ends.
Let's just hope Crisis Core for the PSP doesn't get the same bad qualities Dirge Of Cerberus got. Oh and just for the record, Dirge Of Cerberus has a secret ending for those who manage to get some items along the game, which sadly, I still haven't due to my lazyness. ;x