Phantasy Star Online Review

Phantasy Star Online

I didn't really intend on buying this game due the prospect of losing my hearing once my father recieves the phone bill, but after a friend started screaming to me 'You need it, its SO amazing!' I went ahead and bought it, along with a Keyboard and new VMU. I wish I hadn't now.

This has proved to be one of the biggest mistake's that I have ever made in my life. I'm gonna tell you now that if you do buy this, it will not let you go and I'm sure that Heroin/Crack is less adictive......The story revolves around a space cruiser called Pioneer 2 that has come to drop more colonists off at a planet called Ragol that has been inhabited by the colonists from Pioneer 1 seven years previously. As Pioneer 2 enters orbit of Ragol a huge explosion is seen and all contact is lost. When the source of the explosion is investigated there is no evidence of anything at all except a large amount of violent beasties. The colonists of Pioneer 1 are knowhere to be seen.......

First of all you choose your unique character from a preset selection of nine different types from three different professions, Hunter, Force and Ranger. Each have a differing variety of costumes and hairstyles to choose from and the size of the character is also selectable. This makes for a pretty damn amazing variety of characters and as of yet I have never seen two the same even though it is more limited than I had imagined it to be and many of the female characters have a sinister 'saucy' edge to them.

Each profession has three different types to choose from. The Hunters have HUmar (Hunter+Human, Male), HUnuwear (Hunter+Newman, Female) and HUcast (Hunter+Android, No sex (snigger!)), the Rangers have RAmar (Ranger+Human, Male), RAcast (Ranger+Android, No sex) and RAcaseal (Ranger+Android, Female looking). Last but not least is the Forces which use magic, FOmarl (Force+Human, Female), FOnewm (Force+Newman, Male) and FOnewear (Force+Newman, Female). Each use differing weapons like guns, swords and staffs but there are certain weapons like basic handguns and swords that most characters can equip. Androids, however, cannot use magic because they are stupid and the Forces have the worst dress code by far!

Once you have created your alter ego or personal Tyler Durden (for anyone who knows me, in real life or in the game-I do not sleep since I bought this.) you can then enter the world of Phantasy Star Online and only then will you realize that your whole life is being ruined by Sega. Firstly, you are introduced to the Principal (I think he is the Jean Luc of Pioneer 2) whos daughter, Red Ring Rico has gone missing along with the rest of the people from Pioneer 1 and he requests that you investigate. I don't know why she is called Red Ring, but it may have something to do with Madras curry and Sunday morning.....

You can then either choose to ignore him and get paid for various Hunters Guild missions like finding some greedy bastards' loot, finding a broken android or killing all monsters in a given area Following the in-game story revolves through messages left by the now infamous Red Ring Rico. Doing the story line is pretty essential as you open up the other three areas, of which there are four in total with two to three sub areas and include the Forest, Caves, Mines and finally the Ruins. I do have a sneaking suspicion that Sega WILL be bringing out some kind of mission disk of somekind with extra levels as you can find Dark magic of which there are no 'light' attributed enemies. In an RPG you can't have one without the other, can you? Answers on a postcard......

Down to the actual gameplay itself. Playing offline revolves around very tedious lines of shoot-run-shoot, kill all monsters until the next door is open, picking up the crap that they drop along the way or you find in boxes abandoned by the Pioneer 1 crew. Every five to ten minutes you'll have to throw up a teleport to Pioneer 2 to sell all the crap you have accumilated for much needed Meseta, the in game currency. The basics of the offline mode are not impressive as the gameplay is so shallow (even with the RPG elements: shallow again!) it is unbelievable but as the name of the game suggests with online play it may be a good idea to log on and thats where this game is a truly ground breaking console experience. Oh yeah, the game is in a third person perspective, with you character just above the bottom of the screen.

