PSU Got A Fair Review At E3(WWW.1up.Com)

[Reystradamus]

What's the game about: The single player focuses on Ethan Webber and Co. as they play their parts in a generic space RPG story setup. Fans, however, know that the really meat and potatoes is about how you can play with your friends online.

What's new for E3: Another year of Phantasy Star Universe being playable on the floor, and little has changed for Phantasy Star, so you can expect for a focus on character customization in the game. Appearances, classes, and many other attributes can be adjusted, so the character can look and control to a player's exact preference. But folks who play the single player campaign are a bit out of luck -- your character will only control as you want and not look as you wish.

What we like: Character customization is much more in-depth than previous Phantasy "hey-we-all-look-the-same" Star games done in the faux-MMO style; if you don't like your character's eyelines or pupils, you can change it. This is a nice change that's sure to be appreciated by players. The weapons are also more varied as well, and there are hybrid classes in addition to the standard fare fans have become accustomed to. Apparently change is good.

What we dislike: Who went and beat PSU with the ugly stick? This game looks atrocious on the PS2, and the interface is a tad clunky, with almost every corner of the screen occupied by some bit of information. The PC version, though, does look a lot better, and because of the resolution for the game being different, allows for the HUD to be less obtrusive.

Another complaints has to be filed against the camera. During battles we found ourselves constantly pressing the camera's centering button, so we could actually see what we were fighting against. It'd be nice to see this fixed because we can see a mean blister forming after extended play sessions if the current setup isn't tweaked.

[Ryna]

The complaint about the HUD is valid. If you are playing a a low resolution, it can easily occupy most of the screen.

[Ziro_Natsuke]

here is the link to that page http://ps2.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3150837
but i have noticed something i dont think is fair

WHY DOES IT SAY THE RELEASE DATE IS 4/20/2007??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :angry:

[kassy]

hehe, yeah the interface is huuge at 640x480.

...and lol, "ugly stick"

[Feratique]

WHY DOES IT SAY THE RELEASE DATE IS 4/20/2007??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :angry:

Well if that is the release date then it's better for me to look up spore stuff since it is coming out earlier than that.

And i better look for a game to pass summer....

You guys think WOW burning crusader is any good? i'm defintely getting it.

[StarLionsX]

I doubt it will be 4/20/2007 for the release date.

[ShadowDragon28]

IMNHO Sounds like that article writer had become too spoiled on all the shiny new next gen stuff, and is treating anything that doesn't look like FF13 or Halo 3 like it's only "fair" or has "crummy graphics" *sigh*

I've seen the all the new gameplay videos for PSU on the PS2, and they don't seem like they'd bother me. Graphic look pretty darn good, despite the very poor quality video of those clips.

And as for the "generic space rpg story set up" um So f***n what? Oh like Halo's storyline is real orginal/unique? It's not IMO.

Sci-Fi themed rpg's are few,(umi can think of three; Star Ocean 3, Xenosaga series, and RO) while *some* aspects of those games and PSU may be a little "generic" not "all" aspects are.

One can't judge PSU's entire offline story or it's online side as "generic" on only *two* offline segments of gameplay/story points or the intro story.

That's like watching only 25 minutes of "Lost" and thinking it's a "generic knock-off of "Gillighan's Island" " or somesuch. LOL anyone whom has watched Lost from ep 1 up to the current episode knows that's not the case.

What is this articles author expecting? For PSU to have Evil wombats from Mars that wanna turn Planets into hamster wheels? Cheese sabers? Rubber ducky blasters? Halo 3 with Hack saw swords? A "Scrubs" dating sim on a space station? WTH?

Game magazine "editors"/writers should at least wait to play through the entire offline Story mode, and all the online quests until Labelling PSU as a "generic space rpg."

Once again I am reminded *why* I dislike EGM and most things affiliated with that smelly rag..um magazine.
EGM and 1 UP should be smacked with a Shut-the-heck up Stick, IMNHO. End Rant.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: ShadowDragon28 on 2006-05-14 14:45 ]</font>

[voxie]

Is the camera as awkward as he says then?

