Hunter
01-23-2007, 07:41 PM
http://media.vggen.com/games/xbox360/psu/logo.jpg
Man I am loving this game. Maybe it's just because I am a PS whore but I love every second of it. So let's go through it piece by piece. Even though I know all of you have already written this game off. Again, Me = PS Whore but I will try to be as objective as I can. Here we go!
Introduction
I know some of you, have played the Beta, for those of you who did not, the Beta is back up. They let you play for a month for free, then they wipe the servers. Just so you know, the Beta is not a very good indication of the real game. Beta is in fact not a an accurate description, it is more a demo, meaning it's missing a lot of the stuff from the final version, I'd say more than 75%. However, if you want a general idea of how the gameplay goes, the Beta is a good offering. NOTE: Your Beta character will not transfer to the full version of the game. It's worth a download if this review intrigues you.
NOTE2: I will not be giving a point score, since this is more for your information than assigning a grade.
Presentation
I have always loved the art and style of the PS universe and this is a lot more of the same. Clean cut high tech worlds with a touch of anime in the character designs. The menus are straight-forward, clear and easy to use. Although figuring out how to compare stats is a bit weird at first. There are three options to choose from, but I cannot for the life of me figure out what extra mode is for. It is just the online game, offline. But you can't use anything you earn there online and there are no extra story elements. It may server as a way to do offline co-op with friends, but I have not attempted this as of yet.
It is very different from PSO in that the offline mode is separate from online, and has a much better storyline. The menu layouts are different, much smaller, and transparent, not longer shrinking your screen, but instead superimposed on the top left. Online, is very different as well, since you now have 4 different locations to visit, three Planets, and a space colony where you live, each being vastly different than each other, with their own quests to tackle. There are no more “lobbies”, instead there are wide open spaces where there are shopping plazas, areas for relaxing, and places for taking missions. It can be pretty overwhelming at first, so it is recommended you go through the tutorial at the beginning of the game, plus you get a cool bonus at the end if you are a Hunter.
One thing, that I find VERY frustrating and I must speak out about, is the save system. Online is fine, since it is constantly saving, but offline, it uses save points, that are few and far between, sometimes 30-45 minutes between one ant the next. This is usually not an issue, since the game is fairly easy, but there are one or two levels where this becomes truly frustrating.
Story
There are two components to the story, both an offline and online story which are related to one another.
The Campaign Mode, or offline story is about 25-30 Hrs long. It is told in a mixture CG, Cutscenes, and text-bubble convo’s. Unlike a PSO, a large part of the story is told via CG and Cutscenes with audio. Of course, as is to be expected from all SEGA games, the voice acting is not the best, however, it is better than most. Better than enchanted arms. Most of the main characters do a well enough job, and are better than your average SEGA acting. The secondary characters are another matter. Most are ok, but there are a few (Vol Brothers) that are most definitely cringe-worthy.
The script itself is not as epic as past series, but it contains quite of few references to the old games, and a lot of staples of the series. It’s not exactly fresh, but it is quite enjoyable. The ending leaves a lot left unrevealed, but that’s intentional since there is more story to be had online and in future expansions, but it satisfactorily ties up the story. Again, a lot of the issues with SEGA games pop-up here. The writing can be pretty cheesy at times, but again, I expect this, and if you are used to PS games, you’ll find it quite enjoyable. There is a Rajah type character who is fun to watch.
The CG looks great though sometimes it seems to cut-off at the weirdest times. The cutscenes are fine, nothing impressive due to the graphics, but they tell the story well enough. The bubble-text scenes are a bit weird in that they use the pre-animated online emoticon type actions in order to convey emotions, and sometimes they don’t fit. The characters are otherwise static, but since most of the important story elements are told in the CG or custscenes, this is mostly extra story you may or may not want and can skip through. You can also get more story from background characters, who will tell you about their daily lives, and add some backstory to the world, give you tips, and make the world more alive. Though this is not necessary.
One of my favorite elements, is the episodic type nature of the story. You the play the game in episodes, each of which gets progressively longer. They have an opening intro with song, closing credits, with various songs, and even scenes from the next episode of PSU. I loved this, and made the story experience an amazing one for me, it may be a gimmick, but it made me feel like I was playing through an anime, which has always been one of my favorite things about the PS games. The story is however, very linear because of this, so if you dislike linear gameplay, that is a drawback.
