At Last, Some PSO2 Gameplay Screenshots (Updated)

In the time since Phantasy Star Online 2 was announced over six months ago, information about the game has been extremely hard to come by. When the game's Japanese alpha test was announced in February, it was done without showing any gameplay videos or screenshots.

Sega told players that more information about the game would be revealed in the coming months. And earlier today, we finally got our first glimpses of what Phantasy Star Online 2 will look like!








Larger versions of these screenshots, as well as more PSO2 images, can be found on Sega's official Phantasy Star Online 2 Web site. In addition, some brief glimpses of gameplay can be found in a video posted at PSO World (you might have to fast-forward to see them). A high-quality version of the trailer will be posted on the official Web site on Thursday.

Based on these screenshots, it looks like PSO2 will retain at least some of the visual style of Phantasy Star Universe, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The forest level pictured here certainly seems brighter than any level I ever played through in Phantasy Star Online, though I guess that could change if you were to throw in enough creepy-looking monsters. Atmosphere is key; it's difficult to tell from these screenshots and the video whether or not the environments in PSO2 will have the dark, post-apocalyptic feel that areas in PSO had.

In any case, this is a nice start. It's a good thing to finally see what this game actually looks like!