PSO Planet

From all of us at PSO Planet to all of you, have a safe and happy holiday!

Sega has released the following press release, giving the release date for the PSU Expansion, Ambition of the Illuminus, on the 20th of November:

Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus is the expansion pack for the popular Phantasy Star Universe game, bringing a more personalized and interactive universe to the acclaimed series. In addition to new enemies, weapons, levels and cities there will be more options available for gamers to further individualize and customize the look of their avatars. Ambition of the Illuminus continues the exciting PSU story online as the player’s personal online avatar is now the central character, investigating and working to restore peace in the chaotic Gurhal System. The player investigates through a series of single-player missions, meeting familiar characters like Ethan Waber from Episode 1, along with other new ones, including a GUARDIAN instructor, Laia Martinez. In addition, the online multiplayer world, with its fast-paced, engaging battle experience for up to six players, has been greatly expanded with new missions, new cities and new enemies.

Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus will be available for download on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system via Xbox Live and also in stores on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the PC. With a GUARDIANS License, gamers can experience the new customizable and highly interactive features online. Players can purchase a GUARDIANS License for Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 system and PC online for $9.99 a month. The GUARDIANS License is also available at a discounted rate of $49.99 for six months of online play on the PlayStation 2 system and PC.

The Expansion will be downloadable over Xbox Live for 1600 MS Points ($20US) and released on CD for PS2 and PC at a price of $39.95. Good deal for Xbox gamers who already have the game, and on PS2 and PC you don't have to have the original game, so it's still a decent deal.

More details at the offical site.

Labels: pc, phantasy star universe, playstation 2, xbox 360

1UP has launched the Official site for the 1UP Cup, complete with details of the event schedule, missions and rewards, make sure and check it out if you plan to take part in the Cup.

1UP has also launched the 1UP Cup Phantasy Star Universe Club, a place to share information and speak with other gamers who are taking part in the Cup. Of course, you are more than welcome to do this in our PSOP Forums as well (it's free, why not sign up?).

Labels: pc, phantasy star universe, playstation 2, xbox 360

The official site has updated with information on the 1UP Platinum Cup, set to bring new missions to PSU on October 19th,

Join Gurhal Channel Five star reporter Hal at the Club Commune on the 3rd floor of Clyez City for the first week of special 1UP Platinum Cup missions. Score an S rank to earn your way to the bonus missions with improved rare drops and special reward boxes. Please access the special event website launching on Oct. 19 for more detailed information about the event missions and rewards.

Also, Halloween decorations are now up and there have been some updates to the Xbox 360 version of the game:

• Changes to how deaths are treated in Missions. A significant change that affects how player death affects mission rankings has been made. During free missions and cooperative missions, player deaths will only affect mission ranks when opting to return to the lobby. Players can be revived mid-mission without affecting overall mission rank.
• In high-ranking missions, enemies and bosses will now be a bit slower.
• Cheat protection. The XBOX 360 servers have been modified to fix a group of exploits and security holes.

Source: The offical site

Labels: pc, phantasy star universe, playstation 2, xbox 360

It's a sad announcement, but one we all knew had to come sooner or later. Sonic Team has decided to shut down servers for all Dreamcast and Gamecube editions of Phantasy Star, effective March 31st, 2007. This includes:

1. Phantasy Star Online for Dreamcast
2. PSO Ver.2 for Dreamcast
3. Phantasy Star Online Episode I&II for Gamecube
4. Phantasy Star Online Episode III C.A.R.D. for Gamecube
   

For the original posting by Sonic Team (in Japanese), click here.

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Labels: dreamcast, gamecube, phantasy star online

Sorry for the delay in updating, folks. I've been insanely busy over the holidays with work and other commitments, but that's over now and it's time to get PSO Planet up to date.

First off, Sonic Team gave us some new missions on December 15th:

Maintenance has completed and five new S-Rank missions are now available across Parum, Neudaiz, and Moatoob. GUARDIANS who meet the required levels will encounter new enemy types, higher rewards, and a challenge unlike any other missions presently available.

Parum:
* Mad Creatures

Neudaiz:
* Mizuraki Defense
* Demons Above
Moatoob:
* Valley of Carnage
* Mine Defense

But wait, that wasn't all! On the 21st of December Sonic Team had yet another update, with yet more missions, including some S-Rank free missons for high level players:

New GUARDIANS mission!

Episode Two, Chapter Two is the newest and most exciting chapter in the continuing saga that revolves around the Gurhal system. Even though your last mission brought about more questions than answers, you are called to the planet Moatoob with Lou and Laia to investigate the disappearance of a missing GUARDIAN member. Due to the recent purification of the area, this should be a routine search and detain mission. However, upon entering the deserts of Moatoob, all is not well.

Exactly who is this mysterious member of the Guardians that you are looking for, and what are they doing in the deserts of Moatoob? All of this and more will be answered when you play Chapter 2 of the online GUARDIAN Missions on Phantasy Star Universe.

New S-Rank Free Missions!

In addition to the new Guardian Mission, three new S-Rank free missions are now available to play in network mode. This should provide some of the higher-leveled players some new challenges to experience and overcome. The new missions are as follows:

• Plains Overlord
• Sleeping Warriors
• Lab Recovery

The holidays meant no updates, but coming after todays maintenance is quite a bit of new content:

Due to the holiday week as well as the New Year, the next major update will hit the Phantasy Star Universe servers on January 12. Since the gap is a bit longer than normal, this release will be considerably larger than previous updates. Take a look at what we have planned for this release!

• All new Mission Type available within Moatoob!
• Many new clothes types, including the Swimsuit!
• Brand new Photon Abilities, Bullet Types, and TECHNICS
• Level cap increased to 70!
• Chapter 3 of the new and exciting GUARDIAN Missions
• Weapon and Synthesis items up to Rank 10!
• New room items, decorations, and more!

All of this content makes for one of the most action packed updates yet!

That brings us up to date, stay tuned to PSO Planet for more news and info as it arrives!

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Labels: pc, phantasy star universe, playstation 2, xbox 360

From all of us at PSOP to all of you out there, we hope you have a great and safe Christmas, Winter Solstice or whatever holiday you celebrate.