Game Classification

Avalanche is an unofficial sequel to Final Fantasy VII with a twist on the gameplay mechanics. Instead of an action-focused role-playing game, it has been changed into a brawler beat-em-up while still making use of the RPG elements. The fighting strategies have a complexity similar to the Devil May Cry series and the recent Ninja Gaiden games. Each opponent needs to be approached in a different way with different moves and tactics. Many items and opponents come directly from the original game.

The game picks up after the first game, when Cloud, Barrett and Tifa are heading for a reactor core. During a skirmish, the three are whisked away in a vision by Jenova posing as Aerith. They end up in a hall but Cloud does not recover. While Barrett stays with him, Tifa has to find a cure and find out what has happened.

The game is played from a third-person perspective with a camera that can be freely rotated. Players control Tifa through different environments, accessed from the main hall which functions as a hub. There, Tifa can save the game, forge abilities, stats or items. From the hub Tifa can visit different dungeons which usually consists of separate instances in closed areas. An entire dungeon does not need to be finished at once, but a started instance cannot be interrupted. Most of these need to be revisited after completion to boost the stats further.

Tifa has basic punches and kicks that can be combined into combos. Defeating enemies provides mako, which can be forged into upgraded statistics (health, strength, defence, dexterity and luck), abilities (new moves and combos) and items (weapons and potions). By fighting multiple enemies at once, a charge meter builds up leading to additional damage. Other offensive advantages include potions that slow down time, fire damage, black holes or additional speed. Tifa also has a limited amount of mako charges for the most powerful moves, including healing and other devastating attacks. Another main means of attack comes through swords. Once equipped, they are especially useful in crowded battles for quick combos.

The game is entirely created by a single developer, Rich Whitehouse. Next to the main dungeons, there is also a training area accessed by riding a chocobo and a battle arena with differences stages of enemies. Multiplayer is supported for online games where two players can go head-to-head or play cooperatively. The music consists of Nine Inch Nails tracks and other tracks taken from the album Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream. [source:mobygames]

Distribution : Retail - Commercial
Platform(s) : PC (Windows)

Links

• http://www.mobygames.com/game/avalanche/