[ShadowDragon28]

He probably never played PSO. In PSO Re-asserting/re-centering the camera is barely a bother after one get's used to it. So I'd imagine it wouldn't be all that bothersome in PSU.

[Skye-Fox713]

from the videos the camera system looked to be very and i mean very similar to PSO's ep1+2 camera system and i beleve that and well a seasoned pso pllayer wont have troubble with it. I'm shure i wont when the game comes out

[Valure]

Well if that is the release date then it's better for me to look up spore stuff since it is coming out earlier than that.

And i better look for a game to pass summer....

You guys think WOW burning crusader is any good? i'm defintely getting it.



I was gunna get spore as well! Do you know when the release date on that is coming out? (sorry that has no relevance...)

About the topic at hand, i think that before i let anyone else tell me the bad or good sides of a game are, im just gunna experience it for myself and make those calls...



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Valure on 2006-05-14 15:55 ]</font>

[Feratique]

I was gunna get spore as well! Do you know when the release date on that is coming out? (sorry that has no relevance...)


Well i'm not sure but i read on ign that it's about the first quarter of 2007.
So i guess it's about februray or march 2007.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Feratique on 2006-05-14 16:07 ]</font>

[Kyuu]

Yeah, if he thinks it looks "atrocious," then he is seriously expecting way too much. It's not a PS3 game, it's a PS2 game. Even ignoring that, it still looks great. I seriously don't know what he was expecting. Oblivion-like graphics?

The camera does indeed sound similar to PSO's, and if that's the case, then it's not bothersome at all. It's something that takes a little getting used to, then it's second nature.

And sure, the story doesn't sound like a Pullitzer Prize winner, but you can label damn near anything as a generic set-up of its genre... especially when you don't actually know much about it since he didn't get to play really anything.

Oh, and not to mention, what's with his complaints about the old PSO customization system? Even compared to most new games that come out, PSO still has one of the best customization systems. I mean look at WoW for Chrissakes. Now that is crappy customization.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Kyuu on 2006-05-14 16:18 ]</font>

[Rurisho]

Or worse, look at FFXI. Holy crow, was i disappointed with THAT character customisation.

[kassy]

Lol, PSO has cr@ppy character customisation imo, but so do a lot of other MORPGs, but you can't deny the fact PSO had/has a butt load of clones running around ingame.

Anyway why are a few people getting upset by the writer's comments? it's initial impressions, the game may actually appear to be a "generic space rpg" to newcomers to the PS series, us hardcore PS fans are biases in so many ways.

Oh and the camera is something us PSOers have learned along the way, but newcomers might find it very annoying indeed, so valid point. I’ve very interested as to what newcomers think of PSU, I think it’s safe to say all of us PSO players here already love this game, lol, if it’s truly gonna be successful it has to be fun to the people who’ve never play a PSO game.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: kassy on 2006-05-14 17:50 ]</font>

[oShojino]

The camera system is pretty much exactly like PSUs, however in PSU it is possible to rotate your camera around your character freely.. but the all too familar "centering camera behind character" is back.. and it wasnt bothersome at all ( I suppose it takes some getting used to). I'm just going to sit back and let all these editors underestimate the game, then come back and praise it when it comes out for its dynamic gameplay thats unseen in many mmos.

[SirenV]

In what other game could you alter THAT much that early? (Even though clothing didn't change like most MMO's where one's appearance changes with armor - it allowed for maintaining a personal style)

Seriously, though, I don't know where he gets off saying that they stuck on "hey we all look the same" in the previous "games". PSO was basically all one game (bar the different versions). Not only did it have more customization than WoW and FFXI like you guys said, its foundation came out years before either of these. There aren't really any other mmorpg's like PSO/now PSU. Although the battle system was a tad shallow (PSU seems to fix this though) it had a very high playability versus something like FFXI which was "pretty" but a mechanical disaster.

