Project Epsilon
December 5th, 2008, 05:34
Intro
Developer - Sonic Team
Publisher - Sega
Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus is the expansion pack for the popular Phantasy Star Universe game, bringing a more personalized and interactive universe to the acclaimed series.
Also available on: Xbox360(download only, no story mode, requires Phantasy Star Universe)
PS2
for the PS2 and PC, Ambitions of the Illuminus is a stand alone expansion and does not require the original Phantasy Star Universe
System tested on
CPU: Intel Q6600 @ 2.8GHz
RAM: 2GB Kingston dual channel 800mhz
GPU: Nvidia 9600gt @ 740/1100
Gameplay 7/10
*note 1* When i mention PSU or original game, I am referring to the non expansion version of Phantasy Star Universe.
*note 2* Game was played with a Logitech Wireless Rumblepad 2. As such, I'm not sure how playable the game is with KB and mouse.
Now, I've sorta had a love/hate thing with the original PSU. the combat was improved from PSO but it lost a lot of the feel and was very repetitive. after playing AotI, I'm starting to come around to the series charm. This is how the original (universe) should have been.
They added a "just hit" and "just counter" system where by timing your strikes correctly, you can either do a critical hit, or counter an attack with a critical. this make the battles a bit less boring. They also re-introduced the MAGs. they aren't exactly the same as they used to be, but its still nice to have them. There are a ton of new items, 2 new weapon classes (whips and slicers) and they improved the drop rate and difficulty of the game. the loads of new clothes, and the classic PSO gear are great (especially for a character creation junkie like myself.) But the #1 improvement that has me enjoying this "expansion" way more than PSU is a simple one... they removed the timer from most missions. In the first game, every mission worked like this
time taken to beat mission = x amount of points
enemies killed = x amount of points
1000 points = S Rank for mission, double exp, cool loot, etc
and anything less than an s rank was pretty much worthless. so i would just run the missions as fast as possible, just grabbing anything that would drop not even looking at what it was. and that was boring. now, when i take a mission, I can enjoy myself. Take screenshots, check what i pick up (and you have to now, as the drop rate has been cranked from the first) let pp recharge and such. and the missions seem to be a bit longer as well, and there are a lot with bosses at the end, giving the levels a PSO feel. and this is a very good thing. But there are still some flaws...
First off, This is a Action/RPG, and even the best ARPG tends to get a bit boring after a while, so your mileage may vary. I would probably recommend this game for the mid-high to hardcore ARPG fans. Another thing is you still can't melee with a force weapon. The way its setup is that you bind your TECHs to your weapon and use it to cast. While this works for the button config that they have, it would have been nice if you could just swap a TECH for the normal attack or something. it would help in a pinch.
Also if you create a character from scratch, you'll have alot of high end items unlocked from the start, while importing a PSU extra mode character requires you to play the whole story mode to unlock the same goodies. should be the other way around. And you'll still need to do the Story mode to unlock the missions.
For offline mode, you get partner cards from characters in the story mode, to help you in missions. In PSU, when you unlock characters, they are available for all your extra mode characters. In AotI, you have to do the story mode and unlock them for each character you create. And the AI for those characters suck. They border on useless, so unlocking them isn't really that helpful. Add to this the fact that in non timed missions, your deaths and the deaths of your mates now count towards getting an s-rank. So for some missions, you may just want to go it alone. And Finally while there is a ton of game offline, there are no extra classes like in the online mode, and some items are not available offline. This is annoying to because
1: PSO was build around an offline game. the game was 99% available offline, but it was fun enough that you wanted to take it online. AotI offline still seems gimped just to get you to pay a subscription fee.
And 2: It would have been nice for them to include some of the extra classes offline, not all, but just a few so you can get acquainted with how the job system in the game works.
Sound 7/10
Tested using an onkyo hts4100 surround sound setup connected via optical and using dolby pro logic II matrix mode
The sound as a whole is a bit... ehh... its all fitting for the game, and the quality is good. the only thing that bumps up the score is that some of the music in the game is really good. I love just sitting the the Nudaiz square and listening to the music. The voicework in the game is done pretty good as well, but there really isn't much of it compared to PSU. But like most sonic team games, the music is a love or hate sorta thing, so if your not a fan of the sonic music or the music in PSO, knock off 2 points.
Graphics 8/10
I know what your thinking "8/10?! the game looks like a ps2 game!" There is some eye candy added over the original. the photon effects are redone and give this sorta sparkly bloom effect, shadow maps, and 720p support. But yes, it does look like a ps2 game, but I personally love the look of the game. Sure, the textures are low res and the lighting isn't anything special, but i just love that anime style done in 3D look. And its not really done too much anymore. nowadays yous kids get yer overdone cel shaded anime look, or yer super real, super dark shading, brown color palette look. Its an acquired taste, so for some (most) of you, you'll probably knock off 3 or more points.
Replay Value 8/10
Even with a chunk of the game available online only, there is still a ton stuff available offline. With some very expensive S-Rank weapons, to clothes and Cast parts, Drops, creating your own weapons, leveling your character, classes, photon arts, partner machinery... theres way more available offline in AotI over PSU. If you could replay PSO over and over, you'll be able to enjoy AotI. I haven't tried online yet, but i'm sure with other bipeds it'll be way more enjoyable than playing with the useless AI. If you didn't like the repetitive PSO, you may not find much replay value here.
Overall 7/10
Overall I'd rate this an above average game. It still has some problems, but the improvements in the expansion do give the impression that they listened to the fanbase and are trying to bring that PSO feel. If they bring out another expansion and it improves the game as much as this one did, they will have the PSO killer fans have been waiting for.
