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Videogame
Source : Sega Dreamcast |
Phantasy
Star Online |
| Graphics |
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9.2 |
| Sounds |
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9.3 |
| Replay |
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9.8 |
| Gameplay |
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8.1 |
| Overall |
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9.3 |
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Review
by Andy787 |
First of all, this game marks another industry first made
by Sega, this is the first ever online, console multiplayer RPG ever made. And saying
that, I really wouldn't want to be a company trying to out do it, as this game, although
first of it's kind, will probably also remain the best of it's kind for a long time to
come. With it's amazing sense of atmosphere, beautiful graphics, and great online
community, this game is definitely one of the best I've ever played.
Graphics: For a Dreamcast game, I don't think anything can top this in the graphics
department (except possibly Shenmue). Phantasy Star Online (PSO) also has a good share of
nice little unique graphic effect such as the great flowing animation for the monsters and
characters. For example, when a monster moves it's arm, his chest and muscles move with
the arm which makes them seem more life like. Also, the water (when there is some) looks
really amazing. The Dreamcast also hasn't been known to produce very good lighting effect,
but PSO Sonic Team managed to do pretty good with the lighting, adding some nice
reflections and shimmering on metals. 9/10
Sound: The sound is one of the main reasons I said this game has such good atmosphere. The
sound is really memorable (not in a ''know-ever-beat'' kind of way, but rather in a
''that-really-sounds-unique'' kind of way) and does a good job setting the tone of the
moment. ''Magic Sound'' is also implemented in the game, which is basically like ''magic
weather'' of many other games. Basically, magic sound is just an effect that changes the
back ground music in-game to fit what's currently on the screen. For example, you could be
walking through the forest and suddenly a group or Boomas surrounds you, then the music
flows from the quiet, mellow sound to the main battle music. So instead of having to load
a new track, the system just flows from one mood to another. It doesn't sound that amazing
in writing, but it's actually pretty cool in the game. The only let down in the sound is
the sound effects are kind of bland. The gun shots are kind of muffled and a few other
issues with the sound effects, but nothing too bad. And on the plus side, things like
magic and the speech bubble sound effect are very nice. 9/10
Gameplay: The gameplay is nothing innovative, but for what it is, it's good enough. Though
I guess since the 5 language translator thing comes under gameplay, that can be considered
innovative (very innovative actually). Speaking of the 5 language translation thing, it
pretty much works like it sounds. Basically, you just pick from a very easy to navigate
list of phrases, questions, and answers and pick a person (or everyone) to send it to, and
it automatically translates what you picked to their language preference (which is shown
next to their name and level above their head). And don't worry, this doesn't mean you
have to pick phrases and everything to chat with your English speaking friends, you can
just type what ever you want (well curse words will be censored in a ''!@#$'' fashion,
which would be ok with me if they didn't have to censor stupid words like ''fart'' or
''poop'') and they'll get it just like you said it. As for the actual play of the game,
it's easy, yet very addictive. You get 6 slots in which to assign actions to (one for A,
B, and X and one for R + A, R + B, and R + X). The actions you can assign can include
anything from your weak but fast attack, your slower but stronger attack, your weapons
added attack, any offensive or defensive magic or a quick short-cut to a frequently used
item (or any combination of these. If you want to use all magic or something similar then
you can go right ahead). All in all, nothing you haven't seen, but nothing really bad
either. 8/10
Replay Value: The replay value, as with any title with online play (given the game is
actually good to begin with), is usually going to be above average. That couldn't be more
right for this game. With out online play the game should last a few days, but WITH online
play the game is so so much better. Besides being just plain funner with other people, the
online community is also very very nice which makes it even better. This is definitely the
best online community I've ever played in. Almost everyone is very nice (especially high
level characters). One person gave me a shotgun when I first started that's still better
than anything else I've seen at my current level of 40. Also, the game has very little lag
when playing online, which is always a plus for an online game. Only when there are more
than 8 enemies on screen have I really experienced much lag that actually got a little
annoying. Overall, very good online community mixed with great online structure makes the
replay almost endless. 10/10
Overall: Overall, if you don't have an Internet connection the game is decent, but there
are definitely better out there so I wouldn't warrant a purchase. But if you do have an
Internet connection then this game is one of the best I've ever played! I really really
want to give it a 10, but the 1 player off-line game just brings it down ever so slightly.
If you have a connection, what are you waiting for? Go get the damn game!
.:. Andy 787 |
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Be sure to
check out our extensive coverage of version. 2 of this awesome
game, Phantasy Star Online Version 2! |
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