02/28/01

Phantasy Star Online

    One of the gems of Sega's never ending list of great titles. The RPG series Phantasy Star has been around since the Sega Master System and is still selling big everywhere. Yet now Sega takes a step into the future and takes this series and turns it upside down and throws you and three other people from across the world into a battle and a search in one of the funniest games since Saturn Bomberman. No this isn't another Phantasy Star one player game, no it's all online and multiplayer.


    One of the nicest features of this game has to be the multiplayer mode, really this is what this game was made for. Since PSO has no real story mode the only thrill is the multiplayer mode where you and three other people from across the Earth Sphere can be shoving down Sabers and other classic Phantasy Star weapons into the belly of a Fire Breathing Dragon! Not only is that sweet, but you can also have fun chatting along with other people from different regions of the world and still understand their native tongue just as pure as day itself, why? PSO has a amazing feature that will automatically translate a different language into yours. Let's say I'm over here in the U.S. and playing with a few people on PSO. Well my team mate is from Japan, and the others are from France and Germany. Well when they talk to you it will come out in English on your screen, and when you talk back it will come out in whatever language they speak, now that my friends is just plain cool.  Not only can you chat with other people but PSO allows you to build and make your own custom symbols out of the variety of art pieces they have to offer.  Sure they give you basic pre-made one's like "Hello" and "Bye", but of course we all want nothing more then to be able to build and make our own "Wazzzup??" and "Yo Check You Later." Not only do you have the options of chatting, and build symbols, but what if you played with someone and then they left and you couldn't find them? After all PSO is a very large place, so how would you find them? Well Sega steps in and answers this question for you. Using something called a "Guild Card" you are able to make and receive these electronic "cards." Think of them as your personal card. This way you not only get a brief comment and quote from the person, you are now able to track them down!


    Well all the above is all fine and dandy, but what about control and the basic elements that make a game a game? Well my friend PSO scores high in all these categories. PSO handles great, better then most action/adventure games like Tomb Raider.  PSO is set up more like a Action game then it is a actual RPG. For starters there is no world map, only about 4 dungeons that do get tiring after about oh....say the tenth time. Also not only is their no actual world map, but there is also no basic RPG style battling. Being a Final Fantasy fan myself, I was expecting a more FF related approach in the battle system. Boy was I wrong. Not only is there no random encounters, but it's set up like a basic action battle system. You run up and you slash/shoot the enemy with whatever weapon you have. Luckily there's more then just physical attacks. PSO's battle system gives you a wide variety of Spells and Powerful Magic attacks called Photon Blasts. These "Photon Blasts" are like a summon spell from FF, they are a very powerful spell that often relates in some large creature coming in and attacking all the enemies around you. It's a pretty cool sight when you see it, and a good benefit is that it takes a long time to get one and the movie is very very short. Yet, the Photon Blasts are not the only sweet and very beneficial thing in PSO. Along for the ride in the dungeons is your very tiny little friend called a "Mag." This creature is the reason you have a Photon Blast. Once it gets full of power it will then perform this amazing attack (on your command of course.) Yet Mag's are more commonly used as a trophy of some sort. The bigger and cooler your Mag is, then the cooler you are. Of course you can also determine this as well. In order for you to make your Mag grow, you gotta feed it. No No there is no Mag Kibble and bit's, you feed it simple items. These items will then reflect on your Mag and will then help it grow into a new form. So the different items you feed it the more it changes.


    Well my friends, PSO isn't all that great. I figured I would save the worst for last (just my nature right?) Well unlike other RPG's, PSO has no pause button, this is a feature that I found annoying and painful, especially when you need that bathroom break in a middle of  boss fight. However I can see the point in the fact that there is no pause in the online mode simply because there are other people, but I would have thought there would be one in the offline mode. I mean come on! I almost exploded several times! not only is there a non-existent pause feature on the game, but saving has been a problem. I seen the only way you can save is by exiting out of the game. Why is this? I mean why can't you save during game play and not quit? I thought this was frustrating, but not that big of deal. What the big deal was the online mode. I can't tell you how many times I was online and all the sudden the screen froze on me. Then when you restart the game up....... OH NO!!! What happened to all my items! This is quite possibly the biggest heart breaker of the game. It's happened to me three times in the last week... THREE TIMES!! That's a lot of money were talking here! Yet luckily there still is hope, I mean think about it, this is the only real Action-RPG (console, remember only console) in the world!


    My final advice to you is this, if you haven't picked this up, do it.  This game is worth the money spent, every cent. If you do not own a Dreamcast then never fear, DC's are down to a low of only $100 a pop! Now that's a deal you cannot refuse! Buy this game!

Graphics: 9.5: Never before have I seen graphics like this on ANY game, when you get the game you will agree with me.

Sound: 8: I found the music somewhat horrible. It doesn't do much of anything, but it's just the fact that there was no real mind sticking sounds here.

Control: 9: Control is great, but the worst feature to control is the ever annoying camera angle. This can be your friend or your enemy, you decide.

Replay: 10: Despite the fact there are only four dungeons in the game, the online mode always offer something new. Not only are their missions you can go on to get money (or mesta in the game) but you can also met up with lots of new people that offer a laugh or a kick in the sack.

Over All: 9: PSO is one of the best games I have ever played! I rarely lose sleep from a game, but I find myself averaging three hour sleep nights because of this hit! Trust me on this, get this game!

                                         
-Jake

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