I'm sure it'll be out before that 2007 date as well, that'd be a very risky move for them to release that late, in my opinion.

And ShadowDragon - You're totally right, hehe.

[Itsuki]

my only real issue with the camera was that the "center camera" button was the "strafe" button. So you pretty much always had to have the camera behind you are attacking. Stafing along the wall == very bad idea. Good thing most of the areas after colony were pretty open (think like CCA, mainly mountain).

But their issues with the interface are realyl quite true. In 640x480, the interface is gigantic. With the minimap on the top right, target on the top left, up to 6 players with life bars on the bottom left, and weapons with multiple types of attacks on the bottom right it just ends up like clutter. You have meters eveywhere and can barely see the little hole in the center all the clutter makes.

[Sinue_v2]

I don't think the author really knew what he was looking at. Not that I can blame him, since from what I hear - Sega had a pretty dismal showing of it at E3 and it would go largely un-noticed considering the other announcements and goings on this year.

To call PSU a "Generic Sci-fi RPG" is completely off base. If it's generic, then Phantasy Star is the game which created the mold. It is THE generic Sci-fi RPG by which all others simply follow. He knows nothing about the history of Phantasy Star and the impact it's had on the RPG genre. That alone should be enough to at least pique the interest of any RPG fan - rather than just looking at it as though it were simply "Space RPG #47".

[ShinMaruku]

I think too few appertiate PS's effect on the genre, seems he jsut wnated to bash the PS2 appearntly.. Lucky me, I'll upscale on my PS3.
but it's all we knew alreayd. TGS is the one to look for, all the japanese companys had a weak shwoing at E3.

[ShadowDragon28]

TV moniters used at some boths at E3 can be notoriously small (like 12" to 14" or 15" wide screens" , from what I've seen of at previous E3 I attended a few years back.

On a small tv screen things will seem a little crowded. I think such will not be the case on TV's that are 20" and wider. I envy ppl with wide-screen plasma tvs and HD-TV's.. lol.

From the gameplay videos, the menus don't seem to be that bothersome.

And what was playable at E3 was just a *demo version* and not neccessarily the 100% *finished* version of PSU. Why would the PS2 be different that the PC version? I don't any reason off-hand why they would be different display ratio wise...*shrugs*

Thanks btw SirenV.

Sinue_V2.. You probably know all this;

I think it was Phantasy Star IV was probably the first videogame rpg that featured the ability to combine spells(Techniques) for special combo spells, and Phantasy Star for the Master System with the only Sci-Fi-Fantasy rpg back in 1987-88 where travel and explorering 3 different worlds was possible.

I don't think any other videogame rpg's back then had anything like that, and neither did the have the scrolling pseudo-3-D dungeon mazes. Sorry if you knew about all that. It's more for the benefit of those not familiar with the history of the Phantasy Star series. Pardon my rambling... Hardcore fan of Phantasy Star series since 1987 here. LOL.

[Skye-Fox713]

inndeed

[physic]

actually, I think his review is fair. He is merely saying waht many people have said, the online element is what excites them. Half the people here polled at least said that they d barely play the offline mode. I cant really say how good the story is till i see it myself. As to the ps2s graphics, i saw the demo way back at last years show, there is a big dif between the pc and the ps2 one. But hey ps2 has always had teh crappiest textures of the systems of thier generation. nothing you can do about that.

[kassy]

On 2006-05-14 19:13, ShadowDragon28 wrote:
Why would the PS2 be different that the PC version? I don't any reason off-hand why they would be different display ratio wise...*shrugs*


If you're refering to the interface comment, the PC version can be played at much higher resolutions, so he was refering to the menus being intrusive due to the PS2's small resolution.

The higher the resolution you play PSU at, the less screen space the interface will take up.

Here's a comparison:
PS2 equivalent 640x480
http://mysite.verizon.net/res7gdth/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/psuallthinginlowin680x480.jpg

PC 1280x1024
http://mysite.verizon.net/res7gdth/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/psuallthinginhighi1280x1024.jpg

Credit goes to Le_True_Noir for the pics.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: kassy on 2006-05-14 19:31 ]</font>

[ShadowDragon28]

The 640x480 ratio doesn't look bothersome to me. The higher ratio display on the PC seems to make the menue way to small IMO.

