Phantasy Star shines bright in Barcelona

We would honestly have been thrilled with an updated Phantasy Star Online for Xbox 360, but Sega has humbled us with much more. There hasn’t been a single-player Phantasy Star quest to savour for over a decade, making this new chapter a mouth-watering prospect for fans of PSO and RPG devotees worldwide.

The positive response to Ubisoft’s Enchanted Arms goes to show how glad we are to receive Japanese style RPGs on Xbox 360. In Final Fantasy XI we have one of the ultimate Massively Multiplayer Online exponents from Square Enix, and at last Japan’s leading developers are engaging us with offline quests. Although Sega is usually associated with action games, Phantasy Star is revered as a top-notch RPG series of elegantly paced drama and involving emotional content.

Phantasy Star Universe is stylishly divided into chapters, interspersed with high quality movies that summarise events and preview what’s to come. Our hero is Ethan Waber, a 17-year old cadet whose sister is being held captive by ‘THE SEED’. Ethan’s journey takes him to the three planets of the Gurhal solar system for encounters with outlandish new comrades and exotic enemies.

Because PSU is classed Action RPG, all battles find Ethan performing clever combos while evading strikes in direct response to your control. Multiplayer PSU via Xbox Live is similarly action-oriented, and in many ways similar to Phantasy Star Online. The major difference is that Universe allows for hundreds of players to share the same world for grand scale battles!

No matter how many times we’re greeted by Sonic Team games, we’re always surprised by the high production values. You simply have to admire the undeniable class of what’s on offer, and we’re greatly looking forward to bringing this home.

• Xbox Live