Posts with tag psu
Ambition of the Illuminus awaits your purchase
Phantasy Star AotI expansion set for XBLM release
Recently, SEGA announced that the new Phantasy Star Universe expansion, Ambition of the Illuminus, will be headed to the Xbox 360, but only via a download off the Xbox Live Marketplace. SEGA is setting the Ambition of the Illuminus expansion for a worldwide November 20th release onto the XBLM and it will be priced at 1600 Microsoft points, which is cheaper than the $39 PS2 / PC retail version. But know that you must own a copy of Phantasy Star Universe for the 360 to play the new downloadable expansion content. But then again, why would a person purchase an expansion pack without having the original game disc. That would just be silly, now wouldn't it?
New texting device for Phantasy Star. Why?
Chatpad be damned! You may have seen shots of the Blue Orb Texter device on Joystiq last year. Essentially, you plug your wired control into the Texter, plug the Texter into your Xbox 360, and your controller becomes a text input device ... of sorts. Applying colored labels to your controller, you input combinations of stick presses to produce different letters. If the charts above are any indication, it is exactly as difficult as it sounds. SEGA has taken it upon themselves to create a Phantasy Star Universe branded version of the device. It's the same device, although it has a spiffier label and comes with lots of PSU-related stickers and a code to redeem a free T-shirt. Though it is intended for use in PSU, it will work in any 360 interface that accepts USB keyboard inputs. Given that the 360 Chatpad will give players the same functionality with a simpler interface, we have to ask: why?
If this question does not vex you as it does us, you may purchase the Texter for $39.95. Hit the "read" link to see a video of the Texter in action.
Want Phantasy Star? Have $10? Let's make a deal
Phantasy Star Universe isn't for everybody, but those looking for an addictive, Diablo-style dungeon crawler won't find much better on the Xbox 360. Of course, that fact is offset by the addition of monthly fees, which send many gamers running for the hills. If you've been wanting to try PSU but were scared off by monthly charges, then we may have a deal for you. Amazon is currently selling the game for the rock-bottom price of $9.99. Heck, at that price, you could buy the game and play it for 5 months before you exceeded the average price of a 360 game. Not a bad deal if you're looking for some Rappy-slaying action.Of course, the game does have a single player mode as well, so it's quite a bit of gaming for not a lot of scratch.
Any takers?
[Via Xbox 360 Rally]
Phantasy Star sequel gets its own web space
The official Japanese website for the next chapter in the Phantasy Star world called Phantasy Star Universe: Ambitions of Illuminus has just launched with screenshots in hand. Thanks to PSO-World and the power of translation, we learn that they will be planning a public network trial for the game, but don't exactly detail when or how to sign up for it. So, you'll just have to be patient and possibly move to Japan. As it pertains to graphics ... it's nothing amazing, but you didn't expect Unreal Engine 3 quality models anyway, now did you? And for extra credit be more like Godfree and meticuously analyze each screenshot, because you might just learn something new.
[Via Gamertag Radio]
New PSU: Ambition of Illuminus details
PSO World reports that a recent issue of Famitsu confirms new details regarding the expansion to Phantasy Star Universe. Entitled Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of Illuminus, the game is set to expand upon the original in many ways. First and foremost, several new weapon types have been revealed, including photon whips. The expansion will also include new weapons from familiar categories (many will be familiar to PSO fans) as well as new Photon Arts and SUV attacks. The game is set to feature new levels, enemies, clothing, and even a casino. Whether or not Ambition of Illuminus will have a single player story mode has yet to be determined. No other new details have been discovered at this time.
Anyone out there play Phantasy Star Universe? Is it time for an expansion?
[Via TeamXbox]
Longer Phantasy, beta extended til Saturday
Good news for those of you already addicted to Phantasy Star Universe (me), the beta has been extended until Saturday, October 21st. Now you have three more days to die and watch your unhelpful teammates hump your corpse. Assuming you can actually connect anyway. Just to be sure, we connected earlier and the beta is definitely still working.
Some of you may remember that the beta was cut short thanks to a delay and yesterday's Live outage. It's nice to see that SEGA is willing to extend the beta in light of these issues. Anybody enjoying the game so far?
[Thanks, Mike]
Lumines denied, Live still buggy
Maybe you're like us. You woke up this morning, eager to download Lumines Live or see if the Phantasy Star beta is still running. You may have been disappointed, then, to see that Live is still pretty buggy. We received errors in Marketplace when trying to download Lumines Live, random disconnects, and an inability to accept voice chat requests. Looks like whatever they're still doing to Xbox.com is affecting Live in some way. Consider this a place to complain. And if any of you have managed to successfully download Lumines, let us know.
