soupjhhs's Full Review: Phantasy Star Online: Episode I and II for GameCub...
Difficulty-Easy
Learning Curve-10 minutes
Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2 for the Nintendo Gamecube is hacking and slashing at its best. With an all new chapter added from the Sega Dreamcast version this game tries to continue on were Dreamcast had left off.
Gameplay-4/5-The story in a nutshell is that the three races(human, newman, and android) had to leave their home worlds in search of a new world since the destruction of their worlds was imminent.
The first ship, Pioneer 1, lands safely on a planet that is suitable for life and they quickly start to build on it. Years pass and the second ship, Pioneer 2 with civilians, comes to that same planet. While trying to make contact there is a huge explosion on the planet and what contact they had, was lost.
To start it off, you can make your character whichever way you want. You can make it an Android, Human, or a Newman (a elf-like creature). After that, you choose your character's gender. To round off the looks, you can make your character as sexy, strong, or old as you wish. There are so many customization options that rarely two characters are similar.
Also, you choose what type of fighter your character will be. You can choose to be a ranger, a hunter, or a force. A ranger uses guns, guns, and bigger guns to fight his way through the battles. A hunter uses swords, daggers, halberds, etc. The final fighters are the forces, who use magic of all kinds. Whoever you choose is limited to what weaponry they can use.
Well, it can't really get more simple than this. You kill monsters, you break boxes, you kill monsters, and break some more boxes. As simple and pointless as this may seem, it is extremely addicting. I would have liked the controls and fighting in this game to be a bit more complicated than its mindless button mashing.
A couple things I had against the gameplay was that there was a lack of different weapons. There would be base weapons with just different names and strengths. While there were original weapons too, there were just too many generic weapons to make a difference in my mind. Also, the special weapons just came in too late in the game and when you finally get to own one you will probably be sick of the game.
Also, the game just took too long to progress. The levels were way too long and were shaped too plainly. Until the second episode in this game, the levels are mainly just square rooms connected by corridors. While you are wasting time in the insanely long levels, you are getting more and more annoyed by this game and put it down before it gets good.
Graphics-4/5-The first episode of this game is a port from the Sega Dreamcast and it shows a little in the graphics. While they aren't the best that the Gamecube can provide, they are good none the less. In the second episode, the graphics are more impressive and the backgrounds jaw-dropping.
Sound-4/5-The soundtrack in this game is an impressive one. The jukebox function lets you listen to all the songs in the game (providing that you have been there). I was rather disappointed in sound effects since they aren't that great and could be a little crisper.
All in all, I would recommend this game. While I didn't have the online capabilities for this game, the game is promising even if you just play it offline. A simple-minded, addicting game that will bring hours upon hours of fun.
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