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Reviews Written By: A1FSA8N076WXEC

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	Full Metal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixer
	"Not Bad for a Fan..."	2007-08-14
I agree with the rest of the reviews that grant this game a 4 star rating. I thought it was fun, even when I played through it a second time. I could listen to the voice actors for this series all day long, and even Chris Sabat seemed well-adjusted to his part. (He does a good Armstrong, but that's only because the over-the-top and outlandish voice he normally performs actually fits the character for once) I was extremely happy that they'd returned for the game. Fans of the series will enjoy at least one run-through. The characters are kept fairly true to the originals. Even Ed's line, "It's hotter than a couple of Chimeras mating in a boiler room" seemed right on par with his character. Riza remained stoic and slightly trigger happy and Roy was once again given all the cool, if poorly timed, entrances. Armstrong was, well... Armstrong... and Hughes was, as always, the doting father. The only character complaint I had was how often Alphonse called Ed "Ed" instead of "brother". I realize the Japanese way of addressing ones siblings is different than other cultures, so you could argue they should've changed it to match the culture when they dubbed it into English. However, I missed "brother" coming from Al's voice and it was strange that even though they kept it mostly true to the translation in the series, they would change such a detail for the game. The parts of this game I absolutely loved had a lot to do with the cut scenes. The animation was smooth and definitely cleaner looking, but the character design didn't deviate like some newer OVA's/video games do. There was plenty of humor to go along with the story, once again a nice touch for those who like consistency like I do. Though the plot was a little weak, but tolerable, I found that the original characters didn't take away from the pre-existing ones. An earlier review called Crowley, "Sephiroth's long lost twin brother", but as a female fan of FFVII, I had NO problems with that. The other main point I loved was getting the option to add Mustang, Hawkeye or Armstrong to your party for a short sequence. I did all three just to see how it went and all of them had their own distinctive differences. There was a small area where you could transmute a bulldozer which could actually hurt your enemies as well as your party members. Running over Roy a few times was more fun than it should have been... but you can't tell me Ed wouldn't have done the same thing. =) In fact, one of my complaints about the game was that you could only control Ed. I hope in possible future installments, they would add at least Alphonse as a controllable character. Despite how much I liked it, however, I have some complaints. Number one on my list has to be the music. FMA received more than one award for its musical score and it deserved every one of them. From the series to the movie, the music is incredible. It's easily one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard. The game doesn't come CLOSE. I had my hopes up when the opening began playing "Ready Steady Go", but it only went down hill from there. Honestly, the score sounds like it was composed in someone's basement with a cheap keyboard in about an hour. The themes repeat so often, I was beginning to wonder if they'd only written four or five songs for the entire game. It was very cheesy... and very disappointing for a series that set the bar so high. For such an abrasive, annoying soundtrack in a game, I would normally just turn the sound down and listen to my own, but the voice actors, for the most part, made leaving the volume up worth the torture. Another problem I had was on the technical side. The automatic targeting system was flawed and I often found myself punching thin air while my adversary beat me mercilessly from behind. The bad guys, particularly the bosses, seemed to be allowed many more combos too, making a couple of the boss fights exponentially harder than others. Personally, the fight in the cemetery was five or six times harder for me than the final boss... and that was with plenty of leveling the second time around. I also had a bit of a tough time transmuting the four weapons to switch between them. I don't think it was my controller, but I'm not entirely sure. Every other command went through fine except L1. The graphics weren't bad. The still shots seemed a little simple for such a game, but I would rather see their expressions drawn unmoving on the two-dimensional foreground than see them poorly rendered on the playable characters themselves. Call me crazy, but I don't think the digital artists seemed up to the challenge. All-in-all, like I said, fans of the series will enjoy the game just to see your favorite characters in a fresh adventure. As a stand-alone video game though, I'm not sure I would recommend it, especially if you haven't seen the series. It reminded me of a less-interactive Kingdom Hearts 1 with worse music. You can beat it in 7-10 hours so it felt like a bit of a waste of money once it was all done, so I would recommend buying at a discount, or renting it.
	Work Is Hell
	"Funny, but not the best Groening"	2007-08-07
I tried to keep an open mind while reading it, I really did. I think part of the problem is that I was a young kid in the 80's and don't have the nostalgic connection that a lot of readers do to this series. Despite my best efforts, I didn't find myself laughing at all. In fact, I managed merely a chuckle or two from cover-to-cover. Keep in mind, I was never expecting a masterpiece. I was simply looking for an early glimpse into one of the arguably funniest minds in history. I have a dark sense of humor, so it didn't bother me that the taste was rather dry. I knew it was a beginning work, so I wasn't put off by the rough illustrations throughout either. What did get me was the fact that there was very little within the pages I could identify with. I've been in the working force for a long time and have had all sorts of different bosses, but nothing struck me as familiar. The characters were very bland and the whole book struck me as something that could've been written by a smart kid poking fun at his school. I was disappointed, to say the least. Like I said, this low opinion may be because I was born too late to enjoy the series as it was published, so I gave it 3 stars in faith that I might just be missing some of the subtle humor that's so well buried within. On the other hand, maybe the humor was just too obvious and so I missed it completely. In any case, I would've given it 2 stars if I were judging it without any knowledge of how truly funny Matt Groening could be. I managed to find a seller who offered it for .01 plus cheap shipping, so I only paid $3.50 for it. Had I bought it new, I would consider it a waste of money. My advice to those who are jumping into this series with fresh eyes (like me): BUY USED.
	The Simpsons - Season 8
	"Wow - Finally!"	2006-06-29
It's about time fox released this season! This is the one I've been waiting for since season one first came out on box-set DVDs. Everyone else is probably listing every episode in the season. (As is the trend with Simpsons fans on Amazon) So, I'll just say that this season is WELL worth the money. In my own oppinion, it's the best season to buy, containing some of the best episodes ever produced. Beware, however, season nine doesn't hold to the same standard... and it only goes downhill from there. The next season contains the poverbial shark the writers happily jumped in favor of celebrity cameos and wild story lines. (Yes, even in Simpsons standards.)
	Dragon Ball Z:Cell Games Starter Set
	"Spend the Extra Cash"	2005-02-27
Do NOT buy this saga on VHS, it's a waste of money. Get it on DVD. It is the one saga that will definately pay off if you wait patiently and shell out a few extra dollars. The Japanese version is not only better acted, though that is a well argued fact, it also has the original inserted Kageyama Hironobu song "Spirit Versus Spirit". This is probably going to be the last DBZ item I will purchase. I haven't bought anything DBZ in a long time, but for the end of the Cell Games, I will give up the dough and swallow my pride. If there's one saga or season of Dragon Ball to own, it is definately this one.
	Final Fantasy XI with Hard Disk Drive
	"Not worth the price tag..."	2004-04-21
Strictly from the technical side, it's not too bad. Communicating with other players is rather easy, as long as you have an extra keyboard laying around. Load times are fast and the graphics are pretty good. I also liked how diverse you can make the characters. As a Final Fantasy game, I was thoroughly dissapointed. There is very little to no plot. The entire enjoyment of the game is solely based on talking to other people and running around for eternity trying to level. Leveling is extremely time consuming. By the time you get to a high enough level to actually NOT die repeatedly, you're sick of it. The fighting format is ridiculous. You don't even FIGHT... you just let the computer do it for you. Just keep in mind, that if you want to buy the game, you are not just buying the game itself. You have to buy a membership and a spare keyboard if you actually want to be able to talk to people without taking forever just to type out one statement with the controller. All in all, you're spending a lot of money for a game with seemingly no REAL point to it. Go to a chat room if you want to meet people. It's a lot cheaper.