All In all, it was a very enjoyable experience and left me wanting more.
Online Story. So I do get MORE!! The online story is a set of missions you can take online at the guild that take place several months after the offline story. They contain no audio since you carry them out with your online character. I have only played through the first one, there are currently four and more on the way. Any progress you make, you get to keep, not to mention you gain new NPC friends you can use when you solo. It is all text based, but so far, it is pretty good with some surprising revelations about our heroes in the Campaign mode.
GamePlay
The online and offline gameplay are pretty much the same, there are a few minor differences. One, you level up MUCH faster in Story Mode, and your character in story mode is a bit of a hybrid and has a lot of abilities you won’t be able to use online across classes like he does. Other than that, things are more or less the same so I will be describing online mode here mostly.
Like PSO, you have three basic classes to choose from Hunters, Forces, and Rangers. Your classes level separately from your character and the class you choose determines your overall stats, you can change classes at any time without losing your level and you can switch back and get all of your stats any times. There are the same races plus a new one. So you can choose from Humans, Newmans, Casts, and the new race, Beasts. There are also now 7 New Specialty classes, Fighgunners, Guntechers, Wartechers, Fortefighters, Fortegunners, ForteTechers, and Protransers. In order to use these, you need to gain certain levels in the general classes. We’ll begin by discussing gameplay for the basic classes.
Classes
For hunters, it’s still very similar to PSO, except you can no longer map as many buttons. There are now only two types of attacks for your weapons. The basic attack skill it comes with, which, like PSO, involves a sequence of three timed strikes, and a secondary attack called a Photon As. The three basic classes have Photon Arts specific to them. For Hunters, they are called, Skills. You have to buy disks with skills for the weapons you specialize in.
Each weapon has their own set of attacks, right now there are two, basic and advanced. The advanced attack called Skills use PP, or Photon Points, which vary from weapon to weapon. You can only have one attached to a weapons at a time, but you can swap them out as needed, note that each skill retains its’ own level. They recharge slowly over time, though there are recovery items, and items for you armor which speed up the recharge. These skills are more powerful than your regular attacks, and can be used in combination with them They level up and get increasingly more powerful and in some cases more complex, adding multiple more and more complex attacks. Check out the video below for an idea of how they get at high levels.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZugOdTlfMDc
Hunters can choose from a large variety of melee weapon types, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. They also have a small amount of ranged weapons they can use. Each type has several levels of weapons ranking from C to S. and within each categories there are three different types with strengths in specific stats. S Rank weapons need be made from part as far as I can tell.
Rangers. Rangers have it a bit more difficult in this game than PSO. Their weapons are based entirely on PP. Unlike hunters, ranged weapons only have one attack. These can be enhanced by Photon Arts called Bullets, but they still have only one attack. Bullets usually add elemental damage to the basic attack of the weapon, as well as certain status effects, like freezing enemies, setting them on fire, etc. The reason things a re bit more frustrating with a ranger is that since all of their attacks are tied to PP, their weapons eventually run out of “ammo”. Most guns have much higher PP than any other type of weapon, and use less, but even so, you will often find yourself running short. Pacing yourself helps, but you will usually need to carry various guns on you to switch between each. This is actually a recommended scenario either way, since different weapons serve different purposes. Later on, PP becomes less of a hassle, since you will be able to buy PP restoration items, and once you get the hang of it, you can get to restore stations before you waste all of your PP.
Just like Hunters, rangers Bullets level up to cause more and more damage. They have very large variety of Ranged weapons to choose from, and a few melee. However, some of the weapons unique to them are quite amazing. Like grenade launchers which cause large explosions and send enemies flying, temporarily incapacitating them can be quite devastating, and high level rangers can really dish out the damage from a distance.
Forces, are played much differently from PSO. In this games, Forces are the only of the three classes that can use Rods and Wands, and in this games, that they are the only ones who can use technics out of the basic classes. Like Hunters and Rangers, their abilities are tied to their weapons, rods and wands. However, rods and wands have any non-photon art attacks. The force Photon Art, if you can’t tell already, is the technic. You can tie two to a Wand, and four to a Rod. There are the same variety of technics as in PSO, plus a LOT more. Most of them are vastly improved, for instance Megid now also does damage, so even if it doesn’t work, the PP wasn’t wasted. There are ground technics like Diga, and other varieties of technics, that have different delivery methods, including homing.
