I'm not a big league fan of the show Fullmetal Alchemist just yet, but it's growing on me. Blame it on the late nights that I end up working and run across an episode on Adult Swim, watching the adventures of Edward and Alphonse Elric as they battle the darker side of alchemy. Last year, I had the chance to check out the Square Enix title based on the anime, and I was left a slight bit unimpressed. Usually, Square floors me with the sheer size of their games, but this felt like a Volkswagen in a parking lot full of Mercedes. I was expecting something more. With the sequel Curse of the Crimson Elixir, which has literally sped to stores after the original, I see that they've worked on the formula and improved upon it, but it still comes up just short. Still, at least anime fans have something a little more worthy to get into.

The game follows Edward, a kid with a large metallic arm and alchemy skills, and Alphonse, a larger kid engulfed in a huge metal suit, as they journey to the land of Lior. This is a desert city that has been overcome by a strange religious cult known as Leto, led by a very questionable leader. It isn't long before the brothers notice something strange about the cult, as its members begin their assault on them moments after they arrive. As the story continues, the Elrics learn that this is just the beginning, as disappearances of people are rising in droves and rogue alchemists may very well be involved. They continue their journey in order to find out the truth and restore order. After all, it's in their nature, since they've been cursed with these powers.

The game unfolds in a style similar to that of the anime show, even throwing in clips of the show and a bonus DVD with a couple of episodes to watch when you're not playing the game. This style is pretty good, but it gets kind of frustrating when you can't just skip past certain sections and have to continuously hit the X button to get ahead.

Once you do get into the actual game, though, you'll find the visual style that much more appealing. Square and Racjin have reworked the graphics so that they're closer to the anime show, with a cel-shaded approach that works pretty well. The animation's pretty solid also, especially with the transformation of innocent objects like barrels and plants that suddenly become groups of explosive mice that scurry towards opponents. The levels look good, but the game has a straight-up nature where you can't really explore that much. It's drawn out like point A to point B, where you take on enemies, move on, and take on more enemies. The repetitive nature won't be for everyone, especially those who are longtime fans of Square Enix games.

The gameplay has some variance that improves upon the first game. You control Edward directly, using all sorts of cool alchemy-fueled attacks like creating a saber on the hand that can cause efficient damage and launching rocks from the ground to both create defensive shields and firing enemies into the distance. As Edward continues on, he can power-up for better attacks through a nice leveling-up system that's easy to use. He'll need it, too, as the enemies grow progressively harder. Edward can also call upon Alphonse to help out, like using him as a catapult to reach higher areas or issuing commands to get assistance during combat. It works okay, but I would've liked to see a cooperative two-player mode put into the game where a second player could kick some ass as the younger Elric.

As for sound, it seems like this area still needs some effort. The music isn't up to the usual Square standards, barely getting by with the atmosphere and not really evoking the kind of brilliance that the anime soundtrack contained. As for sound effects, they're typical. The real thing that shines here is the way that Square's employed the voice actors from the show to match the style of their characters. They really come through, even if the dialogue's a bit on the bland side at times.

Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir seems to feel like a work in progress at times. There are things that work greatly to their benefit over the flawed first game, but you can't help but think that the other issues could be clarified as well. As this series continues (and I'm sure that it will), we'll see it improve, and may be in for a surprise with parts three and four. For now, casual fans should give it a rental and anime fans should immerse themselves into the game and see if it's a comfortable fit. Me? Hey, it could've been worse. And now I really want to watch the show more. I guess that's progress.