The Gamer's Utopia Review: .hack//GU

Posted by:Maxx
Yeah this is my first post on this blog (I'm a new person around here besides Kal, if ya didn't know). So I figured why not break the ice with my review of my current addiction/obsession, .hack//GU. And just to let you know, my review for it is different than the ones in magazines and websites.

.Hack is a rather popular hit, in games, anime and manga. The basic back story is about this HUGE MMORPG called "The World" (And when I say huge, I mean it's like every kid and their dad playing). "The World" did have its problems; problems that are by far worse than a crashed server. For you see, data anomalies infected the monsters, making them un-killable. And that's not the worse part, for you see if you get killed by an infected monster, you become comatose.

In the first series of games, a player named Kite joined "The World" after persuasion from his friend, Orca (who was a legend in "The World"). After a dungeon, which taught Kite how to play the game, Orca is attacked by a rare monster named Skeith, and Kite gains an item called "The Bracelet of Twilight." The next day, Kite finds out that Orca went comatose, and goes on a long journey to cure Orca, meeting other players in the same situation along the way. This group is known as the dothackers and they fight the waves of "Morgana" (The god of "The World") and in the end bring the comatose back from their comatose condition.

Well in GU (Yeah that explanation wasn't GU.), the game creators decided to make a new "World" (because of the Morgana incident); this world was called "The World R.2." This world becomes a playground for PKs (or player killers) who prey on the weak and helpless. This is where our hero, Haseo, comes into play. He is a high leveled PKK (Player Killer Killer) and has a strong hatred of PKs, for he was PKed (Player Killed) the first moment he signed on the game. Not only was he PKed the moment he signed on the game, but also his lover, Shino, was PKed by a player named Tri-Edge. Well after an encounter with Tri-Edge (Whom looks extremely similar to Kite), poor level 130 Haseo is reduced to level 1.

Over time Haseo learns that his character in the game is VERY unique, his is an Epitaph user. These users can summon forth an avatar to fight data bugs, known as AIDA. Each Epitaph (avatar) is a "Wave of Morgana", Haseo's being Skeith. With this power and the other six users, Haseo goes on a long journey to save Shino and rid "The World" Of AIDA, a journey that spans the course of three games (which is still a game shorter than the previous series).

This game gives a great feeling of playing an MMO. When you’re not playing "The World", you'll be on the desktop reading emails from your party members, reading forums and downloading pictures, or even changing the desk top's background and music. And when you're playing the artificial MMO, the MMO feeling, is still present. You can talk and trade with other players/party members, run a guild store, get quests, and participate in tournaments. The only thing that would make it feel more like an MMO is having an actual online part.

This is one of the last games for the PS2 and is very anime influenced. It has good graphics (You'll notice some collisions problems and a little pixely), some GREAT songs, awesome voice actors and better game play then the first series. This series got a lot of bad marks in the game magazines and sites, but if you’re a fan of unique stories, anime, or the first series, seriously check this sequel out. It's addicting! Though some of the bosses are evil.