Zack is a young Soldier 2nd class who aspires to become a 1st. He spends his days carrying out assignments under the guidance of his 1st Class mentor, Angeal. During an operation in Wutai, a large number of Soldier members, led by 1st Class operative Genesis, go missing. The severity of the situation prompts Shinra executives to deploy even more Soldier operatives in hopes of bringing an end to the war with Wutai - and conducting an investigation into the mass desertion. Zack, Angeal, and the 1st class hero Sephiroth are assigned to the mission. What truths lie behind Genesis's disappearance? What secrets bind the three Soldier 1st Class operatives? For Zack, a cruel and fateful struggle awaits...

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is set seven years prior to the events of the first Final Fantasy VII game, the Shinra Company is rapidly increasing its influence through its monopoly on mako energy and military might. With the burgeoning city of Midgar as its base and symbol of prosperity, Shinra is on the verge of establishing absolute dominance over the world. Soldier is a group of skilled combat operatives within Shinra. The elite within the group - those strong enough to be deemed Soldier 1st Class - are respected and idolized by the citizenry.

The game takes fans on an exciting journey through the origin of the internationally acclaimed Final Fantasy VII saga in an all-new action-packed experience. Developed exclusively for the PSP system, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII marks the return of the celebrated game world that mesmerised many millions of gamers around the globe. With inspiring visuals, full 16:9 widescreen presentation and an engaging battle system, fans and newcomers alike can experience the world of Final Fantasy VII from an all-new perspective. It features a new story that revolves around Zack, a soul who had already returned to the Lifestream before the events of Final Fantasy VII. Players will discover the secrets behind Shinra and the company's efforts to line its pockets at the expense of the planet.

The battle system in this game is very similar to the one established in Final Fantasy XII - where you can move your character around in real time whilst giving them commands, which they then execute. There is a command bar in the bottom right hand corner of the screen which contains the attack and item commands as well as other optional commands including magic and abilities. In order to get these optional commands you have to equip materia.

Materia in Crisis Core is a lot different from materia in previous Final Fantasy games because of the fact that each spell starts with a different stat parameter. Materia fusion allows you to increase these parameters and also to make new materia altogether. The way that the materia fusion works is by fusing two pieces of materia together to create a completely new materia or to give higher parameters to already existing materia. There are also items that can be used in the materia fusion to give more of an affect to the fusion.

The limit break system is replaced with the new Digital Mind Wave (DMW) system. This enhances the action-packed real-time battle system, allowing players to unleash special attacks or call upon iconic Final Fantasy summons. Tbe DMW consists of 3 reels, 6 characters and the numbers 1-7. In each reel there are 6 characters and a number next to that reel which changes between 1-7. When the two characters on the outer reels match, you enter a full screen slot machine where the middle reel is spinning. If this matches the other two characters, when it stops, you enter a special move where you get either a special advantage for your character (such as all critical hits or invincibility for a certain amount of time) or you can do damage to one or more opponents. You can sometimes get summons or special characters, which you have collected from in the story or side missions, which can also be helpful in battle.

Most seasoned gamers should easily complete the game in about 15 hours if they skip the sub-quests. There are 10 different sub-quest stories with several different stages in each. This roughly translates into around 300 side missions. After completing a sub-quest you get a reward and the harder the quest the bigger the reward. The level of difficulty of each quest is clearly marked, so that you can chose which ones to tackle first. There are plenty of cut scenes that help heighten the structural story to the game.

Final Fantasy fans will love this game which sheds new light on familiar events.

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Carl Simpson