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PSU expansion hits Live News

PC PlayStation 2 Xbox 360 MMO
News by Tom Bramwell

21 November, 2007

SEGA has said that PS2 and PC versions of Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus will be released on 11th January 2008 - but Xbox 360 owners can buy it online right now.

The 1.92GB expansion is available on Xbox Live Marketplace and costs 1600 Microsoft points (GBP 13.60 / EUR 18.60), and introduces new single- and multi-player content.

New missions see you (as a custom character, if you like) looking into a fundamentalist group called the Illuminus, while new levels are the Ruins of Old rozenom City and the Granigs Mines.

You can read more about the changes in our original report, or you can refer back to our Phantasy Star Universe review for more on the game as a whole.

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Comments: 1-19 of 19 in total

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Gremmi
21/11/07 @ 11:25
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Didn't this bomb quite heavily?
Dizzy
21/11/07 @ 11:30
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>Didn't this bomb quite heavily?

It has a very active group of players that have played this game for years/months.
Tweakmonkey
21/11/07 @ 11:35
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I'm gonna buy it coz it's supposed to have overhauled gameplay mechanics.
Toothball
21/11/07 @ 11:42
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I bought it, but I'm a very active player who has been playing this game for years/months. The new missions and mechanics have been going well for the most part.

There many other Phantasy Star players around these parts? It's always a surprise to see a news story about it outside of the official and fan sites.
jlaakso
21/11/07 @ 11:46
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I was always interested in PSU due to all the lovin' the DC version was getting, but ultimately found it too pedestrian and visually unexciting on the 360. Oh well.

Nice to notice that you've put in the Euro costs along with the GBP, too.
monkie_king
21/11/07 @ 12:45
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"PC/PS2 versions also dated" -- yes, very dated ;)
DFawkes
21/11/07 @ 13:09
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I loved the original PSO because you could play single-player with a custom character, so I'm glad it's back. I'll probably give this a look.
Although the original is sitting on my shelf unplayed.
Arcadiian
21/11/07 @ 13:23
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After spending years of my life playing PSO on Dreamcast, I just couldn't bring myself to pay monthly for a game that used to be "free". I tried the PSU beta, but the game felt old (probably due to being restricted by the PS2), and the game areas too plain and boring. I miss Forest I. :(

Forget selling Xbox games through Live, Microsoft should sort a deal out with SEGA to release Dreamcast games for the service.
speedyscotty
21/11/07 @ 14:01
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Arcadiian - great idea, I would love to play MSR, f355 challenge or ChuChu rocket in HD, ChuChu would be crazy over live on multiplayer (loved that game)
neosalad
21/11/07 @ 14:31
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there are a few DC games coming to live. Ikaruga and Trigger Heart Exelcia... and REZ... but yes. Chu chu Rocket HD would be pretty special, as it was afterall one of the big online Dreamcast titles
miiiguel
21/11/07 @ 15:33
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Does it bring new Achievements ?

And - no offense please - I think some/most people are a bit addicted to sales charts, I mean... any game that doesn't sell like Gears or Halo or Wii "bomb" and therefore doesn't deserve attention, and devs shouldn't work on it? C'mon... this industry is mature enough to have niches, and non-mainstream users by now.

By the way, I enjoyed the off-line quest. Played online for a couple of months, and yes, it has a very commited comunity, and quite friendly (lots of girls too).

There's life beyond "1 million copies sold", believe me.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 21/11/07 @ 15:37
Toothball
21/11/07 @ 15:59
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It seems to have achievements, but I'm not sure where these show up. We defeated a boss last night and got the usual Achievement Unlocked message, but I have yet to see this on my achievements list. I'm sure it'll turn up sometime. Worst case we have to fight the boss again, but that was an inevitability with a game like this.
miiiguel
21/11/07 @ 16:16
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Toothball, wow! very cool, thx! I want it!
Toothball
21/11/07 @ 17:06
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There's only 250 points of achievements though, what with it being an expansion. And I don't think you can play it offline on the Xbox. It is much better being able to get the achievements online with friends though, as earning them offline was lonely.
FortysixterUK
21/11/07 @ 18:00
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Considering that you already pay for a broadband connection and xbox live, to charge for the game via monthly subscription sucks big time. Guild Wars has it right.
DFawkes
21/11/07 @ 20:42
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Wait, can the expansion not be played offline? I know it has a a single player element, but you don't have to be logged into Live, do you? My 360 is in a seperate room, and I move it to get demos or DLC.
If it is online only, I won't buy it ever.
Toothball
22/11/07 @ 11:26
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FortysixterUK: You don't need to have a Gold account to play Phantasy Star. It also runs on Sega's servers, rather than the rest of the Live servers. And you can't factor broadband costs into it, as they apply to anything else you do on the internet, including other MMOs.

DFawkes: The Xbox version only seems to be available online. There is already an additional story mode available online, known as Episode 2. Episode 3 is to be released in instalments, but as yet none have been released. I think the PC and PS2 versions contain Episode 2 on the disk, but will have to wait for the third. It mostly adds content to the online mode anyway, so there probably isn't much point buying it just for the story.
DFawkes
22/11/07 @ 13:17
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Cheers Toothball. That'd have annoyed me if I'd wasted money on an expansion I couldn't use. I'll just save a bit more for Shivering Isles :)
Toothball
22/11/07 @ 15:31
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Still, it's a pity that you won't see the online stuff. It's worth having your Xbox online all the time, not just for this.

Comments: 1-19 of 19 in total

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