How's the offline mode?

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How's the offline mode?

Postby hugues » Sat Jan 12, '08, 2:25 pm

I don't have this game but was considering picking it up. I've never played an online game and don't really plan to start. I have a fairly busy schedule and can't login to a game on anything resembling a regular basis. I still manage time to (slowly) work through RPGs though.

I bought PSOv2 for Dreamcast for $5, long after the servers were brought down. I found the offline mode kinda boring. Is it the same for PSU?
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Postby SparkyIII » Sat Jan 12, '08, 6:20 pm

I guess it depends on your opinion, its kinda boring to me because they move like its some kind of TV show and has these dumb little movies that they display every "chapter" XD But other than that, once you get started with it, its pretty fun, even if a lot of the characters aren't really very smart XD.
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Postby Thoul » Sun Jan 13, '08, 11:15 pm

The TV imitation is kind of odd. It really breaks up the flow of the story for me.

Offline is mostly about combat from what I've played (which is about five chapters). It's more or less the same as PSO's offline, but without the random factor in the dungeons. Weapons aren't dropped by monsters, only bought, and there's not much variety there. You'll often have NPCs tagging along, but they can't be counted on for much.

All in all, it's not a very impressive game offline.

[Edit: I meant PSO, not PSU... silly Thoul...]
Last edited by Thoul on Sat Jan 19, '08, 2:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby hugues » Fri Jan 18, '08, 9:36 pm

Thanks, sounds like I should hold off unless I find it really cheap.
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Postby Thoul » Sat Jan 19, '08, 3:05 am

I'd recommend that. The good news though, is that you will probably find it cheap if you find it at all. The PC version of the original (not the expansion) has already dropped below $10 even on Amazon.
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Postby Reno » Mon Jan 21, '08, 10:28 pm

Wasn't there an offline mode in this game that was only unlocked after playing through six chapters or so? I remember renting it when it was first released and unlocking that feature. It was basically an offline version of the online game so you were able to create a character and choose missions and such. It still wasn't very entertaining and could never hold a candle to PSO, (although I commend them for at least trying to bring back a more Phantasy Star-ish story mode) but seeing as it is so cheap now, I see no reason why any fan of the PSO series or Phantasy Star in general, shouldn't pick it up. Like Thoul said, you could probably buy it for around the same price as a rental fee, so why not give it a go?
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Postby SparkyIII » Tue Jan 22, '08, 4:01 am

Creating you character is the only really fun part there. But that I have to say is almost worth it right there, lol. It has all these different options.
Everything has a pattern. Something set. Even random things. They aren't random at all, its complex mathematics. The trick is to find the pattern. Then you can exploit it.

People think things have a certain end. Taxes. Work. Due dates don't really exist. Trust me. When you put a band of world scholars in the same room, and set them on talking about anything, the most interesting topics come up. The existence of negative time. The probability of "random occurrence". The government's involvement in the media. And falsified due dates. They aren't real, trust me....
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Postby Reno » Tue Jan 22, '08, 4:07 am

Yeah! I remember making a Numan-like creature with blue clothes! I don't think I did anything else though, maybe one mission, I quit really soon afterwards.
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Postby Thoul » Tue Jan 22, '08, 7:46 am

The character creation is unlocked after the fourth chapter, but from what I've read you can only do things in that mode that you've done in the main story mode with the default character. I haven't actually tried it yet, even though I did unlock it the last time I played.
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Postby BroWren » Tue Jan 22, '08, 2:15 pm

Wheeee I'm picking up some dislike here! :eyebrow:

The offline mode for PSU is okay if you happen to like anime-style plots and presentation, that's really what they were going for I think, at least with Ethan's part of the story. Extra mode (which is the character creation thing you guys are talking about) just lets you do the free missions from the offline mode, offline. It's neat to be able to make a character, yeah, and it's a bit more like PSO was, but IMHO I'd rather have established characters and a plot with a little character development, cheesy as it may be. :D

Illuminus took a slightly different route and the entire offline story mode is played with a handmade character, and it feels a lot more like PSO, except that the characters actually have some personality to them. Largely that's due to PSU's story mode, though, as you know what to expect from them. The plot is quite a bit more in-your-face than PSU's, too, it gets to near PS II levels at the end with... well I won't spoil it. Lets just say if you liked PS II you'd like the last 4 chapters of Illuminus. :)

Also, the offline modes are WAY, WAY, WAY more friendly about handing out rare items and cash than the online mode, which is nice but a little frustrating if you play online a lot. PSO was a lot cooler in that respect as you could carry offline stuff over, but it was also a lot more rampant with the cheating. :P
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