Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5

Title: Magna Carta: Tears of Blood

Publisher: Atlus

Platform: PS2

Rating: T for Teen

Have you ever wondered how Marilyn Manson would look with a tail for an ear?

Well, this disturbing question is answered with the game “Magna Carta: Tears of Blood.” A role-playing game, “Magna Carta” is up against stiff competition on the PS2. Without a doubt, “Magna Carta” will be compared to RPG heavyweights “Final Fantasy X” and the newly released “Dragon Quest VIII.”

“Magna Carta” is a very competent contender, though. There was a lot of care put into this game and it shows. Unfortunately, not every game gets a budget like “Final Fantasy X,” and many aspects of “Magna Carta” suffer from some sort of cheap or unbelievable setback. Let’s take the character designs for starters.

Characters are the heart and soul of RPGs. If the characters are unlikable, then no matter how much the combat system rocks, no matter how detailed the graphics are and no matter how epic the musical score, you’re not going to play it. In “Magna Carta,” the characters are, thankfully, interesting. They are all extremely stylized and just scream personality.

So what’s the problem?

The personality the characters have is that of metrosexual elite. The lead character, a male, is basically a girl without breasts. His sidekick, also a male, is simply an adolescent girl without breasts. There are two dudes who thankfully look like dudes – one’s a Rastafarian and the other’s a stoner. Also, there is a Marilyn Manson look-alike, albeit with a tail for an ear. It’s fortunate the female characters are just awesome enough to justify putting up with the metrosexuals, stoners and Marilyn Mason.

Then there’s the story. It is engaging for sure, but, right from the start, the game throws a million important terms, people and places. There’s some disgruntled natives called the Yason – wait, there’s a Tree of Light that – hold on, the Eight Warriors did – oh, before that, learn the Trinity Circle which – blargh, the Yasons killed my village and some samurai dude cut them in half! The first few hours are confusing, to say the least. What keeps the player going? Not the plot – at least not initially – but rather the entertaining interactions between characters. The story is very much character-driven in the beginning.

Next is the dialogue. The script is competent; every character’s personality shines through and all of it would be enjoyable if the horrendous voice acting didn’t completely ruin everything. In one fell swoop, the voice acting reduces everyone to pathetic stereotypes – there’s an idiot jock, a weepy nerd, an angsty valley girl and, to add insult to injury, the most feminine lead ever gets the most macho voice ever. The voices get very annoying, but, after a while, the awful voices get mentally tuned out anyway.

Finally, there is the combat system. It’s very unique and involving. This is good because random battles are hardly ever boring. For some reason, though, there are a million icons and menus on the screen that never get explained. Never before have the feelings of haplessness and helplessness been so overwhelming. The millions of icons and menus never really seem to affect combat, so the game goes on. Still, one can’t shake the feeling that something is amiss.

Despite the rampage of metrosexuals, the terrible voice acting and the million items to be aware of in both story and combat, “Magna Carta” is an unpolished gem, begging for a proper treatment. The flaws are offset by the positives, and, overall, it is a fine title for RPG fans.