Phantasy Star Online

Are you ready for the first online console RPG? Let GamePro be your guide to Sonic Team?s upcoming masterpiece as the ever-scientific Cheat Monkey pokes it with a stick.

PSO?s story begins when a dying planet sends the colony ship Pioneer 1 to a new planet, called Ragol. After Pioneer 1?s successful settlement on the planet surface, Pioneer 2 arrives in time to witness a huge explosion from the planet surface. The ship loses all contact with the surface, and Pioneer 2 immediately restricts all access to the planet due to the danger. That?s where you come in.

Not your grandmother?s Phantasy Star
Many of PSO?s elements are familiar to veterans of the Phantasy Star series. All characters, whether android or human, belong to the Hunter?s Guild, which dispenses quests that advance the plot along while netting experience and meseta for the characters. Swords, staves, knives and guns are the main weapons available, each class with a different specialty. The techniques and items are straight out of Phantasy Star IV, but the similarities end there. In a change from RPG canon, there is a great deal of variation within a single item type. One saber will be stronger than another but will be less effective against robots, while another will deal added damage to native creatures, and so on.

Unlike standard RPGs, PSO?s combat and menu systems take place in real time. Due to the online constraints, there is no pausing, nor are there breaks in between rounds of combat to plot strategy. Though the combat is not turn-based, it is not a Gauntlet-style mashfest, either. Two types of basic attacks are available, one a fast, weak strike and the other a powered-up attack that shows off the Dreamcast?s lighting effects before unleashing a mighty blow. With the right timing, these two can be strung into a three-hit combo before your character goes into recovery time. Monster attacks can interrupt your attacks, either knocking you down or forcing your character into a parry animation, so getting surrounded is bad.

To assist some players with the hurried pace of combat, PSO allows a host of hotkeys. The digital pad can be used to hotkey certain chat options, like ?Help me!? or ?This way!?. The X, A, and B buttons can be assigned to different combat commands, allowing quick access to items and techniques in combat instead of having to wade through the menus while getting beaten up. Three hotkeys aren?t enough, though, and the R trigger acts like a shift button, allowing three more commands.

Meanwhile, the maps are reminiscent of classic Zelda. Switches open doors, de-activate laser fences, and extend bridges, while killing everything in the room can also unlock some doors. Boxes litter the map, and can be broken open to reveal treasure.

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