Playabiliy if fine but the game, online and offline does have some major faults in my opinion. Firstly there is a 'magic barrier' as I call it where you can enter a room and stand by the doorway shooting or slicing to you hearts content not hitting a bleedin' thing, but you are still at risk of being hit by the enemy. Maybe Sega intended this as a difficulty enhancer due to it growing longer on the Hard difficulty setting. Getting trapped in this area is fatal in the Mines as the robots give no mercy. Also the lock on system is utter shite requiring you to line up the target onto a specific enemy and with quick enemies this can sometimes take a little too long resulting in your character being hit in the face, losing valuable health points along the way. The AI of the enemies is also weak as they choose to follow whoever is in their (short) view distance and you can survive by passing the enemy on to another team mate. This is done by just running past the other player in the opposite direction: the enemies will just lock onto him/her instead of you giving you valuable breathing space and maybe a chance to heal or get revenge for the pasting you have just taken (you can even look cool by 'saving' your team mate, lol).

When you log on, so to speak, you have a choice of seven or so ships (approx, don't quote me) with around 15 lobbys each for the European area and when you enter the lobby you know something cool is about to happen. No doubt your first experience is of bewilderment and excitement as totally individual characters are running around, impatiently looking for a team of four players to do battle with or just insulting everyone around with censored expletives. You can't even say Saturday because of the TURD in the middle, it's that bad. Oh, and people occasionally use civilized chat on occasion using the Dreamcast keyboard: If you don't have this its like taking a shit in a forest:- you can do it but it certainly isn't comfortable without the loo roll.

Once a team of four is sorted you create a team name and away you go into the world of Phantasy Star Online essentially playing the same game as you have just been playing for the last six hours offline. You can either do Hunters Guild missions, where you get paid or just dive head first into the action with your chosen team mates whom you see on the screen in front of you, running around killing monsters or grabbing the loot. This time you know that if you die a friend is always there to revive you :). Team work also is a good thing as the people who run off usually end up deaceased and rely on the others to come and revive them, which is quite amusing as it does give the rather dishonest bastards amongst us to steal their weapon and money.

The game excels in the graphics and sound department too with crisp and clear graphics with an excellent incidental soundtrack to match, perking up when you enter battle and dieing off when the room is clear. The graphical style is excellent, Sega obviously putting 100% effort into the look, feel and overall ambience of each level proving that they have the best in house teams ever. My personal favourite level is the Mines that are full of badass robots that are as thick as pig shit but if they surround you the odds are you'll be lying on the floor crying for help. Tell me that you dont feel fear the first time you enter them in the offline mode......Who needs gore?

The best thing about this game is that I can stay in as usual playing games and still feel social by chatting to people and I can really say that I have made new friends through this, but you really need to distinguish the line between reality and the PSO world: something that I failed to do for the first week of play resulting in a massive FIVE, yes, five hours sleep. The line between the two realities becomes very blurred and can be quite distressing up to the point that I played for 25 hours solid then going to work.....My colleagues thought I had gone mad, literally. Apparently I was gibbering on about loads of people that I'd met from around the world and all the things that had happened in the game. I don't think they actually believed me.

So, the final verdict? You need to experience this game online and bollocks to the highly boring offline mode 'cos it is only there for level building, of which the game and social aspect is heavily based so you will have to suffer it. Watch out for the tossers too, because there are quite a few around. Racists have made me embarrased to be British on more than one occasion giving a lot of grief to the French, Spanish and German. I thought the Internet/Online play had no race or colour barrier and was proved wrong. Item theives are fairly common as well, stealing from the lower level and even the higher level players. In my opinion I think that there should be some way of reporting the Racist's but I'll except the thieves as they make life a little more interesting, especially after losing your favourite sword to some newbie, lol!
Also a massive shout goes out to the Female players that I have met as I really didn't know that there are that many around :)

I'm off for some level building, so if you wanna hook up for some battles I'm generally milling around on Titan, block 1-2 and am called Mike9000 around level 55. Hope to see you there :)

