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Full Metal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir sounds great on paper. Encompassing a mix of anime, RPG, and brawler elements, it's a roundabout package that has all the makings of a kickass game. Unfortunately, design elements that do their best to suck all the fun out of the proceedings pop up so often that the occasionally entertaining sections of the game just don't have a chance to shine like they should.
Edward and Alphonse Elric are two brothers who scarred themselves for life when they tried to bring their mother back from the dead. Ed lost his leg, and Al his entire body, in the disastrous attempt at resurrection. Ed then sacrificed his arm to put Al's soul in a hulking suit of armor until they learn enough alchemy to restore the damage they did. After getting metal (or fullmetal, as they're known in-game), prosthetics for Ed's lost limbs, they now travel the land as State Alchemists, solving the world's problems and searching for a way to make themselves whole again.
FMA2 finds Ed and Al tracking down the source of blood-red stones that enhance alchemy powers far beyond normal limits. Divided up into seven chapters, the story takes our alchemists from desert towns to sewers to ancient ruins, beating down any creatures who get in their way. Though the beating down part can be fun, it's the story that leeches most of the enjoyment out of the game.
A good story can enhance a game, making the action seem like more than just twiddling a controller until its beaten. On the other hand, FMA2 mines every anime cliche in the book. Cut-scenes that seem to have no end featuring unsympathetic characters sinking into schtick that might be funny, maybe, if the gamer has seen the anime, just don't make for a compelling experience. Other story-oriented sins happen when the long unskippable cut-scenes happen right between a save-point and a tricky boss fight. Better yet, the boss fights are graded, so going back for a second attempt will involve waiting around, clicking away dialogue, and wondering why the developers thought their story so important it had to be crammed down the gamer's throat at every opportunity.
The worst part is that, behind the story, is a game that might have been decent. Essentially, it's a straightforward brawler in RPG clothing, complete with melee combos, stats, and experience points. These all tie together well, with experience bonuses awarded for things like successful counterattacks and combo chains. Ed's alchemy allows him to transmute various battlefield objects into weapons and tools, and a higher alchemy stat can net more powerful items that can be used either by Ed directly or assigned to Al. Ed can even transmute weapons from the ground, each with different attack patterns useful in different situations. Add in a block/dodge/counterattack button and the ability to issue limited commands to Al, and we've got some decent brawling action.
It's not flawless action, though. Combos are dialed in, and once the combo animation has started no force on earth will make it stop. This can be especially aggravating due to lack of a lock-on feature, so being off on the aiming by a few degrees means Ed will uselessly combo away while the enemy he just missed looks at him, possibly wondering if maybe Ed's having some kind of seizure. Luckily, the odds of an enemy taking advantage of this are low, seeing as they're all not only dumb as a stump but sometimes just about as active. Wanting to practice the proper timing for counterattacking, which involves tapping the block button just when an enemy swings, I stood there staring at a creature while he stared back for a full 10 seconds, until I got bored and took him out in the usual manner.
Fullmetal Alchemist 2 feels like it needed more time in development. It has many of the elements to be a decent game, but more often than not, trips over its own feet. The fighting engine could use a bit of tweaking, there could stand to be more enemy types, and the story not only can't be skipped when it needs to be, but also rattles on and on and on. These all seem like problems that could have been fairly easily fixed with a bit more time, though what could have been doesn't really matter that much. In the end, what we've actually got is a game that ends up being slightly more trouble than it's worth.
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