"Yet another bland Fullmetal Alchemist game"

I am a fan of the anime for Full Metal Alchemist. However, I have found the game rather bland so far. I have played and reviewed both of the PS2 games so far. I finally bought the DS game since it was on sale for real cheap. Sadly, I want that money back.

The game follows the anime rather well. It does leave out a ton of character development so some things aren't as strong as they are in the anime or manga. The basic idea is that Al and Ed are brothers. One is trap in a suit of armor after they tried to use alchemy to bring their mother back to life. Now they search for a gem that can bring them true power. It's a little more in depth as you go along but fans will find the quickness of it all a little annoying and if you want to watch the anime or read the manga, then don't play this first.

The graphics in the game are rather nice. The still photos are sharp. Animations are solid as are the character models. Sadly there are perhaps 5 enemy types and they don't even change colors or anything so it does get a bit tiresome at times.

The game actually offers some voice work sampling from the anime so that really surprised me. I like the English dub so it was fine with me. The music also seems to be taken from the anime as well and owning all 3 soundtracks should show that I enjoy the music. Sound effects are decent but nothing to write home about.

Control in the game is simple. Sometimes you need to use the stylus to hit dots to move something but other wise you just use A and B as your two different attacks and there is a jump button. That's all. Very simple.

The game play in this game is very simple. Run to the right and use your two button combos to defeat the brain dead enemies. They com e from the left and right. Some have guns and early in the game you need to use your alchemy to foil them but later on the alchemy is only used to solve problems and for boss fights.

Puzzles in the game usually work as mini games which are alright and can be played outside of the main game as well. Other puzzles just require a certain alchemy skill to blow up something. It's never challenging.

The only unique thing about this games game play is the alchemy. You can use two different "spells" but can change them on the fly but you need to have alchemy power or something. I don't know but I always had enough so no clue if you can run out.

The game does offer a good amount of extras. Character profiles, extra mode that has 4 new characters to play as. Two difficulty settings. And a number of other things to unlock so fans of the series will find some enjoyment here once the 90 minute game is over.

Full Metal Alchemist is a very average beat'em up. It's nothing special but fans of the anime may enjoy its bonus features and the quick rundown of the story, in case you want to refresh on it. That being said this is a very plain game with nothing special and the combat itself is rather bland as well.

Story - 7/10
Graphics - 8/10
Sound - 10/10
Control - 9/10
Game Play - 4/10
Replay Value - 5/10

Final Score - 5/10

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 04/02/07