Phantom Dust

Alright, I've put it off long enough. It's time for my first game review, and what better game to start off with than my favorite game for the original Xbox?

Phantom Dust was an amazing little game that did not receive the attention it deserved. Created by Yukio Fatatsugi, who created the classic Panzer Dragoon series, this game is like nothing I've ever played.

It's basically a card battle game similar to Magic the Gathering, but it happens in all real time. There are hundreds of different spells to choose from with which to build your 'arsenal'. The spells consist of various attacks, defensive shields, status effects such as poison/slow/etc, environmental effects that effect everyone in the battlefield, and other various things. With all these spells, each belonging to one of five different 'schools' of magic. With the endless possibilities of arsenals mixed with fast paced game play with fully destructible levels, this game is like no other, and is incredibly exciting.

While it's obvious that the main focus of the game is playing against other people online, there is also a story driven single player campaign. Basically, the story is there was this astronaut guy who went into space and when he came back, it was hundreds, if not thousands of years in the future, and all life on Earth was gone. The planet was covered in this dust that gave the astronaut (Edgar) the power to create whatever he wanted. He used it to recreate what he remembered, such as his friends, family, cities, etc, but they were all hollow shells. Needless to say bad things happen, but I won't spoil it in case anybody wants to pick this game up. (I've seen used copies at used game shops for around $10, which is definitely worth it).

This game was amazing, but because of it's niche appeal, it never really caught on, despite being released for only $20.

It has created a cult following, and it is possible to still find people playing online, or at least set up a time to play. Sites such as http://xboxphreaker.com/ have active forums of people trying to find people to play with.

Overall, this game had excellent graphics, excellent game play, and an amazing soundtrack made of classical music. If you can find this game, I could not recommend it more.

I'd easily give this game a 10 / 10 as it is my favorite game for the Xbox, and one of my favorite games of all time.