Vincent Valentine. Who would have ever imagined that this character, completely optional in Final Fantasy VII as a party member, would be getting his own time in the limelight? And yet here we are looking at this mysterious crimson clad character that has been compared to Capcom's Dante from Devil May Cry. While there are similarities to Dante (flowing red cape, demonic power within and gunplay galore), Vincent is a different kind of hero and by no means a cheap Dante knock-off. This quiet, mysterious man who rarely speaks is the perfect fit for a game involving third-person gunplay and a dark storyline set in the Final Fantasy universe.

Vincent's first solo title, Dirge of Cerberus - Final Fantasy VII, will soon be released here in the States, and with that in mind, I have been spending some quality time playing it hands-on to bring you the intricate details behind this role-playing flavored shooter set slightly after the events of both the Juggernaut RPG Final Fantasy VII and the direct-to-DVD CGI film Advent Children.

Prologue

Dirge of Cerberus tells the tale of Vincent Valentine, the mysterious optional character found in Midgar in Final Fantasy VII. While not spoiling too much of the story, Vincent and the WRO and a group of super beings called the Tsviets along with the soldiers of Deepground, are in no-holds-barred war for all the marbles. During the early part of the game Vincent joins forces with the WRO (World Regenesis Organization) and - in the process - starts to unravel his own mysterious past and his connection leading all the way back to events that happened a very long time ago in the Final Fantasy universe. Since we really don't want to ruin the rather intricate backstory, in this preview we're going to focus on the basics of gameplay, and changes that have been made to the U.S. release of the game.

The Tale of the Gun

Dirge of Cerberus is a third-person shooter with some light role-playing. For the most part you're going to spend a lot of time shooting things - from bugs and wild Final Fantasy monsters to hordes of Deepground soldiers and even air combat vehicles that are out to stop your push towards the strongholds of Deepground. The gameplay flows pretty easily in this game, with the only break being magnificently designed CGI scenes and decent voice acting that tells the story. When you're not gunning down the hordes of bad guys you'll be taking on mid-levels bosses -- and as you push forward through each chapter -- you'll ultimately come to an end boss that will challenge your shooting skills and your agility.

The controls are pretty simple. You use the R1 button to aim and when you put the reticular on an enemy it turns red for a slightly auto-aimed, targeted shot. You reload your weapon with R2, use your specially equipped Materia based attack (more on this shortly) by pushing L1 and cycle through your weapons with L2. You can also double jump by tapping the X button twice (you can shoot while you're in the air, which is a pretty neat and helpful feature), crouch with the square button, do a melee attack with the circle button and access your inventory and weapon modification screens with the triangle button. Pressing the R3 button will allow you to use a scope attachment if you have it, or slightly zoom in if you don't and pressing the select button will bring up the map.

Which brings us to the save system in the game (activated by pressing start). Dirge of Cerberus uses two methods to save - autosave checkpoints which are completely out of your control, and a quicksave button that saves your current progress and kicks you to the main menu. I'm still seriously on the fence about the way the game handles saves, but more play time is needed to make a serious judgment on it at this point. The save system does work well enough and as you progress through the game you'll get multiple points to load up from within each chapter.

While there are plenty of Final Fantasy trappings to enjoy in the game, there's no denying that this game is more action than role-playing. There's a fair share of character and weapon growth to partake in (which does have its effect on the overall running-and-gunning). Still the developers have added some items that are useful in keeping you safe and alive. The inventory system limits how many of certain items you can carry - and it's probably a good thing - because the game would be too easy on the average setting. How you utilize your stock of potions and other goodies is very important in Dirge of Cerberus, because you can't afford to be short when the chips are down. To give you an example, you can only carry one Phoenix Down (a rez potion that activates when you die) - but a wiser player will quaff one (which stays active until you actually do die) and put a new one in their inventory. This gives you two chances to rise from the dead and battle on. This is how the entire stock of inventory works best, and by limiting how much you can carry of each it does make players think before the wantonly gulp down potions for damage that only requires a band-aid.

Pumping Up Vs. Cashing In

At the end of each mission players are given a report card of sorts that tallies all of their activities and scores the accordingly. Beyond a main objective in each mission you'll have secondary missions you can do to earn extra experience and even some much needed gil. These side missions include everything from keeping civilians safe or collecting data files to avoiding mines or destroying robot drones. After your initial report, you get a calculation table that tells you how much experience you've earned.

Now here's something that's interesting: you are given the option of putting that experience towards leveling up your basic character stats or exchanging it for a gil reward. The choices players make here can and do affect your progress because if you take the cash you won't level up, but if you level up you won't have the money you'll need to buy upgrades for your guns. Players have to strike a delicate balance between both if they want to succeed, but those options are in your hands regardless.

The Way of the Gun

The most important aspect of the game is gunplay. Vincent's gun, dubbed Cerebus, has the ability to be modified and various points throughout the game, allowing him access to different kinds of weapons. For example, Vincent can change the barrel of the gun to create a rifle, or a sawed off shotgun when used with the right firing mechanism. To mix things up there's several different combinations you can use to create a simple pistol, a rifle, a machine gun or a shotgun. But how you put these different configurations is up to you.