Phatasy Star Online 2 (PSO2) - Review

Platform – PC and PS Vita

Here is another action packed MMO straight out of Japan, and one of the most demanded titles to come to the West. PSO2 has an amazing amount of customization, and a pretty nice variety of races to pick from, customization of your chosen character’s appearance and skills, such as Photon Arts (physical striking martial arts), Bullet Arts (bullets with fancy effects ranging from elemental typing to aliment inducing), and Techniques (magic in other words):

Human - The well rounded.

CAST - Extremely high in physical power and accuracy, and have the highest HP count. However, they have the lowest affinity for using techniques, and lowest defense against them.

Newman - Low defense and HP, but excels at using techniques.

Duman (pronounced Dew men) – Low defense and HP, but excel in both ranged and close quarters combat.

PSO2 has an awesome variety of classes to offer, and the best part is (and personally my favorite) you can switch between classes to experiment and see what your favorite play style is. Each class has its own play style; it isn’t so much that they are unique, but all MMO's have a role for each class:

Hunter – High in both in HP and defense. This class focuses on Great Swords, Wired Lances (mix of close-midrange type weapon that has grappling), and Partizans (spears). (Pretty much a tank with hefty damage)

Fighter – Excelling in high speed, in your face combat with average defense. This class mostly focuses on twin daggers, knuckles (fancy brass knuckles), and twin sabers (two swords connected at the hilt). (Think of a rogue)

Force – THE MAGIC CLASS! Low defenses and HP, but hey, that magic damage is through the roof!

Techer – THE HEALER! Low defenses, low HP, magic damage is about average.

Ranger – Big guns... like assault rifles and launchers.

Gunner – Higher mobility Ranger; instead of launchers they can use twin machine guns (I wonder why this is a separate class)

Braver – This is just a Samurai class, katanas and bows are their main weapons, nice close to mid-range fighting skills. Very HIGH crit rate.

Bouncer – This class is just a weird combination of Techniques and Photon Arts. They use jets boots (swords around the ankles that can shoot out fireballs and other magic) and dual blades (sword in each hand).

It is difficult to follow along with the story. There are story missions at the mission counters, along with a chart called a “Matter Board”, which tells you what to do and can help you earn items, but the board is a very poorly organized, so you don't really know what order to do the missions in.

Alright, on to the actual game play. Aside from the story and customization, the game itself is gorgeous on both the PC and Vita. The maps themselves are set on different planets, and each one has their own weather patterns. Both are amazing to look at, hell even the player lobbies look fantastic. The second player lobby (the shopping area), cycles between seasonal events, and with each one the lobby will change. One of the cool things which happens every few hours or so, is the “Emergency Quest” which is a public event that spawns rare monsters and other goodies.

LOOK RAIN!

This one is my favorite

Shopping Area

Gotta pose for a good beach picture, right?

Every game has its downsides and this one suffers from some big ones. First, it’s a Japanese release only, so finding and keeping up with the English patches becomes a nightmare fast. Secondly, it’s an MMO, so the grind gets old fast. Next is the combat system, yeah it’s pretty fun the first few hours, but it becomes repetitive fast once you find your proper weapon set and attack combos.

Final Standing on Phantasy Star Online 2

Would I Recommend: No, because it becomes a hassle with the English patches. Next it is a free-mium game, meaning its free only up to a certain point and using an American bank account can put you at risk for getting your account banned. I am to the point of the game where my equipment needs to be replaced with stronger, more powerful weapons, but I can't replace them because you need a “Weapon Pass” to purchase 10 star rarity and above gear. These “Weapon Passes” are ONLY obtainable by spending real money, to have a “Premium” status on your account (games gotta make money somehow). Don't know fluent Japanese? Well, enjoy playing by yourself for a while until you find another English speaker.

Graphics: 4/5 stars, just a slight loss because of graphical clipping here and there, but hey, bugs are bugs.

Game Play: 3.5/5 stars

Overall Impression: 4.5/5 Stars

-Ronin

P.S. I LOVE how advertising is done in this game!

Ads on in-game jumbotron!

Life Is Strange - Review

It’s that wonderful time of year again, the Steam Summer Sale is in full swing! Among the titles on sale over the past few days, a special one caught my eye that I’ve been curious about for a good while, “Life Is Strange”. LIS is the story of a girl named Maxine Caulfield, who has recently moved back to her small home-town of Arcadia Bay, Oregon. She’s a photography student with all the stereotypical worries: class, boys (or one in particular it seems), bullies, etc, but what sets her apart is when she discovers she can “rewind” time. Now this is far from the first time a movie, book, or game has given someone control over time, and the concepts they play with (chaos theory in this example), remind me very much of the “Butterfly Effect” movies. Somehow though, the game feels highly original in its execution, and breathes fresh life into the genre.

                LIS is split up among 5 chapters, and currently only three have been released, so presumably the creators alone know how it (might) end. Due to the “choice and consequences” system the game rests on, every decision down to watering your plants can change how you’re perceived by the other characters. In many cases you’re truly “damned if you do, damned if you don’t”, so my choices are more directed toward just how much trouble I really want to be in. Similar games, such as the Mass Effect series, ask you to pick a clearly defined role of good, bad, or neutral, LIS asks you to pick whatever sounds morally acceptable to you, and pray it doesn’t turn out too bad, and believe me, bad in this game can be extreme.

                No matter which path you take, our heroine will often second guess your choices, questioning whether or not we guided her properly, and audibly worrying to herself through entire sequences. This is another thing that sets Max apart; while you come to understand her and her moral stance, she is still very human in that she considers the less moral path, such as wondering if instead of comforting a disheartened bully, she should have done more to drag her down. She knows it would be wrong, she clearly isn’t comfortable with the idea, but she also sees how it could benefit her and win future confrontations. She’s thoughtful, insightful, and one of the best written heroines in over a decade, largely because of talented actress Hannah Telle (iCarly, Murdered: Soul Suspect, Days Of Our Lives), who skillfully brings Max off the screen and into our hearts. This girl isn’t a silent protagonist, her voice is not reserved for cut scenes, nor is she endlessly looping the same obnoxious repertoire for hours on end (Link and Slippy Toad, I’m looking at you). Her commentary is always relevant to the scenario and worth a listen if you want to understand her world and interactions better.

                Minor hiccups aside, the graphics are beautiful. As of chapter 2, I have yet to find an NPC that looks exactly like anyone else. Seemingly irrelevant characters are given names, demeanors, and a reason to exist in this world, just as much as Max does. Square Enix deliberately made graphics a secondary concern against the story and acting, which seems a wise decision, since the only real problem I’ve noticed is poor lip sync on the characters. If this was the “lower” graphic option, I’m curious what the advanced graphics would look like, not that it needs an upgrade.

                All in all, “Life Is Strange” is an immensely well produced work of art, filled with engaging characters, an intriguing story that keeps you guessing, and incredible replay value; I can’t wait to see how the tale progresses as the final chapters are released. 5/5 Stars!

Three cheers for clever references!