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8 |
Graphics |
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7 |
Sound |
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9 |
Gameplay |
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10 |
Value / Lastability |
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8 |
Reviewers Impression |
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Difficulty: Easy
Learning Time: Under 30 min
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Review: Phantasy Star Online Ep 1&2 |
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| Friday, August 08, 2003 | 1:43:56 AM | By: havokver1 |
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The main draw of this new incarnation of PSO is the inclusion of the all new scenario, Episode 2. This scenario is entirely new and not rehashed from the original PSO.
Phantasy Star began life as a standard RPG for the original Sega Master System and eventually continued on to the Sega Genesis. A couple years ago Sega released the first true massively online game for any console with the advent of Phantasy Star Online. The game was a massive hit and spawned a remix of sort, Phantasy Star Online Ver.2. A year later the game also be released along side a new adventure title Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2 for the Gamecube and now that game has landed on X-Box Live.
The main draw of this new incarnation of PSO is the inclusion of the all new scenario, Episode 2. This scenario is entirely new and not rehashed from the original PSO. It contains new levels, bosses and monsters to battle against. This is the reason that many people including myself purchased the game and it is well worth it.
Since this game is a port of a 3 year old Dreamcast title and it is starting to show its age. Some level textures look blurry and washed out and pop-up can still be seen in the distance. Despite this fact, The levels, enemies and bosses still manage to wow the player with all the different aspects going on. Episode 2 is where you can see the most difference. Episode 2 was made with next-gen systems in mind and you can tell just from staring at the different levels you participate in. From rays of lights bursting through jungles leaves, to rainy, washed out abandoned complexes and to the large bosses inhabiting Episode 2's world, This game gives you something to look at. While it does not push the X-Box hardware like other games do, It still does a great job of giving you colorful and memorable environments to battle in.
The sound and music is probably the most flawed of the game. Most enemies sound the same, As do most the weapons and the music can get extremely repetitive when played multiple times over. The most disappointing aspect is the lack of any memorable voices for the characters. There’s really none to speak of. A few sound effects stand out like Dark Falz and his grand entrance at Episode 1's but I felt it was lacking. The one point that does sound good though is the illusion of being in a another world. Players playing this game in surround sound will be able to hear many things around them such as birds chirping, waterfalls in the background and various other animals inserted to make the world believable.
Moving around the game is done with ease. Managing menu’s is also done easy thanks to
a clean and easy to navigate menu-system, Assigning Magic and Items to specific buttons has never been easier. My main gripe with the game as is with other PSO players is the lack of a concrete lock-on feature. While the character does lock on to the nearest enemy he can not move around and fire at once. This is something that should have been fixed for Episode 2 but sadly it wasn’t. A new Lock-On feature would greatly be appreciated in the next PSO game. But overall the easy to use controls and friendly menu’s benefit the game overall.
Gameplay is where the game truly shines. This game is called Phantasy Star Online for a reason and that’s because it was meant to be played online. During online games you can team up with 3 other people to battle in the games various stages, You can Trade Items, Do battle or just chat it up in the lobby. What the X-Box version has that the other versions don’t have is the ability to let people chat with the headset. This game takes a whole new aspect when you can actually hear who you are talking to online. At first it’s a little disorientating when you first pop into a lobby and have everyone talking at once but after a while you get used to it and wonder how you managed to play the game without it. The game also comes with a coupon to buy an adaptor to allow you to connect a USB Keyboard if you would like to if you’d prefer a keyboard rather to the headset. Meeting new people, Making new friends, Helping each other level-up, Finding Rare Items together, Battling monster and enemies together is what this game is all about. The only downfall for some people is the monthly charge to play the game, All others will be in Online heaven with this game.
Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2 was made to be played online. Those looking for a decent one player mode should look elsewhere as the single player mode is only useful for leveling your character up and unlocking levels. While this game isn’t the prettiest of the bunch or the best sounding of the bunch, Its online play makes up for it by offering gamers the chance to become different characters and the ability to play games together with people from around the U.S. Hopefully this is a positive start to the kinds of online adventures we can expect from X-Box Live.
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