1-up! Part 2

Yesterday I spoke of a computer game that made grown men cry.  What is the name of this game?

Final Fantasy VII.

FF7, dear reader, is a role playing game (RPG). It was the first of its kind I ever played and it changed the way I looked at computer games forever.

This game itself is epic.  It is basically an interactive story that takes 60 - 80 hours to complete, with you as the hero. You play a mercenary for hire named Cloud, an ex. elite solider who is hired by an old childhood friend, Tifa, to help a tiny rebellion group called AVALANCHE in their fight against the massive evil corporation Shinra who are literally draining the planet of its life force to use as a source of energy.

This may not sound like much but this is just the tip of the iceberg, with many a magical battle against man, machine and monster before the end credits roll. Oh, and also the occasional massive twist to boot.  

The reason I hold it in such high regard is this: it is a fantastic story. In fact, it's one of my favourite all time stories of all time.  As UK.Gamespot.com observed back in 1997, 'Never before [has] technology, playability, and narrative combined as well as in Final Fantasy VII. The culmination of Square Soft's monumental effort is a game that will enrich just as it will entertain.'

That fact that you control all the members of your party (up to 9 members, I think), and expend huge amounts of time and effort to help them grow through out the course of the story, you really, really care about them.

So if something bad was to happen to one of them.....you may find yourself reaching for your handkerchief

Why do I keep banging on about computer games?