Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel
Broken beyond repair.
Tags: Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel Categories: PS2 Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Ludwig on Mar 21st, 2005
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action RPG | No | ||
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Translating a phenomenally successful and lucrative property such as Fullmetal Alchemist, the anime series that has garnered popularity in both the East and West, into an enjoyable videogame is a potentially challenging task that needs to be handled with utmost care and finesse. If you consider an overweight walrus having a violent seizure whilst simultaneously rolling down a mousetrap-laden mountain at an uncanny speed to be a firm example of care and finesse, then yes, said task has been handled with delicate aplomb. If not, then at least you can take solace in the fact that I have not only warned you of this game’s dubious quality, but also implanted within your mind the image of a walrus that’s rolling down a mountain and having a seizure. It would make a great Spielberg movie.
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Fullmetal Alchemist is a great show. Filled with engaging characters, thoughtful stories and inventive action, it is theoretically the perfect source for a stellar action RPG. Did you see how I used the word “theoretically” there? Unfortunately, Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel is not a stellar RPG. It’s not even remotely good. Clumsily combining pathetic technology and catastrophically bad gameplay, developer Racjin have succeeded in no endeavor other than illuminating this game’s status as a worthless cash-in. It’s painfully obvious that this project was loosely slapped together over a weekend by a bunch of caffeine-enhanced programmers manically mashing their keyboards with stainless steel spatulas. In fact, the suggestion that they were actual programmers is pure speculation on my part.
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Let’s not start off on the wrong foot (of which there are several, all attached to some multi-legged monster). Presented as a lost episode, Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel will, at the very least, intrigue fans of the series by placing their favorite characters, from the impulsively tempered Edward Elric to the flamboyant muscleman Armstrong, in a brand new adventure. Furthered by cutscenes animated by the Bones animation studio, the story retains the show’s subtle sense of humor and interesting dilemmas and manages to do it with the help of an excellent English cast (though English Ed takes a bit of getting used to). Avid watchers of Fullmetal Alchemist will initially be intrigued by the plot but will soon be put off by everything else the game has to mercilessly inflict upon them.
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Alchemy is a big part of the show, so it should come as little surprise to see the main character Edward’s proficient alchemic prowess integrated into the 3rd-person hack ‘n slash gameplay. By holding down the circle button for a sufficient amount of time, Ed can transmute nearby objects into handheld weapons, including spears and swords, or into stationary gun turrets. Now, making use of the environment in such a way may seem like an interesting idea, but after spending a few minutes with the game it becomes clear that there’s not much difference between this and other games which give you the ability to pick up weapons and use turrets that are strewn about the levels. There are a handful of interesting objects you can create, including a large pillar which can be pushed over onto enemies, but in the end, it does little to alter the title’s core gameplay.
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It is a heinously repetitive affair, with waves and waves of enemies running at you, only to be defeated by some mindless button mashing. There is no thought or strategy required at any point and you’ll be able to glide through the game’s plodding environments with nothing but the rhythmic tapping of a singular button. There is some vague semblance of a combo system in place, but since the more exotic moves require precise timing, something that the unresponsive and sloppy controls couldn’t dream of providing you, you’re unlikely to ever make full use of them. Luckily, the opposition’s AI is laughable and won’t put up too much of a fight.
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You’ll have Alphonse, Edward’s armored brother, on your side throughout the adventure and his considerable strength will be under your command. You can order him to take a defensive stance in front of you, tackle nearby opponents or come running to you if he’s currently far away from your position…well, theoretically. And there’s that word again. You see, there’s a gaping hole where Al’s artificial intelligence should be, a deep dark hole where some creature resides that laughs defiantly at you whenever you want Al to provide assistance. Sometimes you’ll call Al over and he just won’t bother pitching up. Other times, you’ll order him to tackle the gigantic crab monster that fills your entire screen…and then he’ll forcefully dash in the completely opposite direction. Really, ordering Al to do something is like yanking the lever of a one-armed bandit and hoping that the random outcome will be in your favor. The only difference is that if you’re lucky enough to win the Al jackpot, all you get is some more time with this atrocity of a game.
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Guess what? The camera sucks too. Whereas many games put considerable effort into providing you with unhelpful angles, the camera in Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel is content with merely being lazy and never doing anything at all. Unless you take charge of its direction, the camera will blissfully position itself behind objects and yawn at the thought of ever making an attempt at revealing the location of enemies. This is infuriating for obvious reasons (getting attacked from off-screen, falling from precariously placed platforms), most of all being the fact that in 2005, inept developers still can’t get such a fundamental part of game design right. Is being able to see where you’re going and what you’re doing such a difficult and alien concept to grasp?
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In terms of graphical splendor, there isn’t much to see here. With poorly detailed textures, woefully constructed character models, generic animations and a cut-and-paste approach to enemy design, the visuals represent an unbridled celebration of mediocrity. There’s also an illustrious after party reserved for the game’s sound, where the forgettable music and the horrid sound effects that seem to have been generated from the inside of a rusty can will be cheered and commemorated with wild abandon. Hooray!
The fact that this game is based on a property as good as Fullmetal Alchemist is virtually the only thing it has going for it and I shudder to think of what might have been should this have been an original title. An integral aspect of the show revolves around the principle of Equivalent Trade in alchemy – in order to gain something, one must present something of equal value. For $40, you’ll get repetitive gameplay, lousy controls, incompetent AI, a lazy camera, mediocre graphics and dreadful sound. Now, does that seem fair to you?
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
| + Storyline and characters remain faithful to the series | 3.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
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- Mindless and repetitive gameplay requires nothing but mastery of the button mash - Pathetic AI yields dumb enemies and an incompetent ally - Sloppy controls makes most combos a pain to perform - Mediocre graphics - Lazy and useless camera - Forgettable music complemented by awful, tinny sound effects |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
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A blatant and catastrophic cash-in that openly mocks good game design. Buy it only if you’re a mentally deranged masochist that’s seen one or two episodes of the show. |
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Tags: Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel
Posted by Ludwig on Mar 21st, 2005 and is filed under PS2 Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
