Review: Full Metal Alchemist and the Broken Angel
For those in the know Full Metal Alchemist is a highly popular anime that is shown late nights on Adult Swim. I am a fan of this anime and when the game came out I ignored all of the reviews and press about the game and bought it, now we are about to find out if I feel my purchase was well made.
Story:
Al and Ed Elrich are young Alchemists. One day their mother dies of an illness and leaves the boys orphaned and alone in the world. So the 2 boys work hard to become better alchemists so they can bring their mom back to life. When they feel that they are prepared enough to perform this human transmutation they do so, with horrifying results, Al looses his body and Ed looses his leg, and as a last ditch effort to save Al's soul Ed Sacrifices his arm to attach Al's soul to a nearby suit of armor. Now they search for an item called the Philosophers Stone to restore their bodies to normal.
Graphics:
Graphically the game has a unique look, and there is new anime cut scenes not taken from the series which is something that is not often seen in all in a licensed game. Over all though Full Metal Alchemist has a muddy look that I feel could have been a lot better making the graphics only acceptable. I don't like how enemies can disappear after wandering a certain distance away, and there seems to be fog almost everywhere, which usually means that the developers are trying to cover up graphical glitches. Behold a foggy city; behold the foggy Rail Depot, and the foggy Canyon etc, etc, etc... it seems to be everywhere.
Music:
The Music is original, but can get annoying, not to mention it cuts off half way in-between loading screens. But what bugs me a bit is that there is not any music from the series, not even the intro to help tie the two in a bit more, and what is more they were able to get the voice actors to do the cut scenes but they didn't bother to get them to do the voice over for the still scenes. Despite that the music is ok while the sound is excellent and is dead on with the sound in the anime series.
Control:
Control is easy to pick up and play and is responsive for the most part, though I found that there is a one second delay in the time you press the jump button and the time your characters actually jumps, but this is the only real detractor from how the game controls and doesn't affect you too much seeing as you don't jump too much.
Game play:
Full Metal Alchemist plays like Final Fight but with more flash and flair. What sets this game apart form that title is that you can use alchemy to modify your surroundings to help you in battle or use it in a tag team maneuver with your brother that can level every enemy in the local area in a spectacular fashion. You play as Ed in Full Metal Alchemist and Al is supposed to be there to support you and to back you up in a pinch, but Al's AI is moronic and serves to turn him into a character whose only purpose is to attack every once in a while becoming an mobile wall, it would have been nice to let a friend play as the armored wonder, and lay the smack down as a nasty alchemy tandem.
Design:
The game is designed well but in the end feels all too linear. Go from point a to point b while taking out all of the baddies along the way with out the choice of what path you want to take, you cant use those crates over there to climb over the building, to let you go to an area you aren't supposed to be in yet. What makes the game much more enjoyable is the Boss fights which force you to use your noggin to win the fight, and are fully enjoyable worth trying the game out all on their own.
While not the best game on the block Full Metal Alchemist and the Broken Angel is far from the worst, Fans of the Anime will like this game, others should try before you buy, still the ground work is laid for what could be a good series of games for the Full Metal Alchemist fans out there if a few changes are made to improve the mix.
Full Metal Alchemist and the Broken Angel:
Pros:
Ok Graphics
Great Boss Fights
Fresh Anime Cut Scenes
Cons:
Linear game play
Al's AI is dumb
No multiplayer
Felt a little rushed to me