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Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 19 Critics What's this?

User Score

Mixed or average reviews- based on 11 Ratings

  • Summary: Phantasy Star Universe offers two complete RPG experiences - a single-player action adventure spanning multiple planets, and a robust online multi-player component. The game offers long-time fans the epic experience they have been clamoring for. The solo adventure features more than 40 hours of gameplay, an emotionally engaging story, traditional cut scenes, and strong character development. The title's hero is Ethan Waber, a 17-year old cadet intent on saving his sister, who is living on a planet under siege by mysterious life forces called THE SEED. In Online Mode, players are given the opportunity to create their own characters from a range of races, and they get to explore all three planets in the Grarl solar system. Fans can travel with a squad of other adventurers, enter urban sprawls teeming with hundreds of other players, and build their avatars into powerful warriors. [Sega] Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 19
  2. Negative: 5 out of 19
  1. What the original Phantasy Star Online lacked in terms of a solid single player story mode, Phantasy Star Universe makes up for it in spades. With its well written story, good voice acting, frequent cut-scenes, and addicting, yet simple gameplay, there’s no denying that this game is a full fledged action RPG that doesn’t have to be taken online this time to fully appreciate.
  2. Even clearly noticeable repetition and developer laziness can't fully erase what is in essence an almightily addictive and emergent base structure.
  3. Just more of the same thing: simple dungeon crawling. It's fun online; it's not fun offline. This is a hard one to rate, as it's pretty convoluted.
  4. Spoiled by repetition and muddle. [Jan 2007, p.100]

See all 19 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 2 out of 6
  1. JamesL.
    10
    By far one of the best games and mmo's to hit the market. Though with a few issues with content release, there is enough currently available plus much room for expansion. The game is streamline and cleaned up from it's predecessor Phantasy Star Online. Anyone who enjoy PSO or wants to pick up a quicker paced style of MMO, this is your chance. Collapse
  2. AdamD.
    9
    This is the best Phantasy star I have played, and tops ep's 1, 2, 3, and 4, and the combat system has some fun new features, it could use some better graphics, but it is overall a fun and entertaining game. Expand
  3. BobGnikrul
    9
    Does PSU have a complex stat system for you to spend hours carefully maximising? Nope. Does PSU have grandiose worlds for you to spend days exploring and still never see it all? No way. Does PSU have an engrossing backstory or offer rich roleplaying oppourtunities? Still nope. Almost everything that makes an MMO good is missing from PSU. So what DOES it have? The same thing PSO had. An immersive, entertaining, flexible combat system thats almost as fun to watch as it is to use and which has no learning curve whatsoever. You can focus entirely on getting the most out of every hit one moment and lazily coast along, still fufilling your job in a party but holding a conversation or two at the same time the next moment. The game should not be looked at as an MMO, for by MMO standards its terrible, but as a fun, relaxing, and attractive background activity to play with a few friends while socializing it excels, just as it's predeccesor did. Expand
  4. KalebM.
    3
    The horrendous voice acting, pitiful graphics, and bland storyline did not appeal to me here. First the voices: What were they thinking here? It seems like they tried to use good actors, but their voices kept cracking during production. Then theres the graphics. I played and owned the NGC version of PSO, and I have a had time distinguishing any differences; the poor textures, fuzz monsters, stiff animations, and muy mucho clipping really seemed to hearken back to the Dreamcast days. But not in a good way. In a bad way. The plot, like the graphics, is bland and flavorless as well. I mean seriously, it's 85% cliche. And the sounds are pretty bad too, as they often cut out, are repetitive, or low grade. This game wants to be good, but whenever it tries to say, get an A+, it spends all night studying the wrong material, doesn't get any sleep, falls on it's head in the morning, vomits up its breakfast, poops its pants, misses it's bus, and blames it all on the family puppy, which it promptly kicks. Expand

See all 6 User Reviews