Phantasy Star Universe

[Signe]

I'll have a copy for the PC at midday tomorrow.  Is the normal wired 360 controller the best one to get? 

[Kitsune]

I'll have a copy for the PC at midday tomorrow.  Is the normal wired 360 controller the best one to get? 

People have reported good results with both the 360 controller and the PS2 controller.  The 360 has the advantage of being plug & play with XP, but lots of people have PS2 controllers already laying around their home and you can get a PS2-USB adapter from Radio Shack for around ten bucks.

So, go with whichever is more comfortable for you.  Or go with some third party PC controller, but honestly I've found that most gamepads built for the PC are absolute shit.  Dunno why the console controllers are always of such higher quality.

[geldonyetich]

I'm weak, I'm buying it.   I admit, I've a certain affinity towards Jpop.

[stray]

Hop online fairly early on, y'all. At least enough to provide an informed review. I'm sure the single player game will be cool, but I want to know more about multiplayer.

[schild]

Single player game is apparently trash. Basically the multiplayer game is where its at.

[stray]

If it's even Star Ocean quality, I wouldn't mind the single player portion too much.

*ducks in case any Star Ocean fanboi's are lurking here*

[schild]

It's not Star Ocean quality.

[stray]

In a good way or bad way?

[schild]

Basically, the single player is awful.

[Signe]

You're bringing me down, man.

PS  I've been called a hippy twice now, so I've decided to be one.

[geldonyetich]

I'm reserving my judgement on the single player.  I can see that it's dialogue-heavy and rife with cutscenes, but that might turn out to be a good thing if I like the way the story shakes out.

The way I look at the Phantasy Star Online is something like this:

1) If you look at it as a MMORPG, you're going to be let down due to lack of massively multiplayer level of interactions.  You're only going to see up to 6 players at a time (including yourself) anywhere that combat takes place.  This is an improvement of two players over the original.

2) If you look at it as a 3D Diablo in space, you're in a good position to appreciate the level of additional features and artistic detail on everything.

We'll see how Phantasy Star Universe holds up under this perspective.  Granted, while going with option #2 would undoubtably put one into a better perspective to judge the game on its own merits, it doesn't explain the $10/mo fee.

Gamebrink (which probably gave it way too good of a score) has a goodly collection of subscription-free gameplay videos over here.

[schild]

You're bringing me down, man.

PS  I've been called a hippy twice now, so I've decided to be one.

Ellen Fleiss is the best avatar you've had in a long time.

[Margalis]

No surprise that the single-player is crap. I mean it may be ok for what it is - which is a single-player version of a primarily multiplayer game.

[stray]

Curious. So the single player sucks because it's mainly relying on gameplay one would see in mmo games....But yet, the multiplayer doesn't suck?

[Strazos]

Ellen Fleiss is the best avatar you've had in a long time.

QFT

[schild]

Curious. So the single player sucks because it's mainly relying on gameplay one would see in mmo games....But yet, the multiplayer doesn't suck?

The gameplay in Phantasy star is not hotkey based moron-combat. It's button driven, with special attacks on other buttons and the ability to dodge things. The single player is not fun because the world and game are designed to be at least a little multiplayer. Simply knowing there are other people in the world makes the multiplayer shit 9,000x times better in this sort of world.

[Kitsune]

I have a very hard time believing that PSU's single-player is anything but a step up from PSO's, which had... I don't even want to call it a story at all.  You could have played through the entire game without having activated a single one of the beacons or having the faintest clue why you were running around hacking things into bits.  Even Diablo had a more compelling story than PSO, and that's saying something.

But in PSO, you could take the character you played through the offline mode and play online with them.  With PSU the online characters are stored serverside to discourage hackers, so playing the offline game is 'wasted' as far as online progression goes.

[Strazos]

On a console it's buttons, but on a PC it's hotkeys? Not seeing the difference, unless you have a sort of combo-tree.

Though active dodging is a nice touch.

[Kitsune]

On a console it's buttons, but on a PC it's hotkeys? Not seeing the difference, unless you have a sort of combo-tree.

Though active dodging is a nice touch.

What shild's trying to say is that the PSO/PSU characters perform precisely as the player input commands them, not with queued actions like a MMOG.  You don't hit the autoattack button and watch your little man beat on the little monster.  For every motion and every attack the character makes, the player had to input some sort of direct command into the joypad.