Offline: 6.5/10........Online: 9/10


	*Phantasy Star Online* I didn't really intend on buying this game due the prospect of losing my hearing once my father recieves the phone bill, but after a friend started screaming to me 'You need it, its SO amazing!' I went ahead and bought it, along with a Keyboard and new VMU. I wish I hadn't now. This has proved to be one of the biggest mistake's that I have ever made in my life. I'm gonna tell you now that if you do buy this, it will not let you go and I'm sure that Heroin/Crack is less adictive......The story revolves around a space cruiser called Pioneer 2 that has come to drop more colonists off at a planet called Ragol that has been inhabited by the colonists from Pioneer 1 seven years previously. As Pioneer 2 enters orbit of Ragol a huge explosion is seen and all contact is lost. When the source of the explosion is investigated there is no evidence of anything at all except a large amount of violent beasties. The colonists of Pioneer 1 are knowhere to be seen....... First of all you choose your unique character from a preset selection of nine different types from three different professions, Hunter, Force and Ranger. Each have a differing variety of costumes and hairstyles to choose from and the size of the character is also selectable. This makes for a pretty damn amazing variety of characters and as of yet I have never seen two the same even though it is more limited than I had imagined it to be and many of the female characters have a sinister 'saucy' edge to them. Each profession has three different types to choose from. The Hunters have HUmar (Hunter+Human, Male), HUnuwear (Hunter+Newman, Female) and HUcast (Hunter+Android, No sex (snigger!)), the Rangers have RAmar (Ranger+Human, Male), RAcast (Ranger+Android, No sex) and RAcaseal (Ranger+Android, Female looking). Last but not least is the Forces which use magic, FOmarl (Force+Human, Female), FOnewm (Force+Newman, Male) and FOnewear (Force+Newman, Female). Each use differing weapons like guns, swords and staffs but there are certain weapons like basic handguns and swords that most characters can equip. Androids, however, cannot use magic because they are stupid and the Forces have the worst dress code by far! Once you have created your alter ego or personal Tyler Durden (for anyone who knows me, in real life or in the game-I do not sleep since I bought this.) you can then enter the world of Phantasy Star Online and only then will you realize that your whole life is being ruined by Sega. Firstly, you are introduced to the Principal (I think he is the Jean Luc of Pioneer 2) whos daughter, Red Ring Rico has gone missing along with the rest of the people from Pioneer 1 and he requests that you investigate. I don't know why she is called Red Ring, but it may have something to do with Madras curry and Sunday morning..... You can then either choose to ignore him and get paid for various Hunters Guild missions like finding some greedy bastards' loot, finding a broken android or killing all monsters in a given area Following the in-game story revolves through messages left by the now infamous Red Ring Rico. Doing the story line is pretty essential as you open up the other three areas, of which there are four in total with two to three sub areas and include the Forest, Caves, Mines and finally the Ruins. I do have a sneaking suspicion that Sega WILL be bringing out some kind of mission disk of somekind with extra levels as you can find Dark magic of which there are no 'light' attributed enemies. In an RPG you can't have one without the other, can you? Answers on a postcard...... Down to the actual gameplay itself. Playing offline revolves around very tedious lines of shoot-run-shoot, kill all monsters until the next door is open, picking up the crap that they drop along the way or you find in boxes abandoned by the Pioneer 1 crew. Every five to ten minutes you'll have to throw up a teleport to Pioneer 2 to sell all the crap you have accumilated for much needed Meseta, the in game currency. The basics of the offline mode are not impressive as the gameplay is so shallow (even with the RPG elements: shallow again!) it is unbelievable but as the name of the game suggests with online play it may be a good idea to log on and thats where this game is a truly ground breaking console experience. Oh yeah, the game is in a third person perspective, with you character just above the bottom of the screen. Playabiliy if fine but the game, online and offline does have some major faults in my opinion. Firstly there is a 'magic barrier' as I call it where you can enter a room and stand by the doorway shooting or slicing to you hearts content not hitting a bleedin' thing, but you are still at risk of being hit by the enemy. Maybe Sega intended this as a difficulty enhancer due to it growing longer on the Hard difficulty setting. Getting trapped in this