Like all Photon Arts, they are limited by the amount of PP you have so you have to manage it wisely. Forces can also use some ranged and melee weapons and have some exclusive ranged weapons, like Bows. Bows are powerful for causing elemental damage. As before, if used correctly, technics do the most damage, but forces are very weak defensively, relying on Rangers and Hunters to keep them alive in many cases against the more powerful fast paced enemies.
Races & Advanced Classes
I’m gonna give a quick overview. Newmans, are strong at techs. Casts have special weapons that work kind of like Photon blasts. Every now and then, they can call down, SUV Weapons, which are giants guns that kick major ass. Beasts have Nanoblasts, which evolve them into giant hulking beasts that do massive damage. Humans, are well, average. They can use any class without any drawbacks, and one of the advanced classes I know of with benefits, but for the most part, they have little to distinguish them besides their lack of penalties.
The advanced classes are basically mixtures of the basic classes, when you have met the required levels on the lower classes you can switch to the advanced classes. Here’s a basic Idea of what they are:
Fighgunners, are Hunters/Rangers. Specialize, they are only class capable of using Doule Sabers, arguably the most powerful type of weapon in the game.
Guntechers, are Rangers/Forces. Capable of using pretty good guns, and casting technics.
Wartechers, are Forces/Hunters. Mostly Forces. They specialize in daggers, and are not able to use heavy weapons, or technics, but they get good Defense and offense, with technics, and if you are a human, you get bonuses in this class.
Fortefighters, Super high level Hunter class. Specializes in powerful melee weapons.
Fortegunners, Super high level Ranger class. Specializes in powerful ranged weapons and some traps.
ForteTechers, Super high level Force class. Specializes in powerful technics.
Protransers. Not entirely sure what they do, they specialize in using traps with massive damage bonuses.
Other
There’s tons more to the gameplay, minibosses and big bosses which are a blast to fight. Some are huge slow and lumbering, usually the big bosses. The mini-bosses tend to be much faster miss less with their attacks. Online, both can be quite a challenge. There are tons of other enemies, though like PSO the basic grunts just get repackaged in most areas, a lot of areas have unique powerful baddies with their own challenges.
There is also the item creation system, which isn’t necessary, but is a good way to make money and get great items. It’s pretty simple, but takes some getting used to. Basically, you get boards for making what you want and insert it in your partner machinery (like a mag). Then you fiend the necessary ingredients, and insert them too. Some can be bought, some must be found. Then, when you have all the ingredients, tell your PM to make it. There is a chance at failure depending on your PM’s level. But you can get all sorts of cool stuff this way.
Your PM’s are a lot different than mags. They do not follow you around anymore, and they are LOT harder to level up. However, they are more useful. They can make items for you, store stuff, and when they get a certain level, they can accompany you on missions!
Then you have the ability customize your appearance, though it is quite expensive, and you have your own room for each of you characters which you can decorate. There are plenty of decorations items, and themes, not to mention a whole SHOP you can add so players can visit and buy stuff you’ve found and put up for sale.
Graphics
To put it simple, they suck. I mean, it’s a PS2 game, what do you expect? Honestly, though, you shouldn’t let this hold you back. Even with it’s unimpressive graphics, it still manages to wow you with certain vistas, dungeons and enemies that are pretty awesome to look at. Close up, things fall apart. But hey, graphics doesn’t make good games, at least not in my book.
Sound
It’s there, dolby 5.1 I don’t know much about sound. I love the soundtrack, though I must admit it is very cheesy. I mentioned the voices already, and sound effects serve their purpose.
Conclusion
Cons: There is $10 online fee. There’s a pretty steep learning curve, this ain’t your old PSO. Graphics suck. Most of you will find offline lacking if you’re not a PS fan. Community is a bit lacking, though on universe 1 and 2 you can usually find a lot of people.
Pros: Once you get used to the new way, it’s much better, deeper, smarter, more balanced, than PSO, with tons more content. It’s just a matter of giving it some time, and you will find the PSO you new and loved, except ten times better.