Oh yeah the textures on "God of War" and "Shadow of the Colossus" where sooo terrible...*not*.

Yeah, them cell textures in "Okami" are just ugly garbage.. *not*.
*sigh* like a game can only be good if super-duper shiny "FF: advent children" level graphics?... *shakes head*

Sonic Team *finally* spends 3 years on an epic sci-fi story for the offline part of PSU, the first fully fleshed story for a Phantasy Star rpg since Phantasy Star 4 on the Genesis, and some people are whining about it already.

Jeez, can't people at least wait until playing through the entirety of the offline story of PSU before passing it off like it's nothing?



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: ShadowDragon28 on 2006-05-14 19:35 ]</font>

[Parn]

By the same token, can't you wait until you've played the game before you hype up a story you haven't even experienced yet?

[ShinMaruku]

Ya know if ST does what they should they might get the recontion they deserve

[hypersaxon]

First of all, 1up has proven that they can't keep up to date on a game for ****. Like that comment where he said that offline, you have no control over what your character looks like... apparently they forgot about EXTRA MODE?!

As far as the HUD goes, it doesn't look any more obtrusive than the PSO HUD which was just fine by me. The PC version looks incredibly small and hard to read, kind of like FFXI's HUD. I'd prefer to be able to read information on the HUD without squinting my eyes, thank you very much.

[Inu_Shadi]

On 2006-05-14 19:38, hypersaxon wrote:
First of all, 1up has proven that they can't keep up to date on a game for ****. Like that comment where he said that offline, you have no control over what your character looks like... apparently they forgot about EXTRA MODE?!

As far as the HUD goes, it doesn't look any more obtrusive than the PSO HUD which was just fine by me. The PC version looks incredibly small and hard to read, kind of like FFXI's HUD. I'd prefer to be able to read information on the HUD without squinting my eyes, thank you very much.




The only reason the PSU HUD on the PC is so small is cause the resolution is set high. On a big monitor the text is very readable, but if you put high resolution on a 15 inch monitor, thats kinda suicide unless you can read very small font.
if you have the PC resolution set at 480x640 it will be big as the PS2 HUD, but I know what version you are going to get xD, but, i dont know what it will be like on XBOX360

[physic]

yall guys are reacting too much to any negativity at all, the 640 hud she showed was with one player, with 4 or 6 it will go all the way up the side, and im pretty sure that those were both pc shots used to illustrate a point, because i think ps2 looks more fuzzy than that. Also keep in mind the difference between textures and high polygons with shading and effts. these are not limitations of ST really, but ps2 is ps2, the truth is these are small issues, how clean your graphics are and how big your hud is probably wont effect the over all game play that much. If the game is fun and good these things wont matter much

[ANIMEniac]

wellquite honestly i cant argue with what was said in the artical. if u think about it, we have been looking for and getting inside info on this game for over a year, this guy prolly just played it at e3. the demo wont tell him about Extra mode, and he probably saw the network vid for his info on the online portion. and IMHO the longer ST waits to put this game out the more critisizm its gunna get. if this were like halo 2 where every peice of new info was put into 12 magizines then hype would go up, but since not no one else knows sbout all of the great stuff we do, but just see it as another game that hasent come out. but dont get me wrong, i have easily put in 1000+ hours on PSO and love the game, but as others have said our bias has made every non-positive coment on this game sting that much worse.

i havent played the PSU demos, but i couldn't see straffing if the camera is not centerd behind u. things would just get confusing

btw: i did not even know ppl played in this 640 x 480 resolution, but it is not bad at all. compaired to console PSO it is actualy still a bit smaller. that is except 4 the area map, that seams a bit bulky.

[BulletTooth]

This is by no means a fair review. This is a horrible review, no way around that. I just hope they fix these very real issues.