A great game but with a few major drawbacks.
Onto the subject of completing the game, it will take you around 20 – 25 hours. Short huh? I thought so too, compared to the average time I usually spend playing an RPG this is quite small and is almost an entire sittings worth. If you're really focused and you're not wasting any time doing the free missions or anything else this game might even take you less than 20 hours! Might be a little harder but I expect it's playable. Onto the subject of difficulty, it was too easy, way too easy. I think if you play about 4 or 5 free missions you are going to have no problem when it comes to the final two bosses in this game, I would say personally the last two bosses were the easiest to fight and really did not pay any real attention to a difficulty curve all the way through the game, there were a few random times though where I would have a dark fireball (I don't know what it's called) fly at me and I would be dead within 1 hit, once again not trying to insult you Sega but did you test the difficulty on this game?
Last but not least the graphics and game play; the graphics are pretty average, not amazing but not bad. The Xbox360 version (which is what I played) is a basic port from the PS2 version but with added achievements, the backgrounds and level design is amazing and a vast improvement over Phantasy Star Online but alas the cut scenes and character models are a bit clippie and low resolution in some places, and while I'm talking about the characters again the voice acting is DIRE, really dire. I was really peeved that there was no option to swap the American dubbing for the original Japanese voice, the voices just did not fit the characters and eventually got on my nerves.
Lastly, the game play is similar in style to Phantasy Star Online; if you played PSO you'll have no trouble using the controls in this game. In my opinion I would say the one aspect of the game where Sega have greatly improved on since PSO is the controls, it feels a lot smoother, a lot more fluent and is easier to use. Reading a previous user review I noticed some players have complained about running around finding it hard to shoot enemies, if you read the manual or had some knowledge on how to play you would know that by hold down the LB button you can lock onto enemies making it a lot easier to shoot them, one great aspect of the game play which shines amongst the rest is the implementation of duel wielding into the game, now the play can equip a handgun and a saber at the same time which in my opinion is totally **** sweet, give it a little shootey, give it a little slicey. Ho ho ho.
I would say that if you've never played Phantasy Star Online or even any Phantasy Star game I would possibly rent this before owning it, and if you do rent it make sure you give a little time before judging the game completely and before you decide to take your character online and go guns blazing. For a PSO veteran I would say get this game, it's a great game and a great improvement from PSO; it may lack the appeal and instant addiction which the original had (mainly because to play online you have to pay monthly, thanks Sega >__>) but once you get going it really shines next to PSO and is a game which its predecessor should be proud of.
8/10