Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II

"It's like an addictive drug"

This game gas made me come back to it more than once. I got it for the Gamecube 3 years ago then traded it in due to the lack of of people to play it with. I got it for the Xbox last summer because I needed a MMORPG to play on Xbox Live, and I'm very happy I ordered it from EBgames. Now on to the review.

Graphics 6/10

For a 5 year old game, they're alright. It does have the occasional clipping though. They seem a little like little kid graphics, or a crappy game that came from a movie. Overall, don't be looking for Halo 2 graphics or Chronicles of Riddick graphics. They're nowhere near those two games in comparison. Don't expect to amazed by the graphics of this game.

Sound/Music 9/10

This sounds in this game completely fit the settings. Water splashing, some kind of cricket sounding thing, water dripping, doors opening, all of the stuff to make the environment seem real. The music is great. All of it makes you feel in the mode to kill something. Sometimes, it might get boring because every area has one song that is repeatedly played until you beat that area. Overall, they're pretty great, just don't try to make yourself go insane from the repeating music :p.

Gameplay 10/10

Here comes the great part....I take that back, REALLY great part of this game. The whole point of the game is to make your character better, like an old RPG, but the great part about it is the fact that you have to hunt monsters in the same area over and over again until you get their rare drop. It could be a weapon, some armor, or an item. What's even better is that you could hunt for rare monsters and get better stuff from them. It's better with friends on split-screen play because you can make fun of them when you get a rare item. Xbox Live is extremely fun if you can find 3 people that don't hack that you can play with everyday, that's true MMORPG fun right there. It's real fun for all 4 of you to hunt for a rare item all day, trust me.

Story

This game doesn't really have a story because of it being a MMORPG, so I won't rate it. You're a hunter on a mission to find out what happened to a space station that disappeared on a planet called Ragol that's it for Episode 1. Episode 2 is about finding some computer, that's it.

Repeatability 10/10

This game has the goodness of having endless repeatability. You can select many different classes, and have many different looks for those classes. Your name determines your section ID which determines what kind of items you get. Which means, every time you play through it will be different in some way, whether it be how you fight, or what kind of rare items you will get, it will be different.

Overall 9/10

This game is great. It's a terrific buy if you plan to play with friends on, or offline. You will get tired with it eventually, but you will come back to it. It's that good.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/09/06