Phantasy Star Universe

Same same same

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Dreamcast owners of the past that fondly recall the weeks and months lovingly invested on the classic Phantasy Star Online must be quietly hoping SEGA's Xbox 360-exlusive Phantasy Star Universe can rekindle the action-RPG gameplay spark left completely untouched following the intense disappointment of From Software's recent Enchanted Arms. Indeed, bearing in mind the series' history and the power of the Xbox 360, how could a next-generation Phantasy Star title fail to re-create the offline and online impact laid down by the original? How? Like this:

It's 2007, videogames have evolved and, more pointedly, MMORPGs are no longer a source of unique achievement. In fact they're fairly common, and although the Dreamcast's Phantasy Star Online wrote itself into the annuls of gaming history as the first console-based MMORPG, proving that (international) online gaming via home consoles was not only possible but also thoroughly impressive, the gaming world has moved on-and Phantasy Star Universe is sadly stuck in the past.

While resulting MMORPGs have looked and learnt from Phantasy Star Online's guiding blueprint over the years, honing, polishing, and improving upon Sonic Team's admirable efforts, we find Phantasy Star Universe arriving as almost the exact same game as its inspirational predecessor. Although PSO purists may well embrace the familiarities-both offline and online-it's likely that a great many other MMORPG gamers will be indifferent or just plain disappointed by the lack of opportunities presented by Phantasy Star Universe.

From an online perspective, players embark on their PSU experience by customising an avatar down to the smallest personal detail before gathering/joining a willing band of fellow online adventurers and embarking on various sci-fi game missions. Unsurprisingly, considering the somewhat shallow MMO battle history of PSO, those missions largely consist of straightforward rinse-and-repeat monster killing and key collection exercises, with progressive boss finales-which is all as disappointing as it sounds given today's MMORPG possibilities.

Phantasy Star Universe's online component-which is undoubtedly the package's main attraction-isn't a total facsimile of the original and there are some new aspects to be had, and the fact that PSU is two separate games is one of them. Unlike PSO, which offered an online and offline experience where character progression from either could be transplanted back and forth, Universe offers up two totally self-supporting games, which is not necessarily a good thing.

The single-player part of PSU sees the player assuming the role of cliched cocky teenager and heroic Guardian-in-training Ethan Waber throughout a storyline that involves the spreading infections of the SEED, an alien plant-based invasion that mutates wildlife, etc., into evil single-minded killing machines. Yawn? Yes, and it's all incredibly similar to the central plot of Phantasy Star Online's single player: same dull structure, same repetitious gameplay, same banal mission allocation, same uninspired evolution, same linear level design, same, same, same. And none of it contributes to the online portion, which means the single-player fails to inspire any form of return (on consistent) play and falls completely flat without the crossover online support.

From an aesthetic standpoint, Phantasy Star Universe also falls flat in the next-gen stakes, and while its visuals are passably clean and crisp, they're barely a notable step up from the Dreamcast original, which is certainly a failing on Sonic Team's part bearing in mind the amount of (sadly unused) hardware power at its disposal. Also, character designs, ranging from Ethan and his NPC team mates, through to the wealth of generic beasties thrown in their path, are also a huge letdown and yet another obvious missed development opportunity. The same generally applies to the environments, which are wholly linear and even tend to feel little better than KOEI's Dynasty Warriors hack-and-slash series-which is far from a compliment.

Most worryingly-as earlier mentioned-is that expended single-player effort (bless your hearts if you're able to muster the enthusiasm) does not carry over to the game's MMO, and Phantasy Star Universe ends up as yet another example of developers and publishers forsaking those without Internet connections or not particularly interested in online gaming. However, in this case, it's even less tolerable as the chance existed for Sonic Team to blend single player into multiplayer (as with PSO) and produce a half-decent experience that at least mirrored the online addiction of the original despite the aesthetic disappointments.

That said, those Phantasy Star fans looking to add Universe to their collections solely on the potential of its multiplayer can find some welcome solace in the social questing and community gaming that online play delivers, just as long as Live's immature/racist/sexist/cheating flamers can be avoided-good luck with that. Still, the multiplayer attraction is certainly there, and where the single-player game is clunky and dull, stepping in and out of the social adventure renders the game's universe considerably more fulfilling. Though it's no World of Warcraft, don't get your hopes up too high.

Despite the improved appeal evident throughout the multiplayer, there's a rather large crack than runs completely through its centre, and it's something truly disgraceful that hopefully won't catch on in future online titles. Tying in with the £6.99 monthly subscription fee that hits gamers, SEGA is-the words will barely form here-actually withholding online game content that already exists on the disc. More specifically, there are areas accessible throughout the single-player game that are closed off during multiplayer and will only be made available to paying subscribers. In short, SEGA and Sonic Team have not created a game package worthy enough to even contemplate hitting those willing to monetarily invest with content restrictions. It's an absolute debacle.

Ultimately Phantasy Star Universe fails and succeeds in (almost) equal amounts. It succeeds in tracing classic-but now dated-gameplay structure while offering an instantly accessible social online aspect that may well offer an avenue into MMO not usually accepted by those with more of a penchant for more immediate titles. However, it fails monumentally to accept the next-gen baton handed up hopefully by its Dreamcast predecessor. And it also fails miserably to shoehorn in a single-player game that emerges riddled with presentation, structure, and delivery glitches that vastly overshadow any semblance of genuine appeal.

64%

By Stevie Smith