Phantasy Star Universe???????

calex71

saw this game in town today, didnt see it mentioned here, question is has anyone played it? i havent played any of the rest of the series so not sure what to expect from it , is it worth picking up?

Stokolan

Played the demo when it was up for beta. seemed ok but was hard to get on the server. it was limited while in beta. Didn't bother with it since its release seen as ya pay every month to play.

calex71

Stokolan wrote:

Didn't bother with it since its release seen as ya pay every month to play.

screw that so , thats why i avioded final fantasy , no way i'm paying to play on line twice, 3 times if u include broadband.

Mr. K

I think that'll put most people off, it sure did that to me!

monkeyfudge

I'm a huge fan of the Phantasy Star series and I used to play Phantasy Star Online with my Dreamcast on dial-up. I still play it regularly on the Gamecube, don't play it online on the Gamecube anymore though as there are too many f*cktards cheating on it and there is no point in paying for that.

I picked Phantasy Star Universe for the 360 today... almost got the PS2 version as the staff in HMV put the wrong disc in the box...

I haven't played it too much yet but graphically it's not doing anything the Phantasy Star on the Gamecube couldn't do and I'm still not sure if the combat is an improvement.

It has a more traditional Japanese RPG single player mode in it as well as the online mode.

They don't give you a free online trail with the game which is a bit crappy so I spent €9.99 for the month on Marketplace and it then took 3 attempts to connect to server. I've only had a quick run through the online tutorial so far though.

I'll be sure to let everyone know how I get on...

Kenny_D

Just to point out. This isnt just an online-only game like final fantasy. There's a single player game with about 40 hours gameplay

monkeyfudge

Christ it's hard to get a connection to a server... successfully connecting should unlock an achievement.

monkeyfudge

Okay. I'm starting to get into it now.

I've put in about 9 hours of online play and my little robot is up to level 13.

Personally I think they've made things needlessly complicated as one of the great things about PSO was it's simplicity... but once you get to grips with things then that old PSO magic starts to creep up on you again. There is just something inherently cool about the Phantasy Star 'universe' that they have created that no matter how repetitive it gets killing a giant dragon it's still somehow compelling.

I'm beginning to think the only reason they added the offline adventure is to give you something to do when you can't get a connection to the server.... trying to log in is very difficult and I don't think I've managed to do it on a first attempt yet... every time I have to try about 5 or 6 times before it connects.

As for the offline mode, I've made it up to Chapter 3. It's fun how much it's try to be like an anime series. It even has opening and closing credits at the beginning and end of each chapter.

Anyway... I found things a little off putting at first, but this is more the sort of game that grows on you.

The biggest problems would be the connection difficulties, only being able to create a total of 4 characters and of course having to play with annoying and rude american teens.

calex71

monkeyfudge wrote:

Christ it's hard to get a connection to a server... successfully connecting should unlock an achievement.

I feel that way about a few games at the moment

super_furry

No free month? Screw that.

Clank

I never realised this had a 40hr single player mode too, I might just get it for that so.

monkeyfudge

I'm not so sure about that 40 hour claim though.

I think there are 12 chapters in it and I've found the first two to be very short so far.

Kenny_D

Yeah I've seen gamer reports saying they completed it 20-30 hours. 40 hours was what the devs said but thats prob incl everything in the game and prob includes some levelling time

monkeyfudge

I don't know if you could grind your levels in the offline mode.

Each run through a chapter goes from A to B. You have to kill all the monsters before you proceed. There might be a few extra bonus areas here and there with treasure boxes though.

Kenny_D

From what I've read there are "free play" missions that are optional and can be used to level up. I hate being forced to level up just to be able to fight a boss (final fantasy). It sucks all the fun out of the game. It should all just flow. Hopefully it isnt the case with this game. Overall, would you recommend picking it up (big RPG fan)

jamiemc

hey guys,

the xbox live gaming centre and sega will be offering free nights for people to come in and play the subscription game free of charge on xbox 360.

If you're interested, send me a pm and i'll message you when we have a firm date.

Jamie

Tank Top Fever!

I recently picked this up on the cheap, big single player game, I've no intention of taking it online

good game so far

FranchisePlayer

I got it for chrimbo on the last chapter of story mode very enjoyable game.

super_furry

No mags though