Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core – PSP

The PSP has been on a roll in the last six months or so with brilliant games being puped out on a regular basis  for Sony’s littlest Playstation. It’s easy to see why the PSP sits atop the hardware sales week in, week out in  Japan (a little thing called Monster Hunter doesn’t hurt either) and why it’s steadily gaining a bigger install base   in New Zealand. And now it has its killer app, now it has Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core.Anyone remotely familiar with gaming knows the Final Fantasy series and its shining jewel, Final Fantasy VII;  it’s fair enough to say that no review is even needed for fans of the series, this is a must buy based on the name alone. It’s a good thing that Crisis Core is the definitive experience on the PSP and probably the best roleplayerof the last year.Taking one of the minor characters from the legendary game Zack, Crisis Core slightly changes the gameplay   format from a turnbased role player to a more fluid action RPG; the random battles still remain but now they are  completely in real time and require a great deal more concentration.The entire game feels both like homage and a brilliant new chapter to the original with everything from the item  selection music to the limit breaks being both reverential and new at the same time. The standard Square  Enix brilliance at getting the best out of any system is on show again with the cut-scenes being PS3 worthy and  the storyline, although not as epic as normal Final Fantasy’s, are thrilling for fans and newcomers alike.This, dear readers, is why we play video games, a seamless integration of emotionally satisfying story arcs,  beloved characters and a fantastic battle system make Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core the best game on the PSP  (sorry, God of War) and an early runner for game of the year