Phantasy Star Universe has earned a lot of respect and even love from their players. But apparently, the same can't be said for its online community. Why is that? The guys behind the Phantasy Star Universe Online Community is dishing out all their aces to ensure that a lot of people will consider the PSU online experience. Sega recently announced that on Saturday, February 3 at midnight PST, they will be unleashing a super Sonic Demo Weekend.

So how would this go? To participate, you must have an active Xbox Live Gold account to be able to download and play it. By joining the PSU Xbox Live community, you will receive a limited edition Sonic Statue room item with your account. Users must play the demo from February 3-4 and purchase a GUARDIANS License for the PSU XBL community by February 28th to be eligible. Only one Sonic Statue per GamerID and GUARDIANS license.

Basically, they are offering you the chance to create your own character and meet new people by visiting various weapons, items, and clothing shops. If you feel like it, you could also join a squad and accomplish missions together.

The demo would let you explore three expansive planets -  Parum, Moatoob, and Neudaiz. You could also try out three different job types - Hunter, Ranger, and Force. Aside from that, you could also create your personal online space thanks to this feature they call MyRoom. Design it the way you want and create new weapons and items to aid you in your battles. You could also trade or sell your items.

The game just had its very-recent releases in North America and Europe, as well as its upcoming Australian and Japanese debuts, but Sega's having another go in showcasing its prized game, Phantasy Star Universe. The company just released a whole truckload of screenshots and character art for everyone to enjoy.

Developed by Sega's Sonic Team, this title will feature a single-player story mode as well as a multiplayer online option for those who'd prefer to explore in groups. Gameplay-wise, this new addition to the Phantasy Star series of games will feature the ability to strafe, the ability to wield dual weapons, vehicles that the player can control, four character races, and Extra Mode which is an offline mode which has character customization. Customizable parts of your character include the style and color of the hair, clothes, facial features, as well as the player's in-game voice.

Meanwhile, here's some character art and quite literally more than a hundred screenshots for everyone to savor. Screenies include those which feature the three planets of the Gurhal system which each possess their own unique cultures and environments.

Phantasy Star Universe was recently released in Europe last November 24, and it will be released in Japan by December 12. Meanwhile, the same title will be released in Australia on November 30 in PS2 and PC versions.

A truckload of character art and screenshots right after the jump!

It has been a month since Phantasy Star Universe was released for the Xbox 360, the PC, and not to mention current-gen PS2. Regardless of your chosen platform, we suggest to stop the banters now, be them friendly or otherwise, as we all just want to have a good time.

Anyway as we have said, the game was just released the past month and today, we got word that a number of downloadable contents are already up for fans to enjoy (dozens more are soon to follow). Most of the additions were done to areas and missions. Needless to say though, the two automatically entail new drops, items and materials which then can be used to make new weapons.

First of all, System Defense is a new mission to be carried near the confinement system in West Kugu Desert. Apparently, there's been an outbreak of vicious creatures and the Alliance Military needs reinforcements. Likewise, the mission Mine Defense involves an outbreak of creatures and players' objective are to defend the mine.

• Moatoob: Access Granted! - Due to increased guerrilla fighting between rogue groups on Moatoob, GUARDIAN forces have had limited access to the planet. With the escalating SEED crisis currently affecting more and more of the Moatoob wildlife, rogue groups have reached a cease fire and are now requesting aid. Flyer routes to Moatoob have been re-secured for GUARDIAN missions and will be available on November 17.
• New Guardian Missions - Since the SEED attacks, the native life of all three planets has grown increasingly aggressive and Moatoob is not the only planet in need of GUARDIAN assistance. Parum and Neudaiz are also requesting additional support in a variety of new missions. All GUARDIANS are expected to launch an offensive on the incoming enemy hordes as soon as possible.
• Valley of Carnage - Recently, the vicious Vanda have been forming packs and causing great damage around the Galenigare Canyon. Defeat the Vanda leader!
• Desert Terror - In the West Kugu Desert, the vicious Dimmagolus has become even more ferocious due to the SEED and is terrorizing a nearby energy plant.
• Parum and Neudaiz - Not to be left out with the addition of Moatoob, both Parum and Neudaiz have new missions for GUARDIANS. On Parum, new reports have come in of a very large Koltova spotted beyond the Lakeshore area. All GUARDIAN parties should exercise extreme caution if this beast is encountered.
• On Neudaiz, an area of Sacred Ground is in jeopardy! All GUARDIANS are requested to assist in clearing a dangerous RELIC site. This dangerous mission will take a strong party with excellent teamwork. We advise that only the strongest of GUARDIANS attempt this challenge.

Do you like Phantasy Star Universe? Got problems getting into the Xbox 360 version of the game? We thought so. Keep reading to get a better idea of what to do.

According to Sega, they know about the problem of logging in and are currently trying to fix it. If you get some sort of "Interrupt Request Error," then that's the problem these guys are trying to fix at the moment.

In any case, here's the word from Sega themselves on temporarily taking care of the problem until they can make a permanent fix:

Players who attempt to connect to the Phantasy Star Universe game servers and receive an Interrupt Request error message must not use the RETRY function. When encountering this error, please select DISCONNECT and return to the Main Menu, before attempting to log in again. This process may need to be repeated more than once.

Bottom line folks, try and try until you die, but disconnect first, not retry. Sigh...

Buy: [Phantasy Star Universe]

Following our latest updates on Phantasy Star Universe about the GUARDIANS license and the multiplayer online beta, we now bring you the latest score on this online RPG... the musical score, that is.

Yep, that's right, this post is all about the game soundtrack, and for the poor souls not in the know, you can get the official soundtrack for PSU for free when you pre-order/buy the game. Now you can listen to the tunes that Ethan Waber will be hacking and-a slashing to, weeks before you can lay your hands on the game. Here's the complete track list:

1. "Save The World" - Orchestra Short Version
2. "Clyez City" - Guardians Colony
3. "Holtes City" - Parum
4. "Ohtoku City" - Neudaiz
5. "Dagora City" - Moatoob
6. "Result 01"
7. "Result 02"
8. "G March" - Long Version
9. "Save This World" - Vocal

You've played the demo and checked out QJ regularly for Phantasy Star Unverse updates, now all that's missing is the game itself. Don't worry though, this game will be hitting shelves just a few days from now, and will be making its way to your 360s on October 24th.

Sega has just released some new info about their 360 game, Phantasy Star Universe. According to Sega, the 360 version will be much different from the PC and PS2 installments of the game, and will take place in a different fictional universe.

Sega's Sonic Team is currently developing the one for Xbox 360, which will also be a hack and slash RPG like the PSO (Phantasy Star Online) games, and will also feature a multiplayer online mode. But if you want to fly solo, you can always opt for the single-player offline mode.

With the 360 Phantasy Star Universe, users won't be able to play with gamers on other consoles BUT, it will feature Voice Chat, which is something that the other titles from the PSO series didn't have, and will also don bumped-up high-definition visuals and support for 5.1 dolby surround sound.

The Xbox 360 version of Phantasy Star Universe will hit the shelves in US on October 24th, followed by the European and Japanese release on November 24th and December 14th respectively.

Preorder: [Phantasy Star Universe]