Phinancial Phantasy. Review

Phinancial Phantasy.

Following the report on the original Phantasy

Star Online, Game Revolution brings you the Market Watch with Johnny Liu.

Wall Street has made significant rebounds lately as people are putting more faith

into spending. But before I delve into how to divest your savings into minimal

risk mid-caps and how to turn your useless Internet stock certificates into charming

paper cranes, we’re going to discuss the dollars and cents – or lack of sense

– of Phantasy Star Online Version 2.

To

get the gist of what the world of PSO is like, you’ll have to check out

our broadcast right from Ragol with roving reporter Brian Gee. Phantasy Star

Online Version 2 is mainly just an expansion pack. While you don¹t need

the original PSO to play, 40 big ones for an expansion is a sharp smack

to the head, especially if you’ve already paid for the original.

What’s new? Lobby soccer, while conceptually a neat idea, is a decent mini-game

style diversion. There are two new levels, but they are only for the Battle

Mode, a player against player mode. You won¹t lose your mags and money in this

mode, just your dignity. Plus, there’s an ‘ultimate’ difficulty option that

SIGNIFICANTLY ramps up challenge. Only for players over level 80.

The appeal of this genre has always been statistical improvement. If you’ve

hit the wall at Level 100, now you can climb over it by going up to 200. Plus,

there are new rare items and a costume change you can buy at 100K.

If you have great scorn for the morally depraved cheaters, PSOv2 does

offer anti-cheating protection. Player killers begone! Hackers will always find

a way to break any system, but the effort towards eliminating them is duly appreciated.

It would have been even more appreciated in the original.

There are also plenty of new mags to check out, including some that resemble Sega machines of old. Woohoo! Check out that Genesis!

Some things haven’t changed. Trading items is still unwieldy. How about a

better way to trade items between other players? Alas, it¹s still the old drop

and grab.

The single player experience is still extremely boring. Why can¹t they make

an interesting, story-driven single player game? It’s an odd decision, considering

that other successful online stat games like Diablo (on which PSO

is most obviously based) have thorough single player games. Inevitably, you’ll

have to go online to get the true experience of PSO.

But now, you will have to pay to play.

While there isn’t a specific cost-to-fun ratio in GR game reviews, there is

an inherent value to anything and everything you buy. Do you feel like you’ve

gotten your money’s worth? Let’s go through the bookkeeping.

PSOv2

costs 15 dollars for a 3-month block (contractually it’s 1200 yen, which

is usually several dollars less), so a full year of PSO will run you

60 dollars. But the accounting doesn’t end there. Don’t forget the cost of entry

– purchasing PSOv2 itself at about $40. That’s $100 dollars out of your

bankbook, not to even speak of hidden costs like dial-up (PSOv2 still

doesn’t support broadband, grrrr) and the cost of the original PSO if

you are upgrading.

If you are new to the world of PSO, I would love to suggest going with

the original first. But wait – you can’t! It appears that the original PSO

has been phased out, leaving only PSOv2 on shelves. I can deal with the

monthly fee, particularly if it improves the servers and kills the cheaters,

but PSOv2 still feels expensive for what is still just an expansion –

especially since we aren’t allowed to purchase the original at this point.

Maybe they should have kept the original on shelves and made Version 2

cheaper. That plan would compel newbies to buy the original and get addicted

while still allowing veteran PSO upgraders to feel a better sense of

value. But since when did sense have anything to do with selling video games?

And what about the future outlook? Let’s say Phantasy Star Online Version

3.14 rolls around. How are you going to upgrade your character if PSO

is only available for your X-Box or Gamecube? You can’t.

As for the hardcore PSO maniacs, it’s all about Dope War economics.

If you are already hooked on heroin and someone is pushing stronger, faster,

better heroin at you, you’ll pay through the nose for a hit. If you do make

the upgrade, shifting your equities into PSOv2 is a one way street. Once

you’ve upgraded your character from PSO to PSOv2, there’s no heading

back. Your character will be unplayable on the original and bound to paying

for online service.

What it all boils down to is an imbalance of the cost-to-value ratio. PSOv2

really doesn’t give fans enough to warrant the steep dip in the wallet. With

the right online experience, PSO can be a really fun game, but between

the original and Version 2, the scales just don¹t add up.