Phantom Dust

"Post Apocalypse Goodness! The best $20 I've spent in a long time!"

I had no idea what was in store for me when I found Phantom Dust for $20 at my local Blockbuster. A new release, for $20!?!? That's madness! This game must be horrible right? Wrong. Very wrong indeed. With it's Cowboy Bebop-esque feel, it's worth your time, and money/

Story Phantom Dust takes place after the end of the known human civilization. The Earth has been engrossed in a dust that steals memories, and on top of that, mysterious monsters have started to appear. The remaining humans have fled underground to nuture the few, if any, memories they have remaining. Some people have gained special powers that allow them to turn their very will into energy. These people are called Espers, and that is who the story is based around. The Protagonist(as he is called in the manual), a.k.a. the main character, was found in a strange capsule by a group of Espers on a scouting mission to the surface. The story circles around The Protagonist and Edgar, who you have a mysterious connection with, which will be revealed as the story unfolds.

Graphics Phantom Dust has some of the greatest graphics I have ever seen, with lifelike cinema's, and realistically destructible environments. In each of the levels, everything is fair game. Jumping from a high place will disturb the ground where you land, a mis-fired shot will take down entire chunks of the level. The character models are flawless, with each character having their own wacky sense of fashion.

Sound With excellent theme tracks for each level, and fairly decent voice overs, the sound is another key part of Phantom Dust. One song in particular gets my blood pumping every time I hear it. Although there are custom soundtracks, they are not really needed as the songs included are a better fit than anything I have on my Xbox.

Gameplay The fighting revolves around over 300 different skills that you can collect via online play or scenario mode. Each skill has it's own strengths and weaknesses, and they each belong to their own schools of magic. Depending on your playing style, you could choose your own combination of skills and find your perfect arsenal. The arsenal is the set of skills that you choose to use. They are randomly given to you in battle, so a good variety of skills is key.

Overall Phantom Dust was definitely worth the money and I highly suggest that you go out and buy it! With it's realistic graphics, pulse-pounding gameplay, and gripping story, Phantom Dust is my recommendation for the next game for you to get! Xbox live or not, this game rocks!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/21/05