Developer - Sonic Team
Publisher - Sega
Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus is the expansion pack for the popular Phantasy Star Universe game, bringing a more personalized and interactive universe to the acclaimed series.
Also available on: Xbox360(download only, no story mode, requires Phantasy Star Universe)
PS2
for the PS2 and PC, Ambitions of the Illuminus is a stand alone expansion and does not require the original Phantasy Star Universe
System tested on
CPU: Intel Q6600 @ 2.8GHz
RAM: 2GB Kingston dual channel 800mhz
GPU: Nvidia 9600gt @ 740/1100
Gameplay 7/10
*note 1* When i mention PSU or original game, I am referring to the non expansion version of Phantasy Star Universe.
*note 2* Game was played with a Logitech Wireless Rumblepad 2. As such, I'm not sure how playable the game is with KB and mouse.
Now, I've sorta had a love/hate thing with the original PSU. the combat was improved from PSO but it lost a lot of the feel and was very repetitive. after playing AotI, I'm starting to come around to the series charm. This is how the original (universe) should have been.
They added a "just hit" and "just counter" system where by timing your strikes correctly, you can either do a critical hit, or counter an attack with a critical. this make the battles a bit less boring. They also re-introduced the MAGs. they aren't exactly the same as they used to be, but its still nice to have them. There are a ton of new items, 2 new weapon classes (whips and slicers) and they improved the drop rate and difficulty of the game. the loads of new clothes, and the classic PSO gear are great (especially for a character creation junkie like myself.) But the #1 improvement that has me enjoying this "expansion" way more than PSU is a simple one... they removed the timer from most missions. In the first game, every mission worked like this
time taken to beat mission = x amount of points
enemies killed = x amount of points
1000 points = S Rank for mission, double exp, cool loot, etc
and anything less than an s rank was pretty much worthless. so i would just run the missions as fast as possible, just grabbing anything that would drop not even looking at what it was. and that was boring. now, when i take a mission, I can enjoy myself. Take screenshots, check what i pick up (and you have to now, as the drop rate has been cranked from the first) let pp recharge and such. and the missions seem to be a bit longer as well, and there are a lot with bosses at the end, giving the levels a PSO feel. and this is a very good thing. But there are still some flaws...
First off, This is a Action/RPG, and even the best ARPG tends to get a bit boring after a while, so your mileage may vary. I would probably recommend this game for the mid-high to hardcore ARPG fans. Another thing is you still can't melee with a force weapon. The way its setup is that you bind your TECHs to your weapon and use it to cast. While this works for the button config that they have, it would have been nice if you could just swap a TECH for the normal attack or something. it would help in a pinch.
Also if you create a character from scratch, you'll have alot of high end items unlocked from the start, while importing a PSU extra mode character requires you to play the whole story mode to unlock the same goodies. should be the other way around. And you'll still need to do the Story mode to unlock the missions.
For offline mode, you get partner cards from characters in the story mode, to help you in missions. In PSU, when you unlock characters, they are available for all your extra mode characters. In AotI, you have to do the story mode and unlock them for each character you create. And the AI for those characters suck. They border on useless, so unlocking them isn't really that helpful. Add to this the fact that in non timed missions, your deaths and the deaths of your mates now count towards getting an s-rank. So for some missions, you may just want to go it alone. And Finally while there is a ton of game offline, there are no extra classes like in the online mode, and some items are not available offline. This is annoying to because
1: PSO was build around an offline game. the game was 99% available offline, but it was fun enough that you wanted to take it online. AotI offline still seems gimped just to get you to pay a subscription fee.
And 2: It would have been nice for them to include some of the extra classes offline, not all, but just a few so you can get acquainted with how the job system in the game works.
Sound 7/10
Tested using an onkyo hts4100 surround sound setup connected via optical and using dolby pro logic II matrix mode
The sound as a whole is a bit... ehh... its all fitting for the game, and the quality is good. the only thing that bumps up the score is that some of the music in the game is really good. I love just sitting the the Nudaiz square and listening to the music. The voicework in the game is done pretty good as well, but there really isn't much of it compared to PSU. But like most sonic team games, the music is a love or hate sorta thing, so if your not a fan of the sonic music or the music in PSO, knock off 2 points.
Graphics 8/10
I know what your thinking "8/10?! the game looks like a ps2 game!" There is some eye candy added over the original. the photon effects are redone and give this sorta sparkly bloom effect, shadow maps, and 720p support. But yes, it does look like a ps2 game, but I personally love the look of the game. Sure, the textures are low res and the lighting isn't anything special, but i just love that anime style done in 3D look. And its not really done too much anymore. nowadays yous kids get yer overdone cel shaded anime look, or yer super real, super dark shading, brown color palette look. Its an acquired taste, so for some (most) of you, you'll probably knock off 3 or more points.
Replay Value 8/10
Even with a chunk of the game available online only, there is still a ton stuff available offline. With some very expensive S-Rank weapons, to clothes and Cast parts, Drops, creating your own weapons, leveling your character, classes, photon arts, partner machinery... theres way more available offline in AotI over PSU. If you could replay PSO over and over, you'll be able to enjoy AotI. I haven't tried online yet, but i'm sure with other bipeds it'll be way more enjoyable than playing with the useless AI. If you didn't like the repetitive PSO, you may not find much replay value here.
Overall 7/10
Overall I'd rate this an above average game. It still has some problems, but the improvements in the expansion do give the impression that they listened to the fanbase and are trying to bring that PSO feel. If they bring out another expansion and it improves the game as much as this one did, they will have the PSO killer fans have been waiting for.