Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst

"Another Round of PSO"

I've been a fan of the Phantasy Star series since I got my hands on Phantasy Star 2 way back in the Genesis days. Since then, I've played PS3, PS:EotM, and PSO v1 for the Dream Cast. I loved PSO, but how does this new incarnation stack up?

Individual aspects will be rated, and the final score is not an average.

=GRAPHICS=
Models: The character models are pleasing to look at, and while they have a definite anime look to them, it won't annoy non-anime fans. Animations are fluid, with the right amount of flash and detail. The designs are limited, and it is likely you might run into a clone of yourself at some point in time, but chances of more than one are slim. The monsters range from generic (oh god, another killer robot?) to extremely amazing (the first time I saw the dragon in 1280x1024, I remembered why I freaked when I first fought him). Overall: 8/10

Backgrounds: The backgrounds run a fine line as well. The Forest is painfully generic, undetailed and nondescript, the caves are bland, but the Mines are fairly interesting, as is Cave 3. The things floating around the map and the basic layouts are nice. The Ruins, however, are both dark and beautiful, in a twisted, sci-fi gothic sort of way. Episode 2 layouts are even better - not as standard as the Episode 1, with more rooms, small mazes, not as generic areas. The Temple level is gorgeous, reminding me of a ruined castle almost, surrounded by an endless sea and more ruined buildings. The Starship is equally stunning, feeling different from the white-washed generic interior that most sci-fi games and movies seem to favor. The rest of the areas, while not as marvelous, fall more into the lines of Cave 3 and the Mines - pleasing to look at, but nothing special. Overall: 7/10

The game feels dated in places, but the graphics aren't bad. Top of the notch when the first came out, they aged well, but are showing signs of Dreamcast roots.

=STORY=
The story is quite nice. You are a Hunter - a virtual mercenary - aboard the Pioneer 2, a ship taking your people away from a dying planet. You arrive at Ragol - what Pioneer 1 calls a paradise, and then the problems emerge. Contact with the Pioneer 1 dies out, and signs of an explosion around the main living area are found. You are called upon by the Principal - a leader of the Pioneer ships - to investigate. You run through a series of missions in the normal mode, tracking down clues to find out the fate of the Pioneer 1 and the Principal's daughter, Red Ring Rico. You can choose to play single player as well, where Guild missions tie in gaps and fill in holes.

Episode 2, you are hunting for Flowen, a military commander, in a similar layout. Do missions, advance plot, get rewards. While not as engaging as Episode 1's (despite never seeing Red Ring Rico, you can get attached to her personality through a series of messages she leaves), it still is a far cry above the feeble attempts at plot most MMOs or ORPGs make. Overall: 7/10

=GAMEPLAY=
Characters: There are three classes to choose from, with 4 subclasses to pick from (basically, choose a job, and pick your race and gender from that). Hunters are basic melee, Rangers use guns, and Forces use techniques. There is enough variation between the subclasses that they really do feel like different characters and require a change in tactics. For example, HUmars (Male Human Hunters) are the most balanced, while HUcasts (Male Cyborg Hunters) rely on traps and weapons, HUnewearls (Female Numan Hunters) are more about quick attacks and techniques, and HUcastseals (Female Cyborg Hunters) are all about evasion. For the most part, all classes can solo some, and can contribute to a group. The only complaint here is that there really isn't much variety. 9/10

Combat: Combat is simple, following the trend of hack and slashes. You have your quick commands, three buttons plus a second three, that do your most common commands at the drop of a hat. My Ranger, for example, keeps all three attack forms (Heavy, Standard, Special) on one menu, and a Healing spell, area of effect Fire, and area of effect Lightning on the other. You also have ten shortcuts, accessed by the number keys, and you can access other weapons, spells, and items via a quick selection menu. Though combat can be repetative - it boils down to hack and heal - the need for different tactics against different monsters and the spectacular boss fights make it fun even after continual hours of play. 7/10

Items: Items fall into a couple categories; weapons, armor, healing, spells, and misc, as well as a Mag. Weapons are grouped by type - Sabers, swords, paristans, daggers, slicers, handguns, mechguns, shotguns, rifles, rods, canes, and wands. Some basic groups - sabers, slicers, handguns, and mechguns - can be used by everyone, while the rest are specific to certain classes. In addition, other, rare weapons can break the stereotypes, such as the Musashi - twin photon katana, and the Inferno Bazooka, a mid range, slow firing, heavy damage weapon that feels like a mix between a shotgun and a rifle. The rare items always provide a bit of a rush, and tend to hover between almost common to extremely rare, and there are enough weapons to make your character have a personal, unique style!

Armor and shields are basic - if you can use them based on class and meet the level, you can equip it. However, there are some rare armors that have "slots" that allow you to equip stat boosting items, allowing classes to heighten their main focus or make up for a low stat (for example, a Ranger can equip an Arms unit to use a better gun, or a Power unit to increase damage).

Other things, like spells and stat boosting items, are used once and provide a permanent effect, while healing items resurrect, cure status effects, or restore lost HP or TP.

The Mag is a unique touch, a floating little device that boosts stats and provides with Photon Blasts - attacks that do something special when it is fully charged.

Overall: 10/10

=FINAL THOUGHTS=
While this game shows its age, it still holds up compared to other MMOs and ORPGs like EverQuest 2 (a game I left to play this, as a matter of fact), World of Warcraft, and City of Heroes. Its easy to get into and easy to get started, but it can provide a challenge if you don't over level. Its easy to hop in, start a private game, and get something done in a short play period, and without having to worry about kill and loot stealing, as well as unwanted player killing, makes it a fun amusement.

The game is well worth the small monthly fee - when combined with the fact that the download and new expansions are free, the $9/month seems reasonable. One look at the board will tell of a lively, active community, both in terms of Teams and trading. The only downside comes at the fact that there really isn't an active Role Playing community that can be found in other MMOs, meaning any personality you devise for your character will go largely unnoticed.

This is a tentative review - on the date of this post, only Episodes 1 and 2 have been released. Episode 4 is slated for a close release date, and that could easily make this game more worth the time and effort to put into it.

Final Score: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/20/05