Phantasy Star Online Episodes I & II

The depth and scope in this title is endless. A good job since it's based in an ever changing online world. When playing offline you can take part in special missions. These range from serious to joke ones, and they keep you entertained for a while. You can also play the main game offline, but this is where it starts to feel lonely, since your character rarely has anything to say or anyone to meet. Online the game is breathtaking, you can go whever you want, play football in the lobbies, and take part in some genuinley enjoyable missions or complete the game! The RPG elements are deep, and will satisfy anyone whos played Final Fantasy.

The graphics are not exactly pushing the Xbox to the limit - but this is forgivable due to it being a Dreamcast game (though they do get a lot better in the brand new episode two). The music is amazing, and perfectly fits the environments.

A must have game for anyone! Featuring the entire original episode one and the brand new episode two - this game will take you at least 40 hours to complete. This really is value for money!

while it doesnt improve the original section that was on dreamcast, ie episode one, it goes a step further and really excels in episode 2, the next chapter in what we hope will be a long line of awesome online games. the episode one section is a straight dc port, with minor graphical improvement (water ripples) and an unexpectedly large amount of pop-up where the console fails to keep control of the scenary, which dreamcast did effortlessly. this section is for players to get formiliar with the game. if you havent played it before it will be imposible for you to play episode 2 yet. you create your character and either gain experience offline, or go online and have the best time ever with the online gaming section.

the episode 2 section is no where near as large as episode 2 but it expands the original story, gives all new stunning levels which push xbox graphics to a high degree and the weapons just keep coming! not only can you use the weapons from the 2 games on dreamcast, theres a vast array of new ones to be found.

the new features include, voice chat, new offline multiplayer modes never before available and the pleasure of playing an incredible game online with other people in what is one of the most important games of all time.

my only problems with this version is that all the character details/performance has been overhauled and its not all that great. for example the rangers could previously use all types of techniques/magic, now they have lost about 3! also some weapons that characters could previously use have been taken away from them, as in hunters used to be able to use spread needles (big powerful gun) now they cant!!

other than those minor flaws, which any new comer would miss totally, they're so small, its a perfect edition to the already huge xbox online selection which destroys all online competition, and i mean all!

it was amazing on dreamcast, but on xbox its just down right brilliant. buy it and see what the big deal is, you wont regret it, rpgs dont come much better than this!

At first loading up my Gamertag was registered, and I was taken to the character creation screen. you can choose from 12 different classes of player, all with a different array of skills and characteristics. Naturally I picked the coolest looking man on the block, which happened to be an android with a light-saber type weapon.

Reaching the lobby known as 'Pioneer 2', I headed straight to the "Hunter's Guild" to recieve my first mission. When transported to the planet full of creatures I was welcomed by handy messages integrated into the story, which helped my until my character met Level 2 stats. The graphics, although were a copy of the Dreamcast version were surprising nice, with the lush vegetation and rusted mechanical objects. An android was also sent to help me while I picked up the controls. The system is not turn-based like the Final Fantasy series, but instead is a hack 'n' slash adventure. The weapons available ranged from hand guns, to huge swords and various magical manouvers. 1 hour and 3 glasses of juice later and I was used to the controls, and taking missions on by myself. But then, my fun was spoiled, as I had to go to work :(

Next time I booted the game up, I decided to go into the "Online Mode". I was welcomed here by the sound of Frenchies, jabbering on about something that I didn't understand. I ignored the Frenchies and finally found some English peeps. The game loaded and I heard a familiar language. It was English. We had a quick chat and then we set about slaughtering some artificial inteligence. Gameplay was improved 10x by the use of the XBOX communicator and the virtual keyboard. Everyone helped each other in the game, one person died and another would heal them. Everybody stood up for each other as there is no 'I' in 'TEAM'.

3 hours just seemed to fly by and it was 1:50am in the morning. Tired, I went to bed and fell asleep. Not that that bears any relevance to this but it finished my day.

Out of 10, I would rate this game at least 9.0 if not more. It is very fun when you get the hang of it, but this game is definately not for everyone! Fans on Final Fantasy would appreciate this, even though the fight system is completely different. With no lag and not many idiots online, this game is a must!!