Since my husband is a Phantasy Star fan, I had him contribute his thoughts below.

The Phantasy Star series of games came into being in 1987, almost 20 years ago. One of the first console role-playing games to employ a combination of sci-fi and fantasy, your characters in Phantasy Star could hack'n'slash with weapons, cast spells, or use photon-induced magic. Each successive game was set in the same universe, with the same concepts. In 2000, Phantasy Star Online was introduced on the Sega Dreamcast console system. This brought every PS fan online for the first time, fighting side by side with each other on strange planets and ships.

Fast forward six more years, to the technology of high-definition televisions, and console systems as powerful as some mainframes from back in the days of the first Phantasy Star title. Another Phantasy Star title is out, this time dubbed Phantasy Star Universe.

I have been an off-and-on fan of Phantasy Star since PSII for the Sega Genesis a long time ago. When Phantasy Star Online came out for the Nintendo GameCube in the US, I jumped all over it, and spent hundreds of hours delving into the depths of some of the stages with my HUcast. I even imported a combination keyboard+controller for the GameCube to allow for real typing versus the onscreen keyboard and word selection menus.

So when I heard PSU was going to be released for the Xbox360, I, like many PSO fans, was excited. After playing with it for a bit, this is what I've found.

The gameplay is still very familiar. I haven't picked up my GC keyboard controller in a few years, but I still remembered some of the alternate fire buttons without having read the manual. In fact, between the single-player storyline mode's tutorial and familiarity with past PSO games, it felt almost natural.

That isn't to say nothing has changed. The game's graphics have definitely improved, utilitizing the higher resolutions that the Xbox360 is capable of. I would even venture to say that it was too high of a resolution, as the text scaled to the point where much of it was unreadable in the default settings. The characters have a certain jerkiness that just doesn't seem natural at times.

However, this seems to be reflected throughout the rest of the game as well. The cut scenes are well rendered, however unfortunately they're not actual gameplay, and it feels as if Sega ended up rushing this title through. In fact, PSU actually has the look and feel of PSO, with nicer graphics, better sound, and a few new whiz-bang features such as voice chat through Xbox Live. However, underneath it all, as you play, you can tell that it's really the same old game. Nothing innovative, nothing truly new. It's still the same dungeon crawl experience.

For nostalgia's sake, I would play the game. However, nostalgia only lasts so long until I need substance to hold my interest. PSU's new single player storyline mode held my interest for a little while, but the tutorial ended lasting a bit too long.

In the end, PSU will probably sit in my library of games that I'd 'eventually play' but never really do. There's simply too many other games out there that are more involving and interesting as a single-player, and more in-depth for multi-player.

Back to Soapy…

Due to the monthly fees, I’m not sure if either of us is really that motivated to play online. The single player mode lets you control the character Ethan Waber, a 17 year old that seems to have a problem with authority (such as the Guardians which is an interplanetary security force.) You are in the Gurhal system that is (was) living in relative peace until an alien species known as SEED attack. His sister Lumia gets caught behind some rubble, so Ethan needs to get over himself and ask for the help of a Guardian and eventually become one himself.

Gameplay is very hack and slash, which is nice in a way but it really does become repetitive and dull especially if you’re playing alone. This is probably where the online play becomes more engaging. There are a lot of cool looking weapons which is usually what players try to collect.

Visually this game looks good, very colorful and sharp. It’s set up like an anime so some of the scenes, voice acting and music are a little on the cheesy side. The loading times aren’t long, but there are a lot. What I’m disappointed in is that there is no offline two player mode. I was able to play Phantasy Star Online a bit with my husband back when that game came out, but back then it was doing the same thing over and over again. At least with PSU, there is a single player mode with a story, although for dungeon crawlers, I do prefer to play with a partner.

Phantasy Star Universe should appeal to many PS fans, but it’s not a huge improvement from the last release. The characters definitely look much better, but gameplay is largely the same. For RPG fans that like the sci-fi themed storyline and don’t mind the button mashing and collecting items routine, this might be a fun game to try.