Over at the Sega booth, the one playable title that most interested us at RPGFan was Phantasy Star Universe. Once upon a time, the game was set for an early 2006 release in Japan. That didn't happen. Even the game's soundtrack has been delayed indefinitely.

That said, the PR representative at the booth wasn't surprised when we asked the most obvious question: "when will this game be released?"

The rough answer was "Fall 2006" in the US for PS2, PC, and Xbox 360.

Furthermore, we were informed that the Xbox 360 version of the game will work online only within Xbox Live, though PS2 and PC users will be able to interact with one another.

The game takes place across three different planets, for both its MMO and single-player scenarios. The single-player scenario will be a full game all its own, with over 40 hours of gameplay to complete the storyline.

Whether or not Japanese and US gamers will see a simultaneous release is still anybody's guess.

As far as gameplay goes, it is essentially Phantasy Star Online with bits of change and improvement here and there. Fans of the previous title will more than likely enjoy Phantasy Star Universe.