Game #2: Fullmetal Alchemist 2 Curse Of The Crimson Elixir

Kirrah hasn't reviewed this one yet. Just me! <3

Once, when I was little, I tried to give my dead hampster mouth to mouth. Sadly, it didn't work, and now Shelly is buried in my backyard. But that's the day I learned that dead things need to STAY dead. Sadly, certain people in Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir didn't know that.

 

Our game lets us peep in on Edward and Alphonse Elric, two vagabound brothers on a life-altering journey. They wanna find this shiny thing called the Philosopher's Stone so they can fix their mess-up. See, when they were kids, Ed and Al's mom passed away. Sadly, they didn't learn my hampster lesson, and they tried to bring their mom back to life. However, they had an epic fail, and now Ed is short an arm and leg. Al is short a whole body. His soul is merely attached to a suit of armor thanks to Ed's quick thinking.

But anyways, the brothers quest takes them to the desert city of Lior. Rumors of a priest creating miracles caught Ed's eye, and he wants to check into it. However, he feels less than welcome when a group of churchgoers threaten to kill him. "So is the will of Leto!" they shout, and all Ed does is roll his eyes.

 

So anyways, Ed and Al fight people, meet this chick named Rose, and stagger off to the priest's temple. The man's name? Cornello. It's obvious: he's using alchemy (that thing that Ed and Al used to bring Mommy back to life but failed). Ed thinks that he's got the Philosohper's Stone. So they go storming in and, eventually, confront Father Cornello. Course, he won't go down without a fight, and the Elrics are happy to oblige. Boom. Bam. Smack. Father Cornello is down for the count! Ed and Al sadly discover that the stone Cornello had been using was an imitation of the Philosopher's Stone. Aww man. But anyways, as Ed and Al are about to leave, they hear a shriek. They turn around just in time to see Cornello get sucked underground by these big bulky black arms. Al stares in wonder, Ed swears, and a green lady hisses at them before melting away. Err...

 

Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir has a good storyline, but gameplay lacks. While I, on one hand, swoon at Edward's dashing good looks, the game doesn't have much in the way of graphics. Conversations are held with pictures to show the characters expressions, and mouths are never opened. Only from time to time is there an actual animated cutscene. And sadly, even then, the lip-synch is off. The character's eyes hardly ever blink, and alchemic transmutations just aren't as flashy as they used to be. *Insert emo sigh*

 

The list of pros is pretty wide as well. Edward's character pictures are just as sexy as ever, and voice actors are the same. Yes folks, that means that Aaron Dismuke is still voicing Alphonse. And Vic Mignogna is still voicing Edward. Fighting techniques are incredibly cool, and fighting styles are completely original. You could be playing for hours, push a couple buttons, and suddenly Ed is doing a backflip. Hey, did anyone know he could bend that way??

 

You aren't stuck fighting alone, however, and this is a good thing. Being a soul-bound body of armor has it's advantages. On your command, Al can unleash a string of highly powerful attacks. He may even tackle the offender! How to do this? Simply press the L1 button, and Ed will shout "Give it to 'em!". Al will respond with an "OK," and the butt kicking will commence. Better news! Even if you don't tell Al to "Give it to 'em," Al will fight on his own. Stuck fighting alone? No problem! Holding the L1 button will make Ed shout "Over here, Al!", and Al will respond with "Coming!". He'll return to your side immedietly. When he gets close to you, however, let go of the L1 button. If you don't, Al will give Ed and "alleyoop" into the air. And trust me, that takes awhile to recover from.

 

There are two ways to save your skin in tense battles: you can transmute some weapons, or use your Rage Attack.

 

Transmuting weapons can only happen if you have a starting material. For example, if Ed is near a pile of steel, transmute it into a cannon. It can prove to be most effective. Also, at any point in time, Ed can have Al maneuver the cannon, or Ed can do it on his own. There are plenty of other big weapons to blow people up with, spanning from exploding mice to cows with pens. Yes, you head me. Cows with pens.

 

Rage Attacks are a bit more complicated. Rage Attacks can only occur when Ed's had emo'ed enough and filled up the Rage Meter. When he has, a snake and cross symbol will appear. Have Al "alleyoop" you and press the attack button in midair. If you did it correctly, Ed will shout "Here we come!" and make things explode. If not...well...no explosion. Sorry. Sadly, there's a catch: the Rage Meter will drop to 0 if Al gets KO'ed. Not only do you have to cross the line of fire to wake him up, but Ed is no longer emo. No emo, no explosion. *Sad sigh*

 

All in all, what lacks in graphics makes up for in action. The story is original, the characters are easy to get attached to, and the attacks are thrilling. Those who have watched the TV series before playing the game will understand Ed and Al a bit more than first-timers. But that doesn't mean you'll get confused. There are hardly any non-touched upon references, thus making a good gaming enviorment for freshmen. So yeah. Lots of action. Oh, and have I mentioned that Ed is sexy??

 

KODA'S RATING:

 

GRAPHICS: 710

 

ORIGINALITY: 910

 

GAMEPLAY: 810

 

OVERALL: 810

Author's Note

Reviews

[Autumn Alvira]

dude you tried to reserect you hamster with CPR?!?!?!?!!?

[Keevan]

Awwww!!! Now I want to play the game!!!!!!