Good blend of turn based strategy and collectible card game. And you don't have to pay for booster packs!
So far the game-play has been smooth and enjoyable, but the pacing of the fights could be faster. It would have been nice to have an option to adjust the pacing up or down. The graphics are nice, but don't challenge the GC graphic system much that I've seen. The real meat of this game is designing card decks and testing them in battle. Before you take characters to battle, you set them up with decks of cards to use. Each character class has different abilities and certain cards that they cannot use. Discovering the best balance of distance and melee attacks and techniques and items (or creatures if you're Arkz) for each character can be challenging, and is what I like about CCG's.
A major difference between PSO III and PSO I & II is the way you are perceived in the game world. Your character does not go down to Ragol and fight. He (or she) is the commander of what starts out as a small team. You select which characters to send on missions, but you have no say in the types of characters you are given to work with. You do control their card decks. Like it's earlier siblings, characters get to carry 30 items with them. But where a PSO character really should have had packs and pack mules to carry 30 items, a C.A.R.D Revolution character carries a deck of 30 cards which can be invoked to bring forth weapons, defenses, techniques, etc.
Fights are very different, because they are turn based. That means you have time to carefully consider your options - unless you did a poor job of creating the deck and have no options. When you do use a card, seeing the items and creatures rez in is pretty neat, but not an overly ambitious effect.
Overall this is a good title. If are a PSO fan, at least rent it a couple of days and see what you think. Unless you just despise turn based games or CCG's, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. If you like turn based strategy and/or CCG's, then you owe it to yourself to check PSO III out. If you're like me and have a limited budget for games, definitely check this out. It can satisfy 3 appetites at once: PSO, TBS, and CCG. How can you lose?