2nd Op By

Gene Park 7.5 RATING

The Xbox release of Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II is similar to the GameCube incarnation except for two things, and it's up to you whether the good thing cancels out the other. The game is impossible to play without an Xbox Live GamerTag (your online personal profile on Live). Playing this game requires you to make a $50 investment for Live, topped off with the $8.95 monthly fee (although you do get the first two months free). However, the game is now voice chat enabled, thanks to Live's microphone headset. Any gripes about needing a keyboard become invalid. Instead of using shortcuts to yell for help, you can just scream bloody murder.

I was really happy to see Episode II's levels really shine with plenty of effects and many characters on screen at once. "The Power of the Xbox" also seemed to have effectively lessened the slowdown in the game. The levels also build upon the aesthetics of the first episode, creating lush, imaginative locales with equally eye-pleasing enemy design. Even the artistic direction of the first episode holds up well not only up against episode II, but the rest of the Xbox library as well. It's a testament to Sonic Team's design choices to make the game as timeless as possible, even for an old Dreamcast game.

Unfortunately, the clipping issues Mike mentioned are still present here, and it makes moving around all the more annoying because of the acceleration your character has to go through before running full speed. The rarer weapons and items were also annoying, and I see it as less incentive for me to play the game. I don't really have the addictive personality Mike described in his review, and I have invested as much time in this game just like I have trying my luck at the California lottery.

The Phantasy Star Online games don't hold much appeal for me. The fighting (which is the essence of the game) is much too slow for my taste, even when compared to the Diablo series or Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. In fact, online RPGs hardly get me going. I don't see the allure of going online, pressing a few buttons, voice chat with children who shouldn't know the phrases they utter, getting a few weapons and making your Mag bigger to satisfy the phallic envy inside me. A Los Angeles Times music critic once told me that every critic has his preferences, just like I might prefer online first-person shooters over online RPGs. The mark of a good critic, however, is that he knows a good piece of art within its specific genre. As much as I don't enjoy the virtues of online dungeon crawling, Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II gives you a good bang for your bucks (if you're willing to spend them, that is). Still, I wait for the day that there's an online RPG with an accessible and dynamic real-time fighting engine. Until then, online RPGs, including Phantasy Star Online, will always remain in my eyes as a fascinating context for the clumsy, greedy, slanderous or cheating addictive personalities in the gaming world—a microcosm within a microcosm.

Disclaimer: This review is based on the Xbox version of the game.

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