[stray]

On a console it's buttons, but on a PC it's hotkeys? Not seeing the difference, unless you have a sort of combo-tree.

Though active dodging is a nice touch.

Shooters are one thing.

Don't even defend hotkeying just for sake of defending PC's.

That's just fucking criminal.

[Kitsune]

I didn't explain well.  To clarify, Phantasy Star Online and Universe handle more like FPSes than MMOGs.  You can move your character to evade an attack, and if you don't aim your attacks they'll sail right by the monsters.  There are RPG elements; even an attack that's dead-on can still 'miss' if you have a crappy accuracy stat, but by and large combat hinges entirely on the player, not on the character's stats.

[Strazos]

Shooters are one thing.

Don't even defend hotkeying just for sake of defending PC's.

That's just fucking criminal.

Oh, I'm not. Granted, hotkeys themselves are not out-and-out bad, but they have been implemented fairly shitty-like. I played the original PSO a bit. The game was boring and gave me a headache. Also, the map design was ass.

[schild]

Still wish there were at least 3 or 4 of us getting the 360 version. Would really love to have a Monday or Sunday night thing of PSU whatwith built in voice chat and all.

[Strazos]

built in voice chat.

Thanks for reminding me that I'm not missing anything! 

I kid, I kid.

EDIT: If anything, hearing Schild's voice coming from some sort of gothic killer-loli would be good for a few laughs. You all know that's the kind of toon he will make.

[Signe]

Most of us don't have 360s, but you ALL have PCs. 

You should do the right thing. 

[stray]

I think the problem is that Schild's PC is a piece of crap. 

[Kitsune]

Still wish there were at least 3 or 4 of us getting the 360 version. Would really love to have a Monday or Sunday night thing of PSU whatwith built in voice chat and all.

Dude.  Teamspeak.  Yeah, it's not nearly as convenient as something that's integrated, but voice chat's easily managed on PCs too.  The only ones who're kinda fucked are the PS2 people, unless they put headset support into that one.

[Kitsune]

I think the problem is that Schild's PC is a piece of crap. 

Oh.  Well, no help for that except some upgrades.

[schild]

Eh, it's not a piece of crap. It's just not perfect. And not on a 37" LCD screen. And not in front of a couch. PC Gaming simply isn't as FUN as console gaming to me anymore.

[Kitsune]

My TV's a 27" lo-def that can handle precisely zero of the snazzy new video formats, and I'm not really looking to shell out a grand or more to upgrade it.  'Cause first you put out a thousand for a new HDTV, and that's the lowest-quality of the true HDTVs, mind you.  Then you have to buy a receiver that can actually handle the HD video signals, and that's the better part of another thousand.  Good 5.1 speakers?  At least three hundred.  HD-capable Tivo?  Eight hundred.

Much as I want a good HD setup for the living room, there is just no way in hell that I'll be affording it.

[Zetleft]

I'll be picking up this game on xbox 360..... when i actually get a 360.  Played the beta on the roomies xbox and liked it alot.

[schild]

My TV's a 27" lo-def that can handle precisely zero of the snazzy new video formats, and I'm not really looking to shell out a grand or more to upgrade it. 'Cause first you put out a thousand for a new HDTV, and that's the lowest-quality of the true HDTVs, mind you. Then you have to buy a receiver that can actually handle the HD video signals, and that's the better part of another thousand. Good 5.1 speakers? At least three hundred. HD-capable Tivo? Eight hundred.

Much as I want a good HD setup for the living room, there is just no way in hell that I'll be affording it.

What are yout alking about? Get a Costco card, you can have an awesome 32" HDLCD for something like $600. I have the 37" version (Visio) and it is magnificent. Doesn't do 1080p, but couldn't care less.

[MrHat]

Ya, I have a cheapo Westinghouse 27" HDLCD from Bestbuy that I got for like $600, not the greatest thing up close, but looks great with a console plugged in.

Re: PSU, Am I missing something here?  This game is based on a game that was basically Sci-Fi Diablo, but shittier right?  The one on Dreamcast back in the day?

[Signe]

Re: PSU, Am I missing something here?  This game is based on a game that was basically Sci-Fi Diablo, but shittier right?  The one on Dreamcast back in the day?

Yes, that's it.  Why do you find it odd?  Can't you smell the desperation in the air?

[Strazos]

Apparently, there IS a Costco in NJ, and they have 2 20" sets for $400.