Phantasy Star Universe Exclusive Preview - The Early Chapters
We get an exclusive look at the first three chapters in Sega's latest entry in the Phantasy Star series.
Universe returns to the online action-roleplaying formula last seen in Phantasy Star Online.
Sega's Phantasy Star Universe has been taunting fans for quite some time now. The upcoming original entry in the beloved Phantasy Star series was first announced in May 2004, with the platforms it was slated to appear on not being revealed until almost a year later. While we've had the chance to get brief tastes of the forthcoming game at the past two E3s and Tokyo Game Shows, Sega hasn't done much to give us a feel for what the proper game is going to be. Thankfully, we finally got our hands on a work-in-progress version of the game and have been able to log in a good chunk of time with the first three chapters in the single-player game. As longtime fans of the series since its days as a simple 2D Genesis RPG and through its evolution into a groundbreaking online RPG, we've been curious to see what's next for the series. The three chapters we've played through so far haven't cemented our opinion just yet, but one thing's for sure: Phantasy Star Universe is definitely changing things up for the franchise.
To those who haven't followed the Phantasy Star series, don't sweat it. While you probably should have played some of the previous entries in the series as they're quite cool, knowledge of the previous games isn't a requirement for PSU. The original game draws most heavily on the look and feel of the last two good entries in the PS series Phantasy Star Online (yes, we're glossing over Phantasy Star Online Episode III C.A.R.D. Revolution). However, as far as story goes, PSU is its own unique beast. The game's single-player experience casts you as Ethan Waber, a 17-year-old kid who, when we meet him in the game's first chapter, is, frankly, a bit of a punk. However, Mr. Personality gets an attitude adjustment when an alien attack endangers his sister Lamia. Despite his unexplained hostility to the local law enforcement, known as the Guardians, Ethan winds up working with one so that he can help his sister. As he makes his way to help her, he has a change of heart about the Guardians and decides to become one.
The remaining chapters we played find Ethan finishing up his enlistment process by engaging in some field work with fellow cadet Ryu Hyuga and his teacher, Karen Nerra. In the midst of his training, Ethan gets a better understanding of the trouble caused by the mysterious and hostile aliens, called the Seed, who attacked at the game's start and are continuing to stir things up. It seems the unfriendly E.T.'s are causing all sorts of trouble by mutating wildlife and generally disrupting the natural order of life in the Gurhal solar system. As if all that wasn't enough, the creatures appear to share a bond with the mysterious ruins of an ancient civilization.
At present the story is obviously setting things upso a lot of questions are being raised, and information on Ethan and his crew is being laid out to give you an idea of what they're all about. So we now know that the chip on Ethan's shoulder toward the Guardians is due to the fact that his father used to be a member and died while on duty. His teacher, Karen, is the same age, having become a Guardian at 14, and is an orphan. On the more shallow front, Ryu is a walking hormone who tries to pick up anything female. We expect the unlikely trio to bond as the game progresses.
As far as the gameplay goes, PSU is taking a fairly rigid linear path, like most old-school RPGs. The story unfolds via a copious amount of cinematics that pop up as you play. At present, Ethan operates out of a Guardian colony in space--a massive five-floor city that serves as a hub. Besides housing the Guardian barracks where Ethan lives, the colony features shuttles to the planets in the system, which you can only access if your license is cleared for travel to that particular location. At the moment we've been venturing to the planet Parum, which is where the first three chapters take place. Parum's main city features its own regional Guardian base, as well as several different shops and useful spots like the flyer base, which you'll visit to select missions and travel to their specific locations on the planet. The game is broken up into seriallike chapters, complete with narration to set up and close the action, which play out roughly the same. You'll get a mission, head to the planet, go to the flyer base, head to the specific location, do your mission, and then return to the colony. So far the missions we've played have been pretty standard stuff and involved a lot of killing, exploring, and finding keys to let us progress.
The mechanics in PSU are, for the most part, very accessible and owe quite a bit to the user-friendly scheme introduced in Phantasy Star Online. You'll have a collection of attacks that you can chain together for combos. Depending on the situation, you'll need to swap out weapons and tools as you play in order to best deal with a situation. For example, you'll have to toggle between your weapons and goggles to examine objects for clues while on a mission. As far as weapons go, you'll find several different kinds on the adventure that you can swap between on the fly depending on the situation. For example, we've been switching between a massive (though slow) two-handed sword that's extremely powerful and a dual-wield set of a handgun and saber.
Though not as powerful as the sword, the gun-and-saber set is faster and lets us use a special "photon arts" attack. An "action palette" lets you toggle between your different gear pretty quickly once you've set it up properly. You'll basically need to slot in weapons, equipment, and items to it. After your palette is set up, you can call it up during combat and use whatever you want. Gear such as your goggles will have to be swapped with weapons, as you can't use both at the same time. Items are quick-use items you'll need to restore health or photon energy.
Phantasy Star Universe Quick Links
Summary | Reviews | News | Previews & Features | Images | Videos | Answers | Hints & Cheats | Forum | Check Prices
- GameSpot ScoreN/ANo Rating
Check Prices: $19.34 – 38.99
Content you might like…
-
Phantasy Star Universe Gameplay Movie 4
This dude talks to some chick in Phantasy Star Universe.
- Aug 21, 2006
Users who looked at this article also looked at these content items.
Images
- Sega
- Sonic Team
- Action Role-Playing
- Release: Oct 24, 2006 »
- ESRB: Teen
Games you may like…
-
PSU: Ambition Illuminus
(PS2) -
Phantasy Star Trilogy
(PS2) -
Phantasy Star Complete
(PS2) -
Kingdom Hearts II
(PS2) -
Kingdom Hearts
(PS2)
Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.
See More Similar Games
67 Comments