Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus

[Riskbreaker]

I think Gears of War will kill Phantasy Star Universe dead unfortunately.

To be honest, I really like the game after palying the offline story mode. I just dont think there are that many hardcore PSO fans on XBOX that will like it, or be willing to cough up the extra money just to play a game that has less content than the offline mode....at the moment anyway.

This is why I have a glass case with an emergency copy of the PS2 version in it. If everyone buggers off to play something else within the space of a couple of months I have a fall back plan

But I don't think it'll be too bad, GOW and PSU don't exactly sit in the same niche and if Sega pull their finger out of their arse we should be relatively safe. Even I'm going to be splitting my time between the two, but there is no way PSU is getting abandoned if Sega keep their end of the bargain.

[Riskbreaker]

The killer with PSU is that the Playstation 2 is the key platform, and as it doesn't use the hard-disk they can only really unlock whats already on the disk or offer what, 8mb of downloadable content max. They are already working on an expansion pack which comes on a new disk, so I wouldn't hold your breath for a lot of 'new' content, they'll just drip feed what's already on the disk and maybe add a couple of new weapons as downloadable content.

My moneys on SEGA shutting down the 360 servers within a year.

Didn't Sega say there would be 360 specific content? Or am I imagining it?

Probably the latter.....

If they are planning an expansion pack already, this drip feed of existing content is even more disgusting. Sega really piss me off sometimes, I do have to wonder why we keep buying their games.

[Riskbreaker]

Just to add insult to injury, whilst we lucky basts are still waiting for our first update, the Japanese just got the second* one Hurrah:

http://www.pso-world.com/viewtopic.php?topic=126075&forum=20&94

*third if you include the halloween content we also didn't see.

[Silvergun X]

Mind you, we're saying this but the Japanese version has been going on for quite a bit longer than the US release. Over a month, isn't it?

[Riskbreaker]

True, but it might be worth noting that whilst you are paying to play PSU Beta Plus, the JP verison was declared as in Beta state for that gap and hence the JP players didn't pay

At the end of the day, I don't understand how a company can design a game and its update schedule so that its players have to grind less than half the content of the disk for a month (5 weeks if you follow the schedule exactly).

Fairplay if you reach the end of the first part of Guild Wars, you've played everything on the disk and you're just doing the occasion quest with friends waiting for the next release. But to be forced to grind half a game at such an early stage in its life and to miss content that you may have already experienced in full in the solo mode is a joke.

Okay, so I don't run a game company, but I wouldn't have released PSU until I already had the first update actually ready to deploy away and was working on the second. Remember, no other major MMO has done this; WoW full game with added content and an expansion, FFXI likewise, Guild Wars full game released on regular basis to provide new content, Monster Hunter and PSO full games with missions added. Of those only WOW, FFXI and the later PSO's charged a fee.

I don't have a problem paying a fee to keep an online service running to play an MMO and with games such as WoW the fact that they then produce addition content is even better. Paying to play a beta is a pisstake, there is no two ways about it. And as Piro mentioned, it could well kill the game especially at this time of the year.

Sorry for all the ranting guys, espcially before the EU release and most of you have had a chance to play it. I do really enjoy this game, but the only thing worse than a crap game is one with good potential that gets ****ed up. If it was crap with no potential I wouldn't even bother to rant, the game would be in the bin.

What annoys me more, is this is worse than the Lumines issue and at least MS had the decency to listen and explain themselves, Sega barely seem to be arsed.

[SUMIRE]

I wonder how much stuff is actually on the disc, is there anyway to find out ?

Is there extra planets not seen in even the story mode? I'm thinking on the lines of the Central Control Tower stages in PSO Ep 1 and 2 on Gamecube/xbox which was locked for a while.

I dunno I just would just like to know if there is anyway of expanding on what ive already seen in offline mode apart from items etc.

[Riskbreaker]

Not sure, everything that is in the solo mode should be present for the online mode. But there may well be stuff that you don't access at all in solo.

Someone mentioned that Tricktrack, a music track from PSO is used as bgm for one of the missions in the new JP patch. As far as I know, no one has commented on that music being played in the solo mode. The .ogm files for BB were at least half a meg and I haven't heard anyone mentioning a patch download to a PS2 mem card. So there are hints of content on the disk which will only be accessed online when unlocked by Sega.

Not exactly planets though, if the rumors of the expansion are true you'll get to pay another ?40 for that priviledge.

[Riskbreaker]

Well maintenance has been and gone, another quick one with no patch, but we pretty much expected that. Roll on next week!

Great games on the A rank Colony runs with Fallows and Silvergun. They were that much harder to go through and its probably the only time I can recall jumping out of a mission to recharge my pp because every single weapon was out. It was really good to actually attempt something challenging, but also a real shame that the quality of drops was the same as a C rank run, especially considering that it was much more time consuming. We could probably have done 3 De Ragan C runs in the same amount of time.

Highlight of the night was when we finally managed to kill the SEED Vance boss and relaxed a bit only to have two more appear in its place Intense and good fun.

[Silvergun X]

I agree with that!

Top stuff. I certainly wasn't expecting that! Imagine the same on a De Ragan A run!

[Riskbreaker]

Apparently A rank De Ragan (I love that, why not just call it Dragon) runs drop a Dragon's tail once in a blue moon. My guess would be A rank Relics runs are the only hope for the Relic edge you're after.

Oh yeah, got Ranger to lvl 5 last night so it's back to Force for a while. Will need to get some decent force weaps but at least we'll have some healing for the A rank runs

[dogsout]

Speaking of the Relic Edge, guess who picked one up on a Sleeping Warriors run yesterday....

My PM hit lvl 84 yesterday and gave me her partner card upon transforming at lvl 80.

[Riskbreaker]

Lucky bast! They sell for muchos mesetas.

[dogsout]

I'm not selling it, I've seen the Sword you can make from it and I want that ****.

[Riskbreaker]

Anyone else playing the solo mode and notice that you get a comedy preview of the next episode if you skip the credits and preview for the current episode?

Finished the boss at the end of chapter 7 and only got a C rank as he's one of those bosses that likes to teleport and heal. So decided to go load back and go in better prepared, got a S-rank and skipped the chapter end song and preview to get some sort of comedy outtake between Ethan and Karen.

EDIT: Just did it again, seems to only occur with S rank.

Also has anyone noticed how Sheena at ther Guardians Parum base talks like CATS from Zero Wing?

[stainboy]

Not got an S rank on the bosses yet, I was wondering what you thought was so funny about the previews

Doesn't Sheena say something like "All your safety are belong to us" at some point early on?