It's time to dive back in if you're already a citizen, and if you're not, gain access to the gaming world's most compelling simulated cyber space. [Nov. 2006, p.76]
Though sometimes slow and laborious, .hack//G.U. Vol.1 Rebirth is a well thought out update to the series, and is a welcome addition to the growing dot hack family.
Still a better love story than twillight, that **** movie!
hahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahhahahha!!!!!! Anyone agree?
If they continue to improve the series as they have this time around, the final two installments of .hack//G.U have the potential to really make their mark in the RPG genre.
Vol. 1 still has bouts of incredible monotony, but with the increased speed of the battles and graphics that don't induce nausea, it makes for a fine -- but not really great -- role-playing adventure.
Rebirth makes some minor improvements on the familiar formula, but it's still hampered by repetitive, tedious gameplay and a story that never seems to get anywhere.
When making a video game of any kind, it's important for the developer to keep in mind gameplay. Rebirth lacks this rather core element, which makes it hard to recommend despite solid graphics, great sound, and a much improved battle mode.
.hack has freedom. You can beat em up, try to find the best items, etc etc. I think it's fun in its own limited ways.
This game has a lot of content. I spent the first half hour just reading the in game news and forums.
PvE is simple mash em out. Just a few repeating tactics usually end up winning you the fight.
PvP in the arena is a bit more fun. If you are leveled evenly against an opponent, I even lost one fight just to the right type of opponent. I had to learn from my mistakes. Likewise, one can overcome higher leveled opponents by developing tactics on the fly.
Excellent work on:
Can skip cut-scenes, but at the end, they make sure to let you know exactly the important things you need to do. They have this "memoir" menu item to help you navigate.
Annoying:
You constantly have to "log out" to read your email to advance the story. Yet in game, there are examples of instant voice messaging. I know why they had to do it from a technical perspective, but they just should have gutted it out and made a better way than having to "log out" of the world only to read an email that says "meet me immediately!!!"
Major Flaw:
A simple narrative, animations, and probably the voice acting caused a serious lack of choices for the player.
You basically aren't allowed to play solo the main story, but at least the PvE and PvP are difficult enough to incentivize you to have a party.
There is this major build up to the first big battle. I felt fairly invested in the characters and story. I built up my character to be strong, however when the big battle came, the plot didn't take into account that I was way more powerful than my opponent.
It assumed they'd kick my ass. This pattern repeated a few more times and became annoying. They had animations and voice acting locked in, so one just have to live with it.
I would have rather fought out these battles to the end without the crutch they assumed I'd need to lean on.
Final fun note:
There is a new type of battle that I'm guessing was introduced in "G.U.". You see hints of it early on and they do a good job building up to when you finally get to participate in this battle.
I really liked this part and it was far and away the best part of the game.
The gameplay is pretty repetitive and the game is 90% cutscenes. It is more like an interactive anime. There is a remastered version so you should probably play that if you are interested.
SummaryYears after the events of the first .hack installment, the most popular MMORPG in the world has returned from the ashes as "The World: R2". As Haseo the Terror of Death, players are thrown into his quest for revenge in his search for the mysterious PK (Player Killer) Tri-Edge. This time, players will interact in the real and virtual worl...