Square-Enix remains hush-hush about their forthcoming Final Fantasy VII-themed action game. This PS2-exclusive title is scheduled for a January 26th release in Japan, with a proposed Quarter 2 US date, information has been sparse, but adequate to tease excitement out of FFVII fans. What HAS been said is that gun-toting, brooding Vincent Valentine is the hero of the game. The basic story is set three years after the conclusion of FFVII. A group called the Deep Ground Soldiers (a division of SOLDIER) searches for Vincent, for so far undeclared reasons. The World Restoration Organization seeks to prevent the cataclysms in FFVII from ever happening again and repair the damage done by Meteor. Many flashbacks are hinted at, with Vincent™s veiled past coming to light over the course of the game. Trailers show a third-person shooter type action game with cinematics that appear to come straight from the also forthcoming Advent Children movie in quality. Hand-to-hand combat and Vincent™s unique Limit Break transformations make their way in, lending a somewhat demonic, [i]Devil May Cry[/i] quality. Vincent™s arsenal appears impressive, with explosive handguns, sniper scopes, automatic weapons, and his signature three-barreled pistol. The effects are Square-standard, which is to say excellent, and appear seamlessly integrated into a live-action hit point system. Think turn-based battles, minus the turn-based part. Expect many old allies from the game to make appearances, along with some new baddies. The official E3 trailer showed Yuffie and Cait Sith playing significant roles. Also shown was a Sephiroth-looking character in a clone tank, something that will have fanboys and bishonen-lovers alike drooling right up until the release.