area is fatal in the Mines as the robots give no mercy. Also the lock on system is utter shite requiring you to line up the target onto a specific enemy and with quick enemies this can sometimes take a little too long resulting in your character being hit in the face, losing valuable health points along the way. The AI of the enemies is also weak as they choose to follow whoever is in their (short) view distance and you can survive by passing the enemy on to another team mate. This is done by just running past the other player in the opposite direction: the enemies will just lock onto him/her instead of you giving you valuable breathing space and maybe a chance to heal or get revenge for the pasting you have just taken (you can even look cool by 'saving' your team mate, lol). When you log on, so to speak, you have a choice of seven or so ships (approx, don't quote me) with around 15 lobbys each for the European area and when you enter the lobby you know something cool is about to happen. No doubt your first experience is of bewilderment and excitement as totally individual characters are running around, impatiently looking for a team of four players to do battle with or just insulting everyone around with censored expletives. You can't even say Saturday because of the TURD in the middle, it's that bad. Oh, and people occasionally use civilized chat on occasion using the Dreamcast keyboard: If you don't have this its like taking a shit in a forest:- you can do it but it certainly isn't comfortable without the loo roll. Once a team of four is sorted you create a team name and away you go into the world of Phantasy Star Online essentially playing the same game as you have just been playing for the last six hours offline. You can either do Hunters Guild missions, where you get paid or just dive head first into the action with your chosen team mates whom you see on the screen in front of you, running around killing monsters or grabbing the loot. This time you know that if you die a friend is always there to revive you :). Team work also is a good thing as the people who run off usually end up deaceased and rely on the others to come and revive them, which is quite amusing as it does give the rather dishonest bastards amongst us to steal their weapon and money. The game excels in the graphics and sound department too with crisp and clear graphics with an excellent incidental soundtrack to match, perking up when you enter battle and dieing off when the room is clear. The graphical style is excellent, Sega obviously putting 100% effort into the look, feel and overall ambience of each level proving that they have the best in house teams ever. My personal favourite level is the Mines that are full of badass robots that are as thick as pig shit but if they surround you the odds are you'll be lying on the floor crying for help. Tell me that you dont feel fear the first time you enter them in the offline mode......Who needs gore? The best thing about this game is that I can stay in as usual playing games and still feel social by chatting to people and I can really say that I have made new friends through this, but you really need to distinguish the line between reality and the PSO world: something that I failed to do for the first week of play resulting in a massive FIVE, yes, five hours sleep. The line between the two realities becomes *very* blurred and can be quite distressing up to the point that I played for 25 hours solid then going to work.....My colleagues thought I had gone mad, literally. Apparently I was gibbering on about loads of people that I'd met from around the world and all the things that had happened in the game. I don't think they actually believed me. So, the final verdict? You need to experience this game online and bollocks to the highly boring offline mode 'cos it is only there for level building, of which the game and social aspect is heavily based so you will have to suffer it. Watch out for the tossers too, because there are quite a few around. Racists have made me embarrased to be British on more than one occasion giving a lot of grief to the French, Spanish and German. I thought the Internet/Online play had no race or colour barrier and was proved wrong. Item theives are fairly common as well, stealing from the lower level and even the higher level players. In my opinion I think that there should be some way of reporting the Racist's but I'll except the thieves as they make life a little more interesting, especially after losing your favourite sword to some newbie, lol! Also a massive shout goes out to the Female players that I have met as I really didn't know that there are that many around :) I'm off for some level building, so if you wanna hook up for some battles I'm generally milling around on Titan, block 1-2 and am called Mike9000 around level 55. Hope to see you there :) Offline: 6.5/10........Online: 9/10