Mechanics
Playing Phantasy Star Online 2: Cloud starts with creating a character. Players can decide what race will their character be (in addition to humans, there are Newman, Dewman, and CAST), gender, look and specialization. Among the latter, there are available classes like Hunter, Ranger, Force and Braver. Later in the game, it is possible to select an additional class – Fighter, Gunner or Techer. What’s interesting, the character can switch class at almost any given time. However, it is worth ing that specific skills unlocked during the game are assigned to specific classes.
The gameplay focuses primarily on an exploration of a vast galaxy, filled with varied planets. There are many smaller and larger monsters there to defeat and tasks to complete. Although the players can act alone, the game becomes more interesting when played in groups – even a few teams, each consisting of a dozen of players, can participate in a single mission. Random events and the fact that visited territories are procedurally generated are making the playing more interesting – each time players visit a specific location, they must face different challenges.
Combat with encountered opponents is an important part of the game. The battles are fought in real time and they are action-based. During these, players can use both guns and various types of melee weapons. Additionally, the game world features Photons – a form of energy that enables the characters to perform powerful attacks that can be combined into spectacular combos. Some classes are also able to use Photons to cast offensive and defensive spells. As the players progress through the game, they can also receive the help of a robot that can increase statistics of weapons and be a helpful ally in combat.
Like in other MMORPG games, players are gathering experience points and reach new levels during the adventure, gradually increasing their combat potential.
Technical aspects
The three-dimensional graphics of Phantasy Star Online 2: Cloud are similar to the ones in the basic version of the game. However, it is worth mentioning that – contrary to the original version – the title is working based on a computing cloud. This means that players don’t need to any data before starting the game – all of the data is transmitted in real time directly from the game servers. The console serves only as a receiver.
