An excellent experience for old time fans
I was one of many to play the original Final Fantasy VII when it was first released on the PlayStation. I felt that that experience was one of my best in my gaming history and I always wished that I could get a new extension to the story. This wish comes true in Crisis Core.
I've always been more of a game play man than anything else and the action here is solid to say the least. You follow your character from a 3rd person perspective, behind them and enemies cannot be seen from this view (in most cases). The battle system is interesting if nothing else. It combines a fun action game, where you run up to your enemies on the battle field and slash them to pieces, and a fairly random stat system. The "DMW" is the brains behind the statistics that control how much damage you deal and take. The DMW appears in the corner of the screen, spinning like a slot machine. When 3 pictures or numbers line up, something happens. If it is a character portrait, your character will automatically perform a special attack against the enemy, normally causing high amounts of damage. Numbers however, will give you stat boosts depending on which number it lands on.
The story is one of the better found on the PSP. The story is engrossing and will answer several questions that old FF7 fans have wanted answered. You play the role of Zack, a highly energetic character who is referred to as a puppy by another character due to his personality. Along the way you will meet several characters that you will remember from the original game as well as some new ones. The story is easy to follow and doesn't require any knowledge from FF7 with the exception of the world itself.
Overall I think this game is an excellent package and will be remembered by old and new fans alike.
