I gave it a shot and it wasn't horrible. The voice acting however, is beyond atrocious. I'd rather they just ripped out all the voice acting and left it as text only. It's really that bad. The scene where you learn about anima death/resurrection was by far the worst. Hearing that Lon Mas say "Muahaha, it's about time we put an end to this!" in the worst possible voice imaginable killed it for me. I think you actually have to try to get voice acting that bad. Even taking random people off the streets and having them read a few lines into a mic would sound better. I'm not even joking about that. Seriously.
The race/gender locking of classes is bad as well. I wanted to try the Minstrel out, but had to play as a Beriah female. The closed beta text was horribly mangled, so I had no idea what was even going on half the time which is never good.
I also see people commenting on Aika's Pran system, but it seems that Prius came out first over seas and that Aika copied it but just came out over here first. Or so I'm told anyway.
I'll have to check it out once the game goes into OB/live since the CB was extremely limited with the low level cap and whole areas closed off. It looks like OB will be about a month after CB finishes, so hopefully they fix it up in time.
Can Prius Online's Vibrant World Keep Us Playing?
Senior Staff Writer Chris "Pwyff" Tom tried to immerse himself in Prius Online, but just couldn't stay submerged for the whole experience.
Upon entering the world of Prius Online, the vibrant graphics were definitely the first thing that grabbed me. While the animations can get a little clunky and stiff, I couldn't help but smile at the bright colors and lively scenery. It seems like developers CJI aren't afraid of pushing to a more over-the-top graphical style, and you can see this in the flamboyant armor sets and weaponry as well.
Prius Online's most unique claim is its concept of the "3C" system, otherwise known as the three-character system. This "3C" concept refers to your character, your Anima and your Giga. Anima in Prius Online are basically little girls (fairies?) who join you around level 10. As you grow in experience, so does your personal Anima, and it will also learn skills to help you. Think of your Anima as being a little human pet, and you have the general idea. As well, Prius Online has "Gigas," which can only be unlocked through your Anima. A Giga is a giant robot that you can hop into to fight monsters, although I'm uncertain how the Giga system will be implemented in regular play. I was able to try out the Giga through the opening sequence of the Lon Feminas, and it was like playing as a regular character, but as a giant robot with different skills.
Prius Online also boasts that players will be treated to an engrossing storyline, but the unfortunate truth here is that no matter how interesting the story is in concept, with its incredibly weak voice-acting, localization and UI interaction, nobody is going to be interested. Normally, I wouldn't single a game out for its voice acting, but Prius Online is one case where the voice acting is actually detrimental to the experience. When I see my character being plunged into a near-death situation, only to hear someone say in a monotonous voice, "Oh no, they have control of a giant machine!" you can bet that I'm not really immersed in the story.
Overall, Prius Online feels a little bit too rough around the edges to make a large enough impact with its patented "3C" system. Perhaps the most unique aspect of Prius Online, its "Anima" pet system of raising your own adventuring partner, is distressingly similar to another gPotato published MMORPG, Aika Online's "Pran" pet system. While Prius Online does have some striking visuals, I think they'll need to get a little more depth if they really want to stay afloat in this industry.
Chris "Pwyff" Tom, Senior Staff Writer
Tags: Editorial, PriusOnline