I am currently playing the latest game in the hack saga, .hack//G.U. Rebirth for the PS2. It goes like this, you are a character named Haseo in the online game “The World” (you don’t actually play online), a p.k.k. (player killer killer, or one who kills player killers) that hunted down p.k.ers (player killers). One day Haseo is hunting down a p.k. who p.k. his friend in the game who has gone into a coma because of it. The p.k.’s name is tri-edge that looks a lot like the .hack game’s previous main character Kite, but scarier.
Haseo tries valiantly to take on tri-edge but gets data drained in the end and his level goes down to one. I would get seriously mad at that. Well now he must restart his character, get more power, and info about tri-edge to take on the p.k.er again. Along the way he meets new characters that help him, I believe, become less of a jerk. He’s a pretty big jerk in the game and there’s nothing I can really do about it. There is good and bad to this game.
First the bad, the motorcycle you can ride has such a bad control system which doesn’t allow me to drift really well or turn acutely, nothing like San Andreas where I could speed through traffic at 100 mph and not crash. Second is the cut scenes in the game which many I could do without, especially when I complete certain quests and warp to the warp portal automatically only to say “I got to go to the quest shop” which automatically warps me there, it’s just not really necessary. Third, is the community, news, and forum section in the game is really boring to read and sometimes watch (some of them come with short clips you can watch). There are more but really minor stuff I let slide, now with the good.
The new fighting system definitely gets my approval as you can do a bit more with rengeki and the awakening system. The new trading system is nice as well although I find myself talking to the same character a lot as there are many look alike in the game. New dungeon/field is great as there is now no more of that “unlimited” field area which was really boring sometimes as you could run around for a while before fighting while the new one is sectioned off with maybe three fights next to each other and there’s only one level before you get the special item which I really like. The dungeon is currently two levels only and not the 5 level dungeon which got really repetitive and boring. The graphics have improved but are generally the same. Next is the interaction on the field which increased, especially with kicking chim chim’s around to gain chim sphere’s among various other creatures. I also like the new art download system from the in-game forum which allows you to have what looks like fan made art as wallpapers and the explanation to the new “World.” O and definitly the new monster system where you see what you fight before you fight which was random in the previous .hack games.
I recommend playing this game and if you watched the anime its better as you understand more, I need to go find it somewhere and watch, I don’t feel like recording/watching it on cartoon network in the early morning, but maybe renting it when you have spare time is better than buying it, I got mine for free so I can take my time. I feel this version alone is longer and better than the first .hack game.
In game screen shot of Haseo after he was data-drained, graphics are pretty good for a PS2 game.
In game fighting screen shot.
An “Avatar,” looks familiar doesn’t it?
Death Grunty, very kawaii and familiar looking.
