The Phantasy
Star series was born on the console – way back in 2001 on the Dreamcast. With
originals so strongly rooted in consoles, it comes as little surprise that when
the game made its way to the PC, players need to find a gamepad in order to get
the best controller experience from the title.
But that is
getting ahead of the matter …
There are two
ways to play this SEGA release – offline in the single-player story mode, or by
plunking down $9.99 a month for the online capabilities – which essentially puts
you into a server-based world with other players and you can team up, take on
missions that ramp up for the party and gain experience by pushing back the Seed
aliens.
The game has a
futuristic bend – mixing in science fiction with some old-fashioned hack ‘n
slash and magic (known as force). There are four races: humans, who have the
best overall abilities, the newman, which specializes in the aforementioned
force skills, beasts which are melee machines and the android Cast, which is the
ranged/gun class.
At one time the
four races were embroiled in conflict, but that time has passed and the Gurhal
system has enjoyed a time of peace … well, that was until the station that was
the central home to the four races was hit with a barrage of alien pods, which
in turn yielded up alien creatures known as the SEED. The latter, intent on the
destruction of the races are the antagonist of this tale.
The story mode
begins with Ethan Waber, who has a chip on his shoulder, especially when it
comes to authority figures like the Guardians, losing track of his sister when a
cave in traps them on opposite sides of debris. Getting to her and seeing her
safely away from danger is his first priority. Ok, so along the way he begins
working with Guardians and becomes the hero of the tale.
The story
itself is not overly original, so don’t think this game will tread any new
ground. In fact, the game – on the whole – has a very familiar feel to it. The
names of items have been changed, but this game is largely what has been
experienced before. The story mode is a very directed path through the game and
the dialogue (some cutscenes advance the story and bubble chat will move the
tale along), while the online/network mode is, more or less, a mystery about
what you are supposed to do. You can go to a hub, get a mission (which details
appropriate level and party size), and then enter the mission. Yes, it is a
dungeon crawl in which you are tasked to move through an area and clear out all
the monsters that pop there. You kill monsters, level up, collect items and sell
them for better equipment or armor. You can even customize your room and store
items in it. Each of the missions have crystals that act as waypoints. Activate
it and you can drop back to the zone at that point.
The control
scheme on the PC is both convoluted and restrictive. It is better to plug in a
gamepad to be able to rotate the camera easily and attack. Even then, the camera
and control keys (the attack, use buttons, and so on) conflict. This is an
element that should be given more consideration when or if another title comes
out.
The sound is
decent and the graphics are fine, but rather limited. The effects are solid, the
characters are well done, but the environments have few variations.
As a
single-player game, Phantasy Star Universe is not that deep and seems a little
forced in terms of plot points. The network game is a repetitive button masher
that throws in some customization in the hopes that players will hang in and
play. Unfortunately, the experience is just not there. The game is not an MMOG
on the scale of Guild Wars and the single-player experience is lacking.
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Gameplay:
6.0
Expect load times
when the game first boots. Forget using the mouse and keyboard – it will drive
you crazy. Go with a gamepad. Even then, you may find the gamepad default
controls awkward. And by default, the game plays in a window. The controls are
not that intuitive – between the control scheme and game concepts, expect a
learning curve.
Graphics:
7.5
The art style is
pleasant enough, but the camera is a nuisance. Still some thought went into the
character animations and range of emotions available.
Sound: 7.0
Loud and average.
It can easily be turned down.
Difficulty:
Medium
The names of the
items are different, and you may have to figure out what it is you are doing in
the multiplayer element, but the game is really not all that difficult.
Concept: 6.5
The game has
different names for various items, but generally speaking, this is nothing new
at all.
Multiplayer:
7.0
Few players seem to
be in the various universes and most seem too busy with their own missions. But
as the mission difficulties ramp up, you will find yourself looking harder and
harder for company.
Overall: 6.8
In many ways this
feels like an unfinished game. There are shops with “coming soon” signs on them,
and the gameplay seems rather simple – get a mission, go from point A to B and
kill everything in the way. The single-player game is not that deep or
compelling and the network portion is repetitive without a lot of variation in
either missions or environments. As a single-player game, this title is a bit
below average, and as a MMOG, it is merely average.