Man I am loving this game. Maybe it's just because I am a PS whore but I love every second of it. So let's go through it piece by piece. Even though I know all of you have already written this game off. Again, Me = PS Whore but I will try to be as objective as I can. Here we go!
Introduction
I know some of you, have played the Beta, for those of you who did not, the Beta is back up. They let you play for a month for free, then they wipe the servers. Just so you know, the Beta is not a very good indication of the real game. Beta is in fact not a an accurate description, it is more a demo, meaning it's missing a lot of the stuff from the final version, I'd say more than 75%. However, if you want a general idea of how the gameplay goes, the Beta is a good offering. NOTE: Your Beta character will not transfer to the full version of the game. It's worth a download if this review intrigues you.
NOTE2: I will not be giving a point score, since this is more for your information than assigning a grade.
Presentation
I have always loved the art and style of the PS universe and this is a lot more of the same. Clean cut high tech worlds with a touch of anime in the character designs. The menus are straight-forward, clear and easy to use. Although figuring out how to compare stats is a bit weird at first. There are three options to choose from, but I cannot for the life of me figure out what extra mode is for. It is just the online game, offline. But you can't use anything you earn there online and there are no extra story elements. It may server as a way to do offline co-op with friends, but I have not attempted this as of yet.
It is very different from PSO in that the offline mode is separate from online, and has a much better storyline. The menu layouts are different, much smaller, and transparent, not longer shrinking your screen, but instead superimposed on the top left. Online, is very different as well, since you now have 4 different locations to visit, three Planets, and a space colony where you live, each being vastly different than each other, with their own quests to tackle. There are no more “lobbies”, instead there are wide open spaces where there are shopping plazas, areas for relaxing, and places for taking missions. It can be pretty overwhelming at first, so it is recommended you go through the tutorial at the beginning of the game, plus you get a cool bonus at the end if you are a Hunter.
One thing, that I find VERY frustrating and I must speak out about, is the save system. Online is fine, since it is constantly saving, but offline, it uses save points, that are few and far between, sometimes 30-45 minutes between one ant the next. This is usually not an issue, since the game is fairly easy, but there are one or two levels where this becomes truly frustrating.
Story
There are two components to the story, both an offline and online story which are related to one another.
The Campaign Mode, or offline story is about 25-30 Hrs long. It is told in a mixture CG, Cutscenes, and text-bubble convo’s. Unlike a PSO, a large part of the story is told via CG and Cutscenes with audio. Of course, as is to be expected from all SEGA games, the voice acting is not the best, however, it is better than most. Better than enchanted arms. Most of the main characters do a well enough job, and are better than your average SEGA acting. The secondary characters are another matter. Most are ok, but there are a few (Vol Brothers) that are most definitely cringe-worthy.
The script itself is not as epic as past series, but it contains quite of few references to the old games, and a lot of staples of the series. It’s not exactly fresh, but it is quite enjoyable. The ending leaves a lot left unrevealed, but that’s intentional since there is more story to be had online and in future expansions, but it satisfactorily ties up the story. Again, a lot of the issues with SEGA games pop-up here. The writing can be pretty cheesy at times, but again, I expect this, and if you are used to PS games, you’ll find it quite enjoyable. There is a Rajah type character who is fun to watch.
The CG looks great though sometimes it seems to cut-off at the weirdest times. The cutscenes are fine, nothing impressive due to the graphics, but they tell the story well enough. The bubble-text scenes are a bit weird in that they use the pre-animated online emoticon type actions in order to convey emotions, and sometimes they don’t fit. The characters are otherwise static, but since most of the important story elements are told in the CG or custscenes, this is mostly extra story you may or may not want and can skip through. You can also get more story from background characters, who will tell you about their daily lives, and add some backstory to the world, give you tips, and make the world more alive. Though this is not necessary.
One of my favorite elements, is the episodic type nature of the story. You the play the game in episodes, each of which gets progressively longer. They have an opening intro with song, closing credits, with various songs, and even scenes from the next episode of PSU. I loved this, and made the story experience an amazing one for me, it may be a gimmick, but it made me feel like I was playing through an anime, which has always been one of my favorite things about the PS games. The story is however, very linear because of this, so if you dislike linear gameplay, that is a drawback.
