Phantom dust is an unusual game and one that is fairly unique as you take control of an unnamed hero on a planet that has seen better days. No one can remember their past after a mysterious dust began to fall and what with strange creatures appearing the only safe place for humans to live is underground.

Some of the people were actually given new powers from the falling dust in which they are able to channel their willpower into energy. These people are known as “espers” and their job is to bravely traverse the destroyed landscape looking for any clues about their mysterious past and how things became the way they are. I guess this is where your amnesia stricken character comes in.

Gameplay:

Gameplay consists of 2 main modes of play offline which includes running around underground talking to various non playable characters (NPC’s) in a kind of role playing game. The other is heading to the surface to do battle with various creatures and other “espers”.

When wandering around talking to the various inhabitants underground, you will learn little pieces of information about the battle modes of play and perhaps a little bit about them, although remember that most have amnesia from the dust, so conversations are very limited. What you are able to do underground is recruit another “esper” to join you in undertaking various missions that become available. The first few missions are basically a tutorial, which does include one boss character to battle.

Battling is handled in 3rd person as you wander across the reasonably sized multi tiered arenas. The main objective is to collect coloured orbs to either use to attack or defend against attacks from your enemies. Each orb has its own range (long, medium and short) and usage cost, which means a little bit of tactics are required to defeat the more tricky adversaries. Battles are intense and there usually involves a fair bit of running, jumping around; although you could attempt to stay by the orb re-spawn points for a cheap victory. This actually doesn’t always work as there is a time limit and once it’s reached then you fail the mission and have to try again. Many enemies won’t just allow you to stand by the orbs running at you, so often you will have to get involved and hunt them also. The orbs are randomly generated as well so whilst you might get a short range attack ability your opponent might be far away which means you’ll have to get in close.

Graphics:

The graphics are of a very high standard indeed and look amazing at times, especially during the cut scenes. The destructible battle arenas look great and the character models are presented in a very unique Japanese style. The effects for attacking and defending are varied and look the part in the heat of battle, almost like fireworks on occasion. The developers did a great job of creating a futuristic fantasy setting with a destroyed city at its heart.

Sound:

Sound is of a high standard although some of the voice acting is a little cliché for my tastes, even though reasonably performed. The sound effects are basic yet effective for the task at hand but for me the music is the highlight. The music provided is a strange mix of remade classical and synthesized tunes which really does fit in well with the overall style of the game. However the option to import a music track whilst battling is available to those who wish to create their own mood.

Longevity:

Phantom Dust is a reasonable length game which offers a 20 hour plus single player experience. You can actually replay missions to build up skills and to generally practise or best your times. Phantom Dust also allows players to battle with each other over Xbox Live which has its own community of battlers. This is a welcome addition to the game and what many would claim to be far better than the single player experience. Either way as a whole package the single and multiplayer modes should keep you entertained for some time.

Overall:

Phantom Dust is an unusually un-hyped game, which is surprising because although being a little strange and different from the norm is actually a fun and well polished title. I found the game to be enjoyable and the mixture of wandering around, then battling enough to make the two game-play styles compliment each other. If you are looking for something different then I suggest you give Phantom Dust a rental and if you are an Xbox Live owner then you might do well to invest in this budget priced game.