Final Fantasy VII Remake + PS4 Sephiroth Dynamic Theme (Exclusive to Amazon.co.uk) (PS4)

First, if you've played the original FF7, this is a genuinely interesting reimagining of that game and story - very familiar, but changed significantly enough that it's a truly fresh game.Favourite threads are still there (I'm not going to spoil it but the cores of things like the pillar mission, airbuster fight, wall market shenanigans are all still there, just brilliantly tweaked) and the heart of the original beats strongly - but more than half of the gameplay is completely new, adding depth to the original in ways I'd never have expected.Underplayed background themes in the original (e.g. the cloaked figures) are much better sold in this version, quick "levels" like the train graveyard are now huge and include a sub plot - and even new (npc) characters are so well done they feel like part of the original family as well as fleshing out the original npcs AND main characters massively.All this, and the knowledge this is only "part 1", so I can only imagine how much extra new stuff there's going to be in the full series means simply calling it a remake is massively under selling what they've done.And if you're new to ff7 - it doesn't matter; if you're familiar with more recent final fantasy games it's similar in style and play to those, but an excellent stand alone: and if you're completely new to FF, this is still a brilliant action game to enjoy, with an excellent story driven plot.Gameplay is simple to pick up and learn, with complex game management that's cleverly built to actually feel easy to get to grips with - materia and weapon systems are fantastic and flexible, letting you feel both in control and able to personalise your gameplay. Voice acting, main character graphics and motion are all lovely - and the backdrops are stunning.However(Of course there's a however)There are more than a few things that I've found insanely irritating - possibly because everything else is so good:A lot of the original game was dialogue boxes. Unfortunately, a lot of this game has replaced those with tedious conversation, where more than a few lengthy chats are composed purely of two or more characters going (literally) "ah.... ummm.....oh!.... ugh....huh....". Most you can speed up by pressing O, but a lot you just have to sit through while cloud mutters and Aerith gasps. You can skip some of these chats and cut scenes entirely, but then end up missing some important cinematic bridges or context conversations that are buried in these one syllable exchanges.There's also this ridiculous new thing they've thrown in roughly every 20 minutes of play where you have to side shuffle down an alleyway, crouch-walk through tunnels or otherwise just sloooooowly totter behind a companion for a few meters. Not as a stealth device, or part of any tension building - just a really weird pointless activity that's been thrown in for seemingly no reason, and actually just slows down the piece to a grinding halt.Side quests vary from good to UNBELIEVABLY dumb (one of them has you tracking back and forth around a town to look at 3 cats who just walk off... sure, why not), but to be fair, some of them are actually designed with a purpose - either to teach you an essential gameplay aspect, or help you get your bearings in an area. It's just weirdly mismatched.There's also the original game's mini puzzles (remember the thrill of the "hit the buttons at the same time" thing in the reactor?) - some are better this time, but some have been added, which fine, but not always easy to get right either because you need a trial run really (the pump valves in the sewers had me swearing so much I think I shocked my cat), or because the character movement on screen actually blocks what you're trying to watch cues for.The bit I'm still not sure if I love or hate though is the fighting; which there's a LOT of.The turn based system is dead, which I have to say I'm really disappointed with given that teasers since the announcement have suggested you can choose to have the turn based "classic" style. Spoiler alert - nope, you can't: instead if you choose "classic", you are gifted this chaotic, smash-fest of a battle technique, that has a nod to action selecting, however it's nearly impossible to be strategic because as you're planning a set up, your party is doing their own thing - so please enjoy the tooth grinding delight of setting up to steal a coveted item or meet a Battle Intel task, to have your pal Tifa take out the fiend you were carefully picking bits of HP off to keep alive. Also the fact you can't use magic or items until your parties action bars are full is utterly ridiculous.However, the chaos of it does make it weirdly appealing- its fast paced and visually brilliant, there is a degree of control you can have if you're nimble with your controller or willing to pay enough attention - problem is while you're attempting a turn based effect, the things you're fighting are just popping off all over the shop - so it's actually just easier to go with the hack and slash/ turn-based-lite style.However however, these pain points, while seriously painful, don't overshadow what is otherwise a wonderful gaming experience overall.For the original FF7 fans, it's a magnificent combination of playing an old favourite and playing a completely new game - for those without the experience of the old game, it's just a great, great PS4 game. Either way, I can't recommend it enough (even with the duff bits!).It might therefore seem harsh to give it 4 stars (I'd give it 4.5 if I could) - but the fact it COULD be perfect without the annoying bits mean I can't give it a full 5.