All In all, it was a very enjoyable experience and left me wanting more.
Online Story. So I do get MORE!! The online story is a set of missions you can take online at the guild that take place several months after the offline story. They contain no audio since you carry them out with your online character. I have only played through the first one, there are currently four and more on the way. Any progress you make, you get to keep, not to mention you gain new NPC friends you can use when you solo. It is all text based, but so far, it is pretty good with some surprising revelations about our heroes in the Campaign mode.
GamePlay
The online and offline gameplay are pretty much the same, there are a few minor differences. One, you level up MUCH faster in Story Mode, and your character in story mode is a bit of a hybrid and has a lot of abilities you won’t be able to use online across classes like he does. Other than that, things are more or less the same so I will be describing online mode here mostly.
Like PSO, you have three basic classes to choose from Hunters, Forces, and Rangers. Your classes level separately from your character and the class you choose determines your overall stats, you can change classes at any time without losing your level and you can switch back and get all of your stats any times. There are the same races plus a new one. So you can choose from Humans, Newmans, Casts, and the new race, Beasts. There are also now 7 New Specialty classes, Fighgunners, Guntechers, Wartechers, Fortefighters, Fortegunners, ForteTechers, and Protransers. In order to use these, you need to gain certain levels in the general classes. We’ll begin by discussing gameplay for the basic classes.
Classes
For hunters, it’s still very similar to PSO, except you can no longer map as many buttons. There are now only two types of attacks for your weapons. The basic attack skill it comes with, which, like PSO, involves a sequence of three timed strikes, and a secondary attack called a Photon As. The three basic classes have Photon Arts specific to them. For Hunters, they are called, Skills. You have to buy disks with skills for the weapons you specialize in.
Each weapon has their own set of attacks, right now there are two, basic and advanced. The advanced attack called Skills use PP, or Photon Points, which vary from weapon to weapon. You can only have one attached to a weapons at a time, but you can swap them out as needed, note that each skill retains its’ own level. They recharge slowly over time, though there are recovery items, and items for you armor which speed up the recharge. These skills are more powerful than your regular attacks, and can be used in combination with them They level up and get increasingly more powerful and in some cases more complex, adding multiple more and more complex attacks. Check out the video below for an idea of how they get at high levels.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZugOdTlfMDc
Hunters can choose from a large variety of melee weapon types, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. They also have a small amount of ranged weapons they can use. Each type has several levels of weapons ranking from C to S. and within each categories there are three different types with strengths in specific stats. S Rank weapons need be made from part as far as I can tell.
Rangers. Rangers have it a bit more difficult in this game than PSO. Their weapons are based entirely on PP. Unlike hunters, ranged weapons only have one attack. These can be enhanced by Photon Arts called Bullets, but they still have only one attack. Bullets usually add elemental damage to the basic attack of the weapon, as well as certain status effects, like freezing enemies, setting them on fire, etc. The reason things a re bit more frustrating with a ranger is that since all of their attacks are tied to PP, their weapons eventually run out of “ammo”. Most guns have much higher PP than any other type of weapon, and use less, but even so, you will often find yourself running short. Pacing yourself helps, but you will usually need to carry various guns on you to switch between each. This is actually a recommended scenario either way, since different weapons serve different purposes. Later on, PP becomes less of a hassle, since you will be able to buy PP restoration items, and once you get the hang of it, you can get to restore stations before you waste all of your PP.
Just like Hunters, rangers Bullets level up to cause more and more damage. They have very large variety of Ranged weapons to choose from, and a few melee. However, some of the weapons unique to them are quite amazing. Like grenade launchers which cause large explosions and send enemies flying, temporarily incapacitating them can be quite devastating, and high level rangers can really dish out the damage from a distance.
Forces, are played much differently from PSO. In this games, Forces are the only of the three classes that can use Rods and Wands, and in this games, that they are the only ones who can use technics out of the basic classes. Like Hunters and Rangers, their abilities are tied to their weapons, rods and wands. However, rods and wands have any non-photon art attacks. The force Photon Art, if you can’t tell already, is the technic. You can tie two to a Wand, and four to a Rod. There are the same variety of technics as in PSO, plus a LOT more. Most of them are vastly improved, for instance Megid now also does damage, so even if it doesn’t work, the PP wasn’t wasted. There are ground technics like Diga, and other varieties of technics, that have different delivery methods, including homing.
