kingnebwsu
10-14-2006, 04:28 AM
Yeah, I know this isn't a game that everyone on the board will be playing...but I thought I'd start a thread since they're doing a limited beta on the 360 from Friday until Wednesday night at midnight. The full game comes out on October 24th (for 360, PC, and PS2). Anyone with a 360 should download this demo and check it out, it's pretty neat.
I was a big player of Phantasy Star Online back in the Dreamcast (and Xbox) days. I didn't play it as much as some, because I didn't get into it until the Dreamcast was close to death. But I do remember having a lot of fun with it for a long time.
My first impression is that the whole place is HUGE! I mean, Phantasy Star Online (PSO) had a small area with 3 rooms. That was it. This has multiple floors on multiple planets, and I don't think this demo has it all. It's hard getting a grip as to where to go and stuff like that, but a game like this screams long-term replay value which means all this space and stuff will hopefully get much use.
I didn't wear my headset at all but people were chatting a decent amount on the in-game text. I played solo almost the whole time except one guy joined my party when I was doing a mission. I like being able to pick the treasure distribution system. I know it's the poor man's version of the need/greed in Warcraft, but for PSU vs PSO it's a big step up. I miss the days of (after you hit lvl 20) the rare items would come in a ??? red box. I remember saying "red box!" anytime one would show up (remember sackattack? ;)). The thrills of getting better rare items the more you played is something I hope they replicate in PSU.
Overall, the game combat speed is much faster than PSO. I do find it tough locking on to people, since the L-trigger in PSO would make you change targets, but now it doesn't seem to do that at all. Hopefully I get more comfortable with this as time goes on. I do like all the updates they did with adding quick-changes to your weapons and stuff like that. It's much more user-friendly than it was 6 years ago (as it should be...online console games have come a long way since the Dreamcast).
I only played it for 2+ hours today, since I had to work tonight :( Hopefully I get more time to play it throughout the week until they take the servers down Wednesday night at midnight EST. Also, Xbox Live is down for maintenance all day Tuesday (argh). So that's one day less of PSU. At least the full game will be out in just 10 days. This will be a must-buy for me...I can't wait!!!
BTW, the monthly charge is $10 for PSU after the initial free month.
I was a big player of Phantasy Star Online back in the Dreamcast (and Xbox) days. I didn't play it as much as some, because I didn't get into it until the Dreamcast was close to death. But I do remember having a lot of fun with it for a long time.
My first impression is that the whole place is HUGE! I mean, Phantasy Star Online (PSO) had a small area with 3 rooms. That was it. This has multiple floors on multiple planets, and I don't think this demo has it all. It's hard getting a grip as to where to go and stuff like that, but a game like this screams long-term replay value which means all this space and stuff will hopefully get much use.
I didn't wear my headset at all but people were chatting a decent amount on the in-game text. I played solo almost the whole time except one guy joined my party when I was doing a mission. I like being able to pick the treasure distribution system. I know it's the poor man's version of the need/greed in Warcraft, but for PSU vs PSO it's a big step up. I miss the days of (after you hit lvl 20) the rare items would come in a ??? red box. I remember saying "red box!" anytime one would show up (remember sackattack? ;)). The thrills of getting better rare items the more you played is something I hope they replicate in PSU.
Overall, the game combat speed is much faster than PSO. I do find it tough locking on to people, since the L-trigger in PSO would make you change targets, but now it doesn't seem to do that at all. Hopefully I get more comfortable with this as time goes on. I do like all the updates they did with adding quick-changes to your weapons and stuff like that. It's much more user-friendly than it was 6 years ago (as it should be...online console games have come a long way since the Dreamcast).
I only played it for 2+ hours today, since I had to work tonight :( Hopefully I get more time to play it throughout the week until they take the servers down Wednesday night at midnight EST. Also, Xbox Live is down for maintenance all day Tuesday (argh). So that's one day less of PSU. At least the full game will be out in just 10 days. This will be a must-buy for me...I can't wait!!!
BTW, the monthly charge is $10 for PSU after the initial free month.