Final Fantasy VII Remake is the game a lot of fans had been requesting and anticipating for years. As someone who has played the original Final Fantasy VII I was excited to see what they would do for the remake. There is no denying that the original game released 20 years ago would benefit from a huge graphical update but I was also interested in them fleshing out the original plot and characters. For the most part the game delivers everything I wanted except for one huge aspect - the end of the game.For me the game started out great - the characters were likeable, the story followed the original with the odd minor difference here and there, the music was excellent and added a modern spin to the classics, and the action based battle system was fun and involved some strategy to defeat the enemies in front of you. I enjoyed the fact that they had recreated so many enemies, weapons, skills and had added some new interesting ones. The majority of the bosses are fun to fight and most have a 3-tiered approach where they increasingly get harder. There are a few side quests but none of them were particularly memorable in my opinion and they mostly ask you to defeat a certain enemy or find / deliver a certain item. The graphics are mostly brilliant and they have recreated the original areas with great detail and added parts here and there; there is the odd item and location that looks decidedly low-res but it never negatively impacted my enjoyment.I had some minor complaints; I felt there was some unnecessary padding to the plot that didn’t add anything to the overall experience, which was odd because at other times I felt they weren’t ambitious enough, for example, if we are to spend the whole game in Midgar why not explore more of it and see even more slums and locations? Furthermore, to defeat some bosses you seemed to have to follow a dictated strategy and if you didn’t have the right equipment equipped in advance you were severely punished for it. I was also a bit disappointed that the game constantly dictates who you can have in your party and when; there are 4 characters you can control but you are never in a situation where you decide which of the 3 you want to use as the game always decides depending on what chapter you in. Despite the minor gripes, overall I was enjoying the game really well until I got towards the end.The ending chapters (and in particular the last chapter) kind of veered off course for me. We start to see more deviations from the original plot, which in itself is not necessarily a bad thing, however the changes seemed completely out of sync with the original FFVII and the rest of the game I had played up to that point. Due to the huge tone and design shift at times it felt like I was playing a completely different game and story and I kept asking myself “why” - what was so wrong with the original chain of events that necessitated the changes? The ending in particular, without spoiling it, is something that did not appeal to me. I’m not quite sure who the ending is aimed at but I can’t really see it satisfying old fans or new fans and it takes the next installment in a worrying direction, one which I would be very hesitant to buy into after finishing the game.To be clear, the ending does not take away the 30 hours or more I thoroughly enjoyed playing the game, however, those last moments definitely did negatively impact my overall impression of the game. I guess it is one of those games that people will make their own minds whether they are satisfied with the outcome or not. A lot may depend on your expectations from the original.As for New Game + I wasn’t really impressed with the way it was done. You get the opportunity to challenge each chapter in ‘Hard mode’ which essentially means that the enemies are tougher and you can’t use items; not being able to use items seemed unnecessarily punitive to me. You can choose whatever chapter you like and skip between them at will, however, to access any part of the game you have skip through huge sections of dialogue and story as the game will always take you to the start of the chapter - if you just want to challenge that one boss, or level up, you pretty much have to go through the whole chapter to do it. Also, you still can’t decide who you have in your team as it’s decided by which chapter you are in. As a result of this I did get tired of the New Game + quite quickly and it is probably better to approach it as a whole new playthrough.Overall for the most part this is a great game. I enjoyed the time I spent with it but the end of the game soured the experience slightly and my motivation to play New Game + rapidly dwindled as time went on. If you’re looking for a good 30+ hour RPG then this might be worth a shot and if you’re a fan of the original you might want to give it a go but you might be in for some surprises (not all of which you’ll necessarily like). I enjoyed this one but where they go with the next game will determine whether I buy the next!

I very like this game