Like all Photon Arts, they are limited by the amount of PP you have so you have to manage it wisely. Forces can also use some ranged and melee weapons and have some exclusive ranged weapons, like Bows. Bows are powerful for causing elemental damage. As before, if used correctly, technics do the most damage, but forces are very weak defensively, relying on Rangers and Hunters to keep them alive in many cases against the more powerful fast paced enemies.
Races & Advanced Classes
I’m gonna give a quick overview. Newmans, are strong at techs. Casts have special weapons that work kind of like Photon blasts. Every now and then, they can call down, SUV Weapons, which are giants guns that kick major ass. Beasts have Nanoblasts, which evolve them into giant hulking beasts that do massive damage. Humans, are well, average. They can use any class without any drawbacks, and one of the advanced classes I know of with benefits, but for the most part, they have little to distinguish them besides their lack of penalties.
The advanced classes are basically mixtures of the basic classes, when you have met the required levels on the lower classes you can switch to the advanced classes. Here’s a basic Idea of what they are:
Fighgunners, are Hunters/Rangers. Specialize, they are only class capable of using Doule Sabers, arguably the most powerful type of weapon in the game.
Guntechers, are Rangers/Forces. Capable of using pretty good guns, and casting technics.
Wartechers, are Forces/Hunters. Mostly Forces. They specialize in daggers, and are not able to use heavy weapons, or technics, but they get good Defense and offense, with technics, and if you are a human, you get bonuses in this class.
Fortefighters, Super high level Hunter class. Specializes in powerful melee weapons.
Fortegunners, Super high level Ranger class. Specializes in powerful ranged weapons and some traps.
ForteTechers, Super high level Force class. Specializes in powerful technics.
Protransers. Not entirely sure what they do, they specialize in using traps with massive damage bonuses.
Other
There’s tons more to the gameplay, minibosses and big bosses which are a blast to fight. Some are huge slow and lumbering, usually the big bosses. The mini-bosses tend to be much faster miss less with their attacks. Online, both can be quite a challenge. There are tons of other enemies, though like PSO the basic grunts just get repackaged in most areas, a lot of areas have unique powerful baddies with their own challenges.
There is also the item creation system, which isn’t necessary, but is a good way to make money and get great items. It’s pretty simple, but takes some getting used to. Basically, you get boards for making what you want and insert it in your partner machinery (like a mag). Then you fiend the necessary ingredients, and insert them too. Some can be bought, some must be found. Then, when you have all the ingredients, tell your PM to make it. There is a chance at failure depending on your PM’s level. But you can get all sorts of cool stuff this way.
Your PM’s are a lot different than mags. They do not follow you around anymore, and they are LOT harder to level up. However, they are more useful. They can make items for you, store stuff, and when they get a certain level, they can accompany you on missions!
Then you have the ability customize your appearance, though it is quite expensive, and you have your own room for each of you characters which you can decorate. There are plenty of decorations items, and themes, not to mention a whole SHOP you can add so players can visit and buy stuff you’ve found and put up for sale.
Graphics
To put it simple, they suck. I mean, it’s a PS2 game, what do you expect? Honestly, though, you shouldn’t let this hold you back. Even with it’s unimpressive graphics, it still manages to wow you with certain vistas, dungeons and enemies that are pretty awesome to look at. Close up, things fall apart. But hey, graphics doesn’t make good games, at least not in my book.
Sound
It’s there, dolby 5.1 I don’t know much about sound. I love the soundtrack, though I must admit it is very cheesy. I mentioned the voices already, and sound effects serve their purpose.
Conclusion
Cons: There is $10 online fee. There’s a pretty steep learning curve, this ain’t your old PSO. Graphics suck. Most of you will find offline lacking if you’re not a PS fan. Community is a bit lacking, though on universe 1 and 2 you can usually find a lot of people.
Pros: Once you get used to the new way, it’s much better, deeper, smarter, more balanced, than PSO, with tons more content. It’s just a matter of giving it some time, and you will find the PSO you new and loved, except ten times better.