Phantasy Star Universe

"Masterfully done."

Introduction: Phantasy Star Universe offers players two initial options. There is an offline single player mode called "story mode" where you play the game from the protagonist's point of view. Note: The game does not possess offline multiplayer. In "online mode" you create a customized character and connect to the internet via the PS2 network adapter, allowing you to play with any other person who is connected on the PS2 or PC version. Yes I mean every person, but I will elaborate later. There are unlockables in the game, but I shall not spoil them here.

Sound and Music: As a PSO player, the music in PSU has met and exceeded my expectations. It is very well done, and the opening score is amazing. It has great lyrics, and fits the cinematic perfectly. The music in mission areas is very good, and if you listen carefully you will hear variations from previous PSO themes. Compare the Raffon Meadow music to the Ragol Forest music for example. The sound in the game is excellent, but a slight technical aspect is one of a small number of things that rob PSU of a perfect 10. There is a sound glitch that will tend to "mute out" sound effects sometimes. It is very minor and has no effect on gameplay.

Graphics: The graphics are top-notch. They have really pushed the limits of the PS2 in PSU, and frame-rates are acceptable. Terrain is very lush. Spell effects are fantastic. The weapon animations and "photon arts" (special attacks) are absolutely amazing in this game. I could never have foreseen such a vast improvement over previous PSO games on a same-generation system.

Battle System: This should be best classified as a "hack and slash" style battle-system. There is a vast array of melee weapons present, and the diversity of their attack animations, speeds, and areas of effect leads to strategic thinking on what weapons to use against certain monsters. The mage archetype in this game takes on the role of healer, nuker and support. They have a vast array of magic at their disposal, and it requires great skill to aim and cast in real time. The ranger archetype possesses various weapons that include long range, spread type, and rapid-fire attacks. Newly in PSU, ranger ammunition is limited, but the ammunition refills itself very quickly over time, and stations to refill it are plentiful, so don't let that discourage you.

Level System and Classes: In PSU there are two distinct types of level. There is the standard character level which increases exclusively by earning exp from monster kills. There is also your "type" level which increases exclusively by completing missions. Furthermore, exemplary performance in missions will earn more "mission points" towards your type level than bad performance. For example, if you die, you cannot get a perfect mission score and therefore you will lose out on several mission points. In the beginning you must choose between three main archetypes, but there are also advanced "types" available based on how you choose to level the three initial "types." Yes, you can change "types" at will. Yes, there is a marginal "meseta" (in-game currency) penalty for doing so. Overall, the system is very well designed, rewards players for skillful performance, and allows players to experiment without starting from scratch.

Play Control: Another slight penalty to PSU's rating comes from a problem with collision detection. Granted, online play is affected by the network latency correction algorithms resulting in perceived collision detection issues. These problems are consistent with offline play, however. An example of such problems is the ability of the player to shoot flying enemies and score a hit when a hit should clearly not have been scored. These problems have merely a marginal affect on gameplay and thusly do not justify a significant rating penalty. Other than that, the play control is excellent. The default controls cannot be changed, but they make perfect sense. Critical options such as cross-hair inversion, lock-on toggle/hold, and others are included. Oh, and did I mention that players can now snipe in first person with ranged weapons? Very nice.

Challenge: In RPGs, challenge is inversely proportional to the time a player spends "levelling up." PSU is no exception, but if you push the envelope with the missions you do, you can control your level of challenge. The game therefore has a challenge level adjusted by the will of the player, based on what missions you choose to do. You can make the game easy or hard for yourself! There is also a level of challenge in item synthesis. Careful calculation is required when determining whether you want to risk your precious items for the possibility of synthesizing something really nice!

Story Mode: In single player you are initially cast into the role of the protagonist. This means that, initially, you cannot create a customized character offline. However, I recommend completing the game in Story Mode because the plot is fantastic! I wish I could go into great detail about it! The voice acting is not Hollywood quality, but I think that it has a certain natural feel that makes it more sincere. The voice acting in this game sounds like people in real life but does not sound like people in movies. Story Mode is not overly linear, however, and you have a lot of freedom to exercise as you complete it, which is a plus.

Network Mode: As of now, the network mode is incomplete. Future content patches will remedy this problem of course. I will not penalize PSU because of this, for it is better to have the game released with incomplete network mode than not released at all. There are some common MMORPG features which are lacking in network mode. A "tell" system to communicate with any given person at any time. Instead, you must first encounter a person and "trade partner cards" before you can communicate at will via "simple mail." The game also lacks an "auction house" type system. Instead, searching player shops yourself to shop around becomes a time-sink. Furthermore, some analysis I conducted leads me to believe the drop rates of items are disproportionate as of now. These nit-picky little details also contribute to the one rating point loss. However there is a great advantage to PSU's online mode: You can play with any other player at any time. Players are not segregated by servers. You can jump to any server at any time to play with any given person you might meet offline. This is an incredible advantage over other MMORPGs. The only drawback is that XBOX360 servers are disjoint from the shared PS2 and PC servers due to the XBOX360 proprietary online service (what a surprise). This means that XBOX360 players can only play with other XBOX360 players, but PS2 players can play with PC players and vice-versa. It would be unfair to penalize PSU for circumstances beyond Sega's control.

Conclusion: A few hairsplitting details here and there rob the game of perfection, but it is an excellent buy. A great change from the real-time damage-roll MMORPGS out there now. Player skill can play a much larger roll in this game since it is a "hack and slash." Good Hunting!!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/07/06