MODEL- N11-00002 VENDOR- MICROSOFT FEATURES- Phantasy Star Online Episode I&II The first online role-playing game available on Xbox Phantasy Star Online Episode I&II will feature all-new gaming modes and new content. For the first time ever PSO gamers around the world will be able to communicate online using the Xbox Communicator headset. New character classes weapons enemies items and quests are only a portion of the new content awaiting discovery. With the new split-screen feature four friends can adventure through the main quest as well as the other game-play modes on the same Xbox. Episode I includes all of the content from the original PSO and Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2 (PSO Ver. 2) while Episode II brings a new full-length adventure. The evolution of the original revolutionary gaming experience continues. An Xbox Live account is required to play Phantasy Star Online Episode I&II. To play the game online Xbox Live subscribers will be required to buy a Hunters License which will give gamers the ability to travel on wild adventures with other Phantasy Star Online Episode I&II gamers. It also provides access to a plethora of online exclusive content such as seasonal quests downloads and rare in-game items. The Hunters License is free of charge for the first two months and after that will carry a service fee of $8.95 per month. * Get Ready for a New Kind of role-playing: Experience the first online role-playing game available on Xbox. * Chat with Fellow Gamers: The Xbox Communicator headset is fully compatible with PSO enabling gamers across North America to talk to each other with ease. * Obtain Your PSO Hunters License: A Hunters License is required to play with or against other PSO gamers online. The Hunters License is free of charge for the first two months and after that will carry a service fee of $8.95 per month. If you do not want a license feel free to enjoy the offline game-play modes. * Cooperate or Compete with Others: Play with up to three ...

Average Customer Review: ( 42 customer reviews )
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To start with, this can be played like a single player RPG. You can choose to be human, newman, or a robot. You can be male or female, and of three classes - the 'hunter' swordfighter, the 'ranger' distance fighter, or the 'force' magic users. You've just begun to customize!

You can customize everything from face look, hair style and color, outfit, skin color, and body proportions. You can't actually choose clothing styles like in many other RPGs - you just change the color and look of it. Still, your character is pretty tweaked to your own style before you enter the world.

The aim in local play is to build up your character. You can play in "Episode 1" - where you roam the planet looking for clues as to what happened to the original colonists. You can also play "Episode 2" which is sort of a parallel timeline, where you work for the government and try to contact a hero from the original colony.

Like most RPGs, you build up experience by killing the enemies, and gather money ("meseta") so you can buy bigger weapons ... so you can go kill bigger things. You have a little robotic buddy, "mag", which also gains experience and power as you go.

Once you've gotten the hang of things, it's time to head on line and join up with a party! This is sort of a mini-MMORPG, a training ground for those not quite online yet. You go through the lobbies to find a group of people to play with. You can start a new group or join a group already questing. And then it gets fun!

The XBox live microphone makes it easy to coordinate attacks without the clumsy typing-while-fighting system that most MMORPGs require. Simply call out "I'm hurt!" to get healing, and coordinate attacks with ease. Since XBox Live is only for high speed connections, we haven't run into any lag while playing. Gather up experience, explore new worlds, and make fun friends in the process!

Highly recommended for XBox RPG fans who enjoy console-based RPGs and want to take it to the next level.

11 of 14 found the following review helpful:

DO NOT BUY! It cannot be played anymore.Sep 28, 2010
By Beth Borders
In April Microsoft cut off Xbox live for the original Xbox and this game can't be played on the 360 (yet). This game is completely useless, you can't even play offline unless you have an Xbox live account (which you can't anymore).

This game is probably really fun but Microsoft destroyed it and it can no longer be played :( What a disappointment.

5 of 6 found the following review helpful:

Are the extra fees really worth it?Apr 16, 2003
By Stephen Durst
There is something special about this game. Not just in the game itself, but in the community you are drawn into when you play online. You meet incredible people with the same intrests as you have.
I'm sure by now you have heard all about the money that will be needed to play, online or off. But if you are like me, you will do anything to play this game again. I dont currently have a highspeed connection to play online, but i am getting one soon. If there is no way you can get a high speed connection to play online, I say pass, because honestly, the game itself is not worth both the combined purchase price of the X-box live starter kit and the game:$... But if you are even considering getting a high-speed connection some time in the near future, pick this one up fast.This is going to be a special online community that will last a very long time to come. See you online (in about a month when i finally get DSL)

2 of 2 found the following review helpful:

A "rinse-wash-repeat" very fun action adventure gameJun 08, 2006
By Coren Alan Grill "Coren"
While there's not much story to P.S.O. the game is oddly addicting. The gameplay is where it's at, and where it hurts. For that's really all you do... go around killing monsters. The main heart of the game, is gaining experience and levels and finding good or rare items. Now there is more depth to it than that. It all depends on the ID color of your character what type of items you find. Certain very rare items can be combined, or not be used until you're a certain level. Your mag (robotic-like familiar) is one key to help you move along a bit faster by upping IT's stats which help your own. Then there are ways your mag can change depending on what you feed it,and even a hidden 4th level evolution for everyone. So just touching on these few aspects, there's more depth here to be had, but you have to be VERY patient in finding what you want. The Xbox has the best character amount of options With each gamertag you can have 12 characters each. AND you can use the same gamertag in each of the 4 slots available which can total 48 characters on your hard drive!

Now the down side and a little history why Live is required.
A Live account (good or expired) is needed just to play the game. Now the front cover of the US version has this highlighted on every NEW game cover in orange to let you know BEFORE you buy it! Now Live was introduced in the US before it was released in Japan, but PSO was released in Japan FIRST the SAME DAY Live was released to the Japanese Xbox, as a bonus, every Japanese Live subscriber received PSO free with their Live account! So it was no-brainer that you just bought Live... you CAN play PSO on your Xbox now-- for Japan that is. The US version was delayed about 2 or 3 times before it was released early Spring/late Winter of 2003.

Now an explanation for the online cost incase you didn't know. PSO for the DC was free, and the hackers came out in force online... and it was bad. PSO ver 2.0 came out with a cost around $5 (it actually matched the yen to dollar amount which normally came around to just over $5 instead of the $7 that was advertised as the online price). Having a cost helped.... some, but the hackers eventually came out again in force. PSO 1 & 2 for the Xbox the cheating is still there, but can be MUCH easier avoided. Simply put, make sure you know who your friends are online are people you can trust, and you're fine really.

I rated this game a 5 since I've been playing it for nearly 6 years across 2 consoles and 3 versions. But rating it overall as a 4 for the repetitive nature of the game and the Live requirement for X-Box. As cheap as this game is now, with a live Live account or expired Live account, buying PSO at this price is a no-brainer and will have you playing... for HUNDREDS of hours.

I've been addicted since it came out on the DC version 1.0 (1999) and STILL addicted on the X-Box!

5 of 7 found the following review helpful:

Best Game Ever CREATEDJun 25, 2003

Millions of weapons. Make your own character. CO-OP and Counter-OP play. Great with 4 people online or offline. I've played the game for over 4,000 Hours and it's great. A complete and total must buy. One player is also fun.

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