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>> Two worlds collide

by ERIK LEIJON

Sega’s latest edition of their 20-year-old RPG franchise, Phantasy Star Universe (X360, PC, PS2/Sega, Sonic Team), exists in two entirely different realms: the online MMO and the offline traditional action-adventure.

Based on the Dreamcast’s Phantasy Star Online model, the normally ignored offline is given a robust list of features. Online provides even more options and customizability, but with an additional monthly charge, casual fans may not find it worth paying the extra fee.

SINGLE-PLAYER SAGA:
Phantasy Star Universe

Bearing no resemblance to the Sega Master System/Genesis Phantasy Stars, Universe keeps to its namesake by having an outer space sci-fi theme. You and your party travel between three planets, honing one’s skills, developing some religious connection to the cosmos and taking out an evil species known as the SEED. The battle system is real-time (comparisons to Diablo are apt), but the traditional elements of the RPG—level-building, weapon upgrades, skills, magic and items—are all present. There is a lot of experimentation possible with weapons and abilities. Resources picked up on the battlefield or in shops can be spliced with weapons and other gear to form new items, although the experiments can go awry and render your weapons useless. Photon arts can be learned with weapons as well, causing flashy magic attacks in addition to regular sword swipes.

Bucking the RPG custom, the mission trials are timed and, depending on speed of completion, more experience points can be had. It keeps things running at a continuous pace, and there are enough side-missions for those who like veering off the main quest (even if every mission’s goal is to hack-and-slash your way to victory).

Similar to the online mode, your party can be formed with NPCs around the main planets. As someone training for a career in law enforcement with the Guardians, your party is ordered to go where needed and quell the SEED invasions. The enemies tend to repeat themselves, but you’re never bogged down with menus.

Before committing to play online, you’ll be informed it costs 15 bucks a month, even on XBox Live (note that silver live subscribers can play). Once you take the plunge, you’ll notice how deep the character creation mode is (and how online and offline are unrelated games). In addition to the three fighting forms, players can choose their race and facial features. The quests are completely different from offline, and there are new quests in the form of downloadable content.

It’s hard to say how much you’ll get out of the online mode, but it’s unlikely players will be entirely satisfied with the single-player unless they happen to be totally RPG-starved. The storyline isn’t the most engrossing (especially since the main character Ethan speaks like his bottom lip went numb), and ho-hum visuals look no better than a good Xbox-1 game. Sega’s newfound attention given to single-player is nice to see, but Phantasy Star remains devoted to the online world.

TESTERS, 1, 2, 3

By now, you may have heard about Eidos’s plans to build their latest (and largest) development studio in Montreal, but before they begin churning out the hit games, they need a roof over their head, and employees working under it. We’ll let Royal Lepage handle the real estate search, but positions are needed for developers and testers. Send CVs to jobs.montreal@eidos.com (the address was not functional as of press time but should be soon). They’re looking to have 30 testers to perform quality control for the entire SCi family.

Eidos reiterated that the provincial government has been proactive in providing tax breaks to prospective foreign game developers. Wouldn’t it be cool if it became a hot-button issue during the next election?