RPG fans and old skool gamers alike will have heard of the classic Phantasy Star series. It started its life back in the 80s as a series of turn-based RPGs, evolving into a solely online adventure when the Dreamcast appeared. Now those guys at Sega are offering 360 gamers the chance to experience the best the series can offer by creating Phantasy Star Universe (PSU); a game that has a quality single player story to play through, but also a giant online world to explore.

Excited yet? You should be. Finally the console world is getting a decent MMORPG, but even better it’s packaged with a top notch single player RPG. No cut corners here; the single player mode is a complete game in its own right, with 40+ hours to work through.

Very similar in feel to the past Phantasy Star titles, this story sees you play as Ethan Weber, a ‘hip and cool’ 17 year old who’s intent on keeping his kid sister Lumia safe whatever the cost. After his home colony gets attacked by a mysterious meteor storm and he has to save his sis for the first time, he finds his calling and joins the Guardians; PSU’s gallant hero types that keep the citizens safe from danger etc.

From there the story follows these mysterious meteors as Ethan and the Guardians try and work out what’s going on. Named THE SEED after the fact that they’re actually plant lifeforms, these mysterious creatures begin to crash onto the three planets circling the colony, causing major damage and turning normal beasts rather violent. Your mission – if you choose to accept - is to work out what’s going on, before it’s too late.

Very user friendly, you don’t have to be a skilled RPG player to give PSU a go. It’s a real-time combat RPG, which has you button bashing basic combos as you run around killing monsters, collecting items and opening doors as you progress through the 20+ dungeons.

The game is split into chunky ‘chapters’, each having multiple missions or timed trials to take on. For each trial you complete you are given a grade, and receive money (Mesata) and mission points for your efforts. Thankfully you can save at regular intervals, but there’s always motivation to keep on going as you can level up multiple times during each mission – at least during the early stages.

You’ve got a wide range of weapons to choose from; swords to guns or magic, and you’ve also got character types that you can change between. You start as a Hunter but you can also swap between a Ranger and Force, each having its own particular benefits and skills. You level each of them up using the trial-earnt mission points, and can choose which type to be depending on each mission, but the variety doesn’t end there.

For the inner shopper in you, check out floors two and three of Clyez City, where the shops can be found. There you can buy items, clothes and weapons, upgrade weapons and synthesise items too. There is a lot to take in as the game progresses, thanks to all this variety, but each new piece of information is broken down and spoon fed to you at separate intervals so you don’t get overwhelmed with new knowledge. 

PSU sadly isn’t perfect however, as there are a few little niggles that can annoy you as you play. For one, when you’re working in a group; which is often the case, NPCs will chirp up during fights with some interesting battle cries or comments. Sure, its kind of them to let us know that they’re leaving that particular monster for us to kill, or that another one looks so soft and fluffy, but when their voice bubbles pop up and block large sections of the screen, it can be tough to see where you’re going and what you’re hitting, so we wish there was a keep quiet button!

Also, the lack of a decent aim can be a tad frustrating at times. Its pure luck getting a lock on a monster really, and you can’t seem to purposefully move that aim from creature to creature. Instead our cunning way to get around the issue is to run around the area like a loon until you somehow get a lock on, then stay in place and use the strafe button to run from left to right in an attempt to hit as many of the lined up monsters as you can before they get too close and its time for some hand to hand combat. Clever, dontcha think?

There are similar pros and cons to the online gameplay, but we love it all the same.  Online you start off in the same Clyez City, and can meet players at the central table, go shopping and then zoom off to the planets to battle some baddies. In both game types you even have a room you can decorate and a partner machine that looks after your belongings etc. It can feel a bit overwhelming at first as there’s so much to do, and places to explore, but once you’re used to the menus and macros you can get about just fine. That’s when it becomes as addictive as crack.

Parties can be set up with up to six players per group, and we particularly liked the party chat ability that lets you talk to all the team members without the need for a USB keyboard. Once your partner machine has evolved enough, you can even call upon them to take up one of these slots whenever you're short of players. This can be really useful when tackling those slightly harder dungeons where every extra bit of damage really helps.

Missions can again be quite time consuming, but online there are ‘outposts’ (like a lobby) where you can top up your supplies and meet with other players who might want to join your party. Plus, scattered through the level are portals that let you return to specific sections if you die mid-mission.

The Dreamcast’s Phantasy Star Online was a great MMORPG, but PSU’s version is even better. Sega has looked at other MMOs for ideas; with synthesising something likely noted from World of Warcraft, and having your own customisable home having been seen in FFXI and Star Wars Galaxies before. We can’t fault it though; it’s a really enjoyable gaming experience.

What also adds to the appeal and uniqueness of this game – especially in the single player mode – is the graphics and portrayal of the story. The offline game is actually played out like an anime series, with each ‘chapter’ having an opening sequence, cut scenes, and an ending – completely with a ‘Next time on Phantasy Star universe’ FMV sequence. It’s kooky but we love it!

Also the character and planet designs are archetypically Japanese in their feel. Manga stylings make their mark, and everywhere is so bright and colourful that you simply can run around enjoying the amazing views, building designs and crazy looking characters than inhabit the worlds.

The music is a little too obtrusive in our opinion however, well particularly when out in the field. Wandering around the city or going shopping it has a more chilled out, muzak feel which is fine by us, but it’s much more in your face and irritating when you’re out fighting. Thank the gods for the 360s ability to play your own music in game. It’s much nicer to listen to The Killers or The Automatic than that headache forming stuff!

Also available on the PS2 and PC, we reckon that the 360 version beats ‘em both. For starters it crushes the PS2 version, which has been classed as an RPG rather than an MMORPG meaning its online capabilities and the overall online experience isn’t going to be anything like the 360s. Then it’s got the wonderful bonus of HD graphics which make the cut scenes and anime series feel really stand out.

Finally, we couldn’t go any further without mentioning that the 360 gets achievements too, so ner to PCs and PS2s! We were intrigued to work out how they would play out with both an off and online game on offer, but they’ve kept all the rewards for those that choose to work their way through the whole of the single player mode. Don’t expect small rewards that pop up quite often, in PSU there are only eight achievements to unlock so you get a hefty 100 gamerpoints as a minimum. These are rewarded to you as you kill off chapter bosses, starting with chapter three’s, and a big old bonus when you bring down your final nemesis.

We like the chunky awards to go with the chunky gameplay style; it seems to fit just right. But it’s true; PSU is not a game you can just dip into. It’s huge, immersive and expects you to dedicate a couple of hours of your time to it with every visit. That’s no bad thing though. We expect to keep playing PSU way into 2007, and we don’t expect to get bored of it!