Sega has announced that Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus has shipped for the PC, Playstation 2 and Xbox Live (for the Xbox 360). The game is downloadable for 1600 Microsoft Points on the Xbox Live Marketplace but requires an online subscription and the original Phantasy Star Universe 360 game to play. The AOTI expansion is rated "T" for "Teen" and carries an MSRP of $39.95

Check the link to visit the official site.

"DDR UNIVERSE2 offers new features and gameplay options that will appeal to aspiring and existing DDR fans," said Jason Enos, Senior Product Manager at Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. "The next generation graphics make this the best-looking DDR game to date while the new features and online capabilities offer gamers a wider array of options than ever before. For non-stop action and fun, this is a must-have game for Xbox 360 owners."

A release date not yet revealed. 

]]> Tue, 10 Jul 2007 14:20:00 -0500 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_phantasy_star_universe_360 http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_phantasy_star_universe_360 http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_phantasy_star_universe_360# This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Brian Mohr.

Phantasy Star Online proved that console role-playing games could be successful when it released on the Dreamcast in 2001. Since then there have been plenty of other successful online RPGs to hit the market, but SEGA is throwing their hat back in the ring with a new version of their hit titled Phantasy Star Universe. Does the new title have some more tricks up its sleeve or has the Phantasy Star ship sailed?

For the most part, Phantasy Star Universe is a rehashing of the Dreamcast experience, right down to the graphics. Pretty much the only area the game actually does a good job is with the online experience. Sadly players have to pay $9.99 a month for access to the game’s network, but if you do, the game allows you to create your own persona from one of the four races featured in the game. You have the ability to customize your appearance, equipment, and more.

As you get into the game, it can be fairly difficult to tell exactly where you’re supposed to go and what you’re supposed to do. Once you get your bearings though, you’ll realize you can join up with one to six other players and battle it out in online missions. During battle you’ll be able to pick up money and items which can be used to purchase and upgrade your abilities for the next fight. Also featured in the online part is a bedroom which you can customize. While it certainly has its drawbacks, the online portion of PSU can be addicting particularly if you’re playing with a group of friends.

The problem with the game is pretty much everything else. The story mode isn’t exactly engaging. Players take on the role of Ethan Waber, a young man that begins the story by babysitting his sister. As you travel through the adventure you’ll end up saving her and the world while you battle monsters, bosses, and more. The real problem with the story is the fact that a majority of the game is told through cutscenes, CGI, and tons of text bubbles. If you’re not doing that, you’re wandering a lot. All of this results in a rather dull experience.

As for the combat itself, it is in real-time and straight repetitive hack and slash. The fighting mostly relies on two buttons X and Y. Add to that the fact that the artificial intelligence isn’t very smart and that can really make the combat tedious. The actual missions you go out on are very repetitive too. For the most part, you’re moving from room to room killing wave after wave of enemies. The actual enemies you face are almost all the same too with the exception of the bosses.

While the fighting may be undesirable, it’s even worse when you consider the framerate. The game has a fair amount of slowdown particularly when there are a lot of characters on-screen. The slowdown isn’t as bad as some games, but it is clearly noticeable and can be very frustrating when you’re facing a boss.

The only thing that lightens up all of this is the fact that you do have the ability to use a decent variety of weapons as well as special attacks. Weapons, techniques, character classes, moves, are all upgradeable. Also Ethan himself, along with his partner droid, can be customized throughout the game.

As for graphics, the game doesn’t appear to be designed with the Xbox 360 in mind. It looks like the game is made for the PlayStation 2. The enemies and environments are bland, while the lighting and textures don’t provide any sort of detail we expect today.

Finally, the sound is equally poor. The soundtrack for the game is very repetitive, but at least you can put on your own tracks to cover that up. The voice acting and sound effects are mediocre and really provide no depth to the entire experience.

SEGA really dropped the ball in almost every respect with Phantasy Star Universe. Just about the only thing that is going for it is the online play, and even then $9.99 is a pretty steep price to pay for such an underwhelming experience. In the end, the game is a big disappointment due to its lackluster graphics, sound, and gameplay. Phantasy Star Universe had a good core to work with when it released nearly six years ago, but the problem now is the game hasn’t evolved into the next-generation.

There isn’t a lot of variety in the gameplay to keep players interested.

Graphically, the game doesn’t take advantage of the 360’s power; the framerate is very bad too.

The music, voice acting and sound effects are mediocre, but they don’t have a lot of depth.

It's alright and can be addicting, but the fact you have to pay for poor online play is bad.

The online and full story modes provide a lot to do.

]]> Tue, 12 Dec 2006 22:41:00 -0600 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/phantasy_star_universe_announced http://www.gamebump.com/go/phantasy_star_universe_announced http://www.gamebump.com/go/phantasy_star_universe_announced# SEGA of America today announced Phantasy Star Universe for the PlayStation 2 and PC. Yuji Naka (Sonic Team) will oversee the development and the game is said to include over 40 hours of gameplay.

"Phantasy Star has a rich history, both as a single-player RPG franchise and as an online multi-player series," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Entertainment Marketing, SEGA of America. "By fully supporting both gameplay modes in one package, we will be able to provide gamers with a fantasy role-playing experience of unprecedented depth."

Phantasy Star Universe will allows gamers to create their own characters from a range of races get to explore all three planets in the Grarl solar system. This is also the first Phantasy Star title to appear on the PlayStation platform. It is expected to ship in Spring 2006. Keep your eyes peeled for first screenshots soon.