Crisis Core definitely lives up to the hype. But there is both good and bad points of this FF7 prequel
On to the game play. This game blends both turnbased and real time RPG fight sequences together. It takes roughly one second to execute an action but you can run and dodge in real time. This is especially important in hard mode when you need to read the enemies down to their movements, unless you want them to unleash a one-hit kill attack on you. As in FF7, you can use regular attacks, spells along with special command attacks. There is much more variety of materia than in the original FF7 but you can only equip up to six at one time which made it feel limited, but it is sufficient when specializing in either all magic, all defence or all offence.
The rest of the gameplay requires you to run around maps (which are surprisingly well designed) to complete the story quests or to look for items. A big part of FF7CC is the missions. These bite-sized quests allow you to complete them for materia or items, and can be done in roughly 5-10 minutes, which is perfect for a bus ride or break in between classes. Unfortunately, the missions get repetitive relatively quickly and the only thing that pushes you to complete them is the rewards that you get for completing the later missions. In addition, FF7CC comes with a hard mode which makes it even more challenging than you might like it. Hard mode really only affects the missions and leaves the story mode untouched, which makes it embarrassingly easy.
Another frustration is the inconsistency of leveling up your materia and Zack.. FF7CC introduces a Digital Mind Wave (DMW) system which is sort of like a slot machine within another slot machine. First, the reels roll to see if they match up different characters (which unleashes a Limit Break) and then a second reel rolls out numbers 1-7. If it comes out to all sevens, Zack levels up one level, and if two numbers come out the same, materia corresponding to that number slot will level up. However, in hard mode, DMW slots NEVER line up, which makes it excessively frustrating to level up your materia or Zack's stats.
WIth those points aside, it is important to point out that the presentation of the story and the soundtrack are both superb. Cut scenes look like they were ripped from Advent Children, and the music includes themes from the original score as well as updated versions that correspond well to the mood of the game.
All in all, this is a great game but takes practice especially if you are looking to tackle the Hard Mode difficulty. Enjoy!