Why do you play pso? Options

[Ether]

Just wondering, I'll post my answer a bit later n_nV

[HC82]

That came from PSOW? I am amazed, yet I have my own reasons for liking PSO that are far more different from the above quote. Anywho, PSO can be a mixed bag, it is all dependant on the few aspects that make PSO shine. PSO's simple nature is both its draw and what makes it less appealing to those "rpg stat nerds".

"OMFG these characters don't have any feats, hey why can't I roll to determine if my rabarta will freeze everyone...WTF, I can't kill this NPC, rob him and steal his house, you call this a rpg?"

Like wise it are those same hardcore rpgs that are totally devoid of any intense moments, which PSO is loaded with if you play the right quest.
Despite those hardcore D&D elements, it is the simple, yet fast paced nature of PSO that makes it appealing. A simplier way of describing PSO is a more team based form of twitch gaming. PSO is using some basic play elements that are fun regardles of what game they are in, and at the same time addiciting(the rush of an intense moment). The thing is that PSO is at times very slow paced(normal mode anyone?) and at times can be a fast paced challenge(famitsu). The slow paces nature at the start turns alot of gamers off early on.

It is when PSO pushes you to the limit that it really shines. I like the fast paced nature of PSO, combined with it's emphasis on team based gameplay. The more difficult and intense a stage the more fun it is; although since it is an online game you are essentially doing the same thing over and over for hundreds of hours on end. This is why people "burn out" on PSO, as described by Kaz, yet come back later on.

I also like cmode. Cmode isn't really intense in the same manner as doing, say MU4 and your in the last room with 10 seconds on the clock, trying to finish off wave after wave before the time runs out. Cmode is totally more about teamwork, the strategy of survival and skill. Skill being, you the player playing to the best of your performance and trying to work with your teammates to do the best you can. It is cmodes "challenging nature" that causes you to focus on these aspects. Cmode IS essentially normal mode with caveman/LotL rules. Like any game you play, if you set certain challenges, you have to strategize and deal with the game on a totally new level. It's why I prefer a challenge in PSO, it pushes you to the limit to do your best and try to work with the basic strategy and gameplay elements Sonic Team has set up to the best of your ability. In a ultimate run you never have to play very well, but in Cmode you have to play your best. You can just pipe to town in an ultimate run, restock and continually do so as needed, with money being the cruch to limit your neediness of the tool shop lady. Yet in cmode you really can't do that, you gotta go straight through and live off what you have. This is another reason why I like PSO.

"HC's *BONUS* additional rant info"
I would favor games that have the intensity of famitsu, the teamwork of cmode and the strategy of a deep fighter. Sadly the deep strategy of a fighter and the simplicity of a what makes a twitch game shine have a difficult time coexisting in a fully 3D control scheme(push C-stick in a direction, and character moves that way). In many cases a deep fighter has the elements of a twitch game, fast reactions time, yet is it far more strategic. If anything this is the perfect marriage of these two elements, yet it's the control scheme that makes it difficult in game like PSO(since most fighters, 3d or not, are on a 2d plane). So there is no game out like that. Besides most developers don't even have a clue of how to properly mix the strategy and dexterity needed of a deep fighter into a fully 3D realm, in an atmosphere of a game like Dynasty warriors or PSO without the controls being a nightmare(ie. Tons of enemies on you at once, yet having the same strategy to do high low combos, counter attack, parry, with the freedom to move anywhere just by pushing in that direction). If you had to input a typical ryu fire ball motion in PSO to do a special attack, your character would move around like an idiot and probably fire off the special attack in the wrong direction, yet having to do so at the right moment adds to the intensity, pressure, and skill placed upon the player. They don't work, or do they?