bit-tech Shopping: Microsoft Phantasy Star Online (XBox)

Rating: 4

Time with product: 1 Week

Strengths: Its Phantasy Star!

Weaknesses: Have to have online play in order to play at all

Summary: Basically the same as the Dreamcast Versions but its on Xbox and you have to pay for any type of playing time on here...very dissappointing because of that...I probably would not recommend this game unless you can get it very cheap and you already have xbox live setup.

Rating: 4

Time with product: 1 Weeks

Strengths: Solid combat system, on-line voice communication

Weaknesses: Basically a port of the Dreamcast version. An additonal fee to play on-line.

Summary: This is one of the best on line role playing games and was very unique to the Dreamcast. It is great to see this title on the Xbox, but is very disappointing that is has not been improved that much, the graphics are about the same as Dreamcast The games best new feature is voice communication on line, the worst is having to pay a fee just to play the game on line. If this game had on line game play for free it would be a much more popular game.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 1

Strengths: Lots of quests, good RPG elements, good battle engine

Weaknesses: Have to pay a monthly fee to play online, have to have an Xbox Live account to even play offline

Summary: Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II is a MMORPG for the Xbox. This is a futuristic RPG that allows you to choose and customized three different character types and take them into battle with other characters. This game is meant to be played online, but there is an offline mode that allows you to play with up to four players split-screen on one Xbox. I never wanted to pay the extra fee to play online, so I just played two-player splitscreen. The game has you going on quests to vanquish enemies and find items. The combat is in real-time so it is somewhat of an action/adventure game. I enjoyed the combat and the enemies, but I eventually got bored with the game because a lot of the quests seemed to be very similar. It's probably a lot better when played online though.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 4 Days

Strengths: Voice Chat and Broadband only. No more lag issues of dialup and slow typing. Voice ban people you dont want to hear. no serial number or access keys. Faster loading

Weaknesses: Monthly Fee on top of xbox live fee. Must have xbox live to play offline. Characters tied to gamertags.

Summary: excellent co-op game play over xbox live or offline multiplayer with friends. This upgrade from the orinigal dreamcast versions contains massive new levels, items, character classes, and music. This game can be bought used unlike the other versions as it is tied to your gamertag and not a serial number. Great gameplay will keep you playing for hours with pleanty of replay value. Worth picking up if you are a fan of the series, or just want a good multiplayer expierence.

Rating: 8

Time with product:

Strengths: Only version of PSO with voice chat, Multiplayer is alot of fun, especially challenge mode, Progressive scan support, Dolby Digital support

Weaknesses: Must subscribe to Xbox Live, even to play offline, monthly fee to play online

Summary: Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II has everything that was on both of the Dreamcast versions of the game & also has 2 new levels plus a ton of extras, hence the Episode II part. PSO Episode I & II is a 3D action adventure/RPG type game as you level up & equip stuff like an RPG but you have complete control over your character when it comes to fighting just like any action game. You can play with up to four other characters online or split screen on one system. You get to pick from three different character classes which then have sub classes that vary abit as to what kind of stats that character will start with & max out at. FO is strong in magic, HU is good for melee fighting, and RA specialize in ranged weapons. I would strongly recommend to anyone that likes action adventure games to give Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II a try the only problem is that you can't even play offline without a Xbox Live subscription but other than that it's an engrossing game that you can spend an insane amount of time playing if you enjoy it (over 100 hours) and for gamers that played the dreamcast version & haven't had enough of the PSO experience Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II has enough new stuff to do to get your money's worth out of it even if you played it before on the Dreamcast.