One of very few great anime-based games.
User Rating: 8.6 | Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir PS2
I heard from a friend that the first game sucked really bad. Then i heard there was a sequel. I didn't reall pay attention to it. But then my friend showed me seom trailers when I was over his house. The trailer showed off amazing gameplay, a interesting story, and good graphics and sound. So i decided to rent it. Story: The basic story without spoilers is that there are these dark beings called Golems from the ancient civilization of Lebis, appearing and causing havoc. A man named Jack Crowley is somehow linked to it. The sotry starts it's roots from some episodes of the anime. Good story but the ending seemed rushed. All the anime's humor, drama, and action are here. Graphics: The graphics have been changed to cel-shaded. Personally for all anime-based games this is the way to go. There is no way to show an anime character without cel-shading. Just can't happen. Loved the graphics. It just brought the characters to life. The bad thing is that the anime cutscenes could have been more plentiful. Only about 30 minutes. More would have been better. The special effects are nice. Overall good. 7/10 Gameplay: Gameplay is the most important aspect of a game. The game is based on a hack and slash system. Similar to that of Kingdom Hearts. But its more varied. Normally you can punch and kick using your normal, well almost normal limbs. Or the fun part is transmuting weapons. Such as a sword, lance/spear, or a hammer. The environments around the characters are all active. A metal gate can somehow be transmuted into a huge bowling ball which you hit to make it roll around and hit other enemies. The game does have RPG roots to it. You level up as you beat enemies. As you level you can distribute Bonus Points for stats. Also at certain levels your alchemic abilities improve. Such as being able to produce more stonespikes. The A.I. of Alphonse, your brother has been improved. You can call him over to help you jump higher fight and whatnot. If you leave him alone he'll survive. Accessories are there to affect his behavior. No point really. But the gameplay is great. The only replay value i can think of is to transmute everything over again. 9/10 Sound: The voice actors come back and record every line in the game. Which does bring the text cutscenes more to life. The opening them Ready Steady Go is here which does improve over the first game's musical choice. I don't focus much on sound so decent. 8/10 Value: Not much replay value considering it's length. But the alchemy is the only reason to play it over again. Or you forgot how the story goes and want to see it again. Rent Or Buy: Fan of FMA buy. If not rent. Though I am a big fan of FMA i would rent. It's length is wprth only a weekend rental. 
