Hands-onPhantasy Star Online Version 2

Phantasy Star Online Version 2 has been released in Japan, following up the original with a series of updates, fixes to balance issues, and other more substantial changes. Phantasy Star Online has established a very solid user base in the US, but with Version 2, the decision will be whether or not to upgrade to Sega's new pay-for-play service. We were able to play a good portion of the single-player game, examine the noticeable tweaks, and compare it to the original.

The introduction sequences and interactive loading screen have been kept intact. The first noticeable change is the addition of two new costumes for each character class. These costumes were originally unlocked through use of a password but are now available on the character generation screen. In addition to the new color schemes, you can select new head models, like the new RACast head, which bears a striking resemblance to the visor-wearing Cyclops character of Marvel Comics fame. The transition screen from character selection to the graphical representation of the character model now uses a nifty hexagon fade-in effect that didn't appear in the original version.

Sonic Team has tweaked some of the visual effects to cut down on latency issues during multiplayer games. The most noticeable changes are the subdued spell effects and diminished explosions from opened crates. One of the issues with the original game was the blocking stasis that your character is forced into when mobbed by monsters. The animation in Version 2 has been tweaked to allow for smoother blocking--it appears that some frames were cut from the defensive posture, which your character doesn't hold quite as often when being attacked The monsters have also undergone a number of changes--the Hildebear, for example, now features a pronounced wide mouth when it's struck. While noticeable to the sharp eye, the changes are subtle at best.

One of the more practical changes to the game is the new use of the secondary Y button hotkey. The new hotkey lets you equip, use, and swap weapons and items in real time without having to enter the start menu and access your inventory. The new shortcut brings up a list of usable weapons on the lower half of the screen. The majority of your vision isn't obscured, and using this command midfight is relatively painless. This will most assuredly be a welcome addition and a huge boon to players challenging a tough area (like the first form of the endgame boss) where equipping a new weapon causes untimely deaths or when a recovery item is needed to counteract the effects of poison or paralysis.

Many players were put off by the amount of time required to invest in a Phantasy Star Online character, and some may have perceived the game as being too hard core. To make it friendlier to the casual players, Sonic Team has retooled the game's balance to make the accumulation of meseta (PSO's form of currency) less painful--the items you find in the game are more valuable this time around. In our experience with a new character, we found that we unearthed much more meseta than in the original game, as well as a number of useful items that before would have been available only at later stages. Our low-level character found armor with multiple slots, midlevel technique disks, as well as impressive weapons with sizable percentage bonuses in the forest and cave areas. Characters also level faster in Version 2 than in the previous game, as the rate of advancement seemed to be accelerated substantially.

We are currently exploring the many new aspects of Phantasy Star Online Version 2, both online and offline, and will report our experiences with the other new features of this anticipated updated version in the near future. Be sure to check this gamespace for the latest details.