The new EGM is out to subscribers today -- a friend of mine got an early copy (I guess they're showing up in mailboxes as of today), and offered up a couple of tidbits from the PSU feature. I haven't seen the issue yet myself, so please don't press me for details. Here's what he said:
- Independent Offline and Online modes confirmed
- Offline is a full-on 40-hour single-player RPG -- I guess this is where the "Is it Phantasy Star V?" bit came from in the E3 trailer last year
- Online is basically a true sequel to PSO, but apparently it's NOT an MMORPG. EGM says there'll be more party members than PSO, but they don't clarify how many
- Character creation system is apparently very nice (that's where the "breasts" comment came from, I guess)
- Class system is very different from PSO's, more open-ended
- They feature two pages on offline, two pages on online, and an interview with Yuji Naka. Lots of new screens, too
Subscribers are getting their issues now (he got his today), so I suppose more info will be popping up soon.
I know exactly what you mean. Sonic team isnt a developer that would provide an equally offline and online experience. Personally I can live with a half assed offline if it has seriously awesome online content.
Open-ended class system, huh? I'm hoping they allow you to cutomize your special abilities or have a unique skill set or something... Cause as diverse as the character classes in PSO were, the only difference between your HUmar and everybody else's HUmar were merely the looks and your equipment, with only minor differences in stats from Materials. Getting some more ability to customize your character (i.e. distributing stat points) would do a lot to make your character unique. Plus boob customization will pwn. Tear drop shape or circular? Firm, or bouncy?
The 2-games-in-1 thing kind of bugs me. Why not just release them each as seperate games instead of making a half-assed effort on both?
Hm, I guess this means I better finish the PSO Ep. 1 and 2 museum page soon, huh?
I'd scan them, except I have a free EGM subscription. Apparently, because of it BEING a free subscription, I don't get the new issues until the first day of the month.
Chances are, by the time I do get my EGM, there'll be scans somewhere else.
Right, the six pages containing PSU images are up - the Naka interview doesn't have any, but if somebody wants a full transcript, I'm willing to type it up.
I hope my laptop can play it, or they decide to port it to Xbox. It's sad when you have to own at least three seperate consoles to follow one game series throughout a single console generation.
I wish they would put this kind of effort and talent into a new Sonic title, seeing as I don't give two shits about Phantasy Star. Oh well! I'm happy that you guys are all going to get something satisfying, at least. I guess I'll just play Shadow the Hedgehog and then stab myself in the eyes. :)
Nothing, I imagine! I'm always happy to see a company doing justice to a classic franchise, but it's not exactly the sort of thing that got me into Sonic Team. It's just not my bag. Or at least, the original games were not. (I still haven't played PSO.)