Phantasy Star Universe beta is Live
The much ballyhooed Phantasy Star Universe open beta is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. Now you can slay rappies to your heart's content until October 18th. But not on the 17th. We'll let you all know how wonderful/awful it is just as soon as possible. Perhaps an impromptu Xbox 360 Fanboy clan (X360FanClan?) is in order.
Open beta for PSU starts this weekend [update 1]
Phantasy Star fans rejoice! The open beta of the upcoming Phantasy Star Universe is coming to Live Marketplace this weekend. There is no exact date listed for the beginning of the beta so, start looking for it on Marketplace tomorrow -- or you can feverishly check every five minutes, like me. The download will only be available for two days, so get it while the gettin's good. There is one caveat and a concern, though. The caveat: you must have Xbox Live Gold to participate -- though you'll only need Silver when the retail game ships.
PSU ships on October 24th. Until then, happy hunting.
[Thanks, Simon]
Update: Contributor vid33nyc1 pointed us to a handy Q&A thread in the PSU forums that cleared up some questions.
- The beta will be available in the US, Europe, and Japan.
- Whatever happens in the beta, stays in the beta. No levels, items, etc. will carry over into the retail version.
PSU isn't free after all
A few
" ... Sega sent an e-mail this week that corrected what they had earlier communicated to us about PSU being free online... it's now set to be $9.99 a month."
$9.99 isn't that bad -- certainly better than some MMOs -- but it sure as hell isn't as nice as free. Oh, well. You can still count on seeing at least one of us 360 fanboys on there (i.e. me). Just think of it this way, we have the only version with voice chat. That's worth 10 simoleons, right?
PSU info emerges
The opening of the official English Phantasy Star Universe website managed to get lost in the shuffle last week, and for that we apologize. As punishment for our tardiness, upper management has released the weasels. Believe me, the weasels ... they are merciless. Putting our freshly lacerated fingers back on the keyboard, we found that the site has lots of info for fans of the series. It's unfortunate that all of the available media on the site (apart from the above shot) more or less completely fail to display the game's lush environments -- a Sonic Team trademark. There is however, a plethora of information about all aspects of the game (except monthly fees or a lack thereof), much more than can be listed here. Some things to look for:
- Weapon customization and crafting
- Each player gets a personal room that also serves as a shop for others
- Each race and their abilities
- Mission system explanation
- Info on new lobbies
- Info on both multiplayer and single player games
- Vehicles
- The battle system
- A spiffy, though tiny, video (in English, no less)
- Lots, lots more
Sunday at X360F: My fanboy cred
So, I was chatting with my new taskmaster and fellow Uno addict, Chris Grant, on Friday. I was informing him that I had experienced a power outage that zapped one of my posts. The outage effectively obliterated the first rendition of this post, if you must know. That's really a shame, as the first draft exuded a perfection that cannot be retold. Had you seen it, there's a good chance you would never have known sadness again.
Anywho, in response to my story, Chris -- bastion of wisdom that he is -- told me I should get a UPS for my computer (no, not PSU, a power supply, silly). This would protect both my valuable computer and my posts. Now, it just so happens that I do own a UPS. It's just not connected to my computer. Read on to sneak a peek at my inner fanboy.
PSU Famitsu scans get!
Xboxyde has posted some new scans of Phantasy Star Universe from the latest Famitsu. The scans feature some of the new monsters as well as the new "Partner Machinery" which will replace the MAG system from previous installments. Also featured are some of the new vehicles, including a mountable and adorable
Anybody who knows more kanji than me, feel free to translate.
Takao Miyoshi Talks Phantasy Star Universe
Hey folks. I'm the new guy, and this is my inaugural post. My inaug-u-post, if you will. Enjoy.
During E3, the fine people of PSO World sat down with Takao Miyoshi, producer of Phantasy Star Universe, and asked him a few questions. The interview covers some of the new features in the game, including race specific special abilities, player controlled vehicles (!), and the new player lobbies. The new lobbies will actually encompass entire cities and can host up to 1,000 players. The vehicles are varied and include tanks, jet skis, and even mountable beasts that breathe fire. When asked about the possibility of cross-platform play (the PC and PS2 servers already support it), Mr. Miyoshi said only, "It is actually something that is not finalized." Not finalized? That means there's hope right?
Whether or not 360 owners will be able to school PC and PS2 players, they can rest easy in the knowledge that voice chat will be 360 exclusive when the game ships this fall.
