E3 06: Phantasy Star Universe phlies to 360s in phall

Though there have only been two role-playing games released so far for the Xbox 360--the popular The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and the just-shipped Final Fantasy XI--360-owning fans of the genre will soon have another familiar franchise to troll about in.

Today, another RPG was announced for Microsoft's next-generation platform. Like FFXI, it will be a Japanese RPG from a venerable franchise that will also be available on the PC and PlayStation 2.

From those clues, Sega fans will likely be able to deduce that the title in question is the forthcoming Phantasy Star Universe, which will be released on the Xbox 360 this fall.

Like its releases on other platforms, Phantasy Star will be made up of two parts: an online mode and a single-player mode. While online, gamers can create their own characters and party with five friends as they explore three planets filled with other gamers. The single-player game stars Ethan Weber, a teenager who sets out to rescue his sister from a mysterious enemy known only as the Seed.

Sega has not yet rated or priced Phantasy Star Universe for the Xbox 360. For more information on the game, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of the PS2 version.