.hack, Part 1: Infection
by Funkwerk
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Video Game Reviews of .hack, Part 1: Infection
Customer Review: I'm trying so hard to like this game.
Summary: 3 Stars
The game just feels unfinished. It deeply lacks a story or a feeling of purpose for all that you do in the game. The deep story of .hack is just completely missing from the game. It's doesn't feel at all like an RPG.
I loved the Anime series of .hack//sign it was so interesting and amazing to watch. With characters like BT, and Lady Subaru, Mimiru, Silver Knight, and Crime etc etc. It was great to watch. Matter of fact I saw all the animies realeased of .hack. That's what brought me to purchase the game so that I could experience what the characters experienced. Enjoy the game they called "The World" just as they did. I was so let down and dissapointed by .hack. The outline of the game is great That feeling of being at a computer terminal and loging in is great, but the game itself just doesn't match the greatness of the anime. The game feels unfinished, and really redundant. You do the same things over and over again untill something happens. You fight... then some something happens... you fight somemore then something happens. The story development just doesn't seem well developed in the game. If this wasn't .hack I admit I would have rated it 1 star but, this is the game based on a great anime series. Just an extreme let down for those expecting more. This was a 2001 release on the PS2. The PS2 at the time still new in the market. The game looks like it could have ran on Nintendo 64. Not the beauty you would expect from a ps2 level RPG game. It could have been done much better. Then to add insult to injury the game has been broken down into 4 disk. I'm not sure if I wish to continue after this one.
Customer Review: Welcome to the World....
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a really neat rpg video game. The Storyline is a very simple one. When a 14-year old boy named Kite joins his friend on an online video game called "The World". His friend is brutually attack and ends up in a coma. The only clue that Kite has the attack is somehow connected to "The World". Now, Kite must search out for other players, who like him want solve the mystery of the world. Before, more players end up in comas too. But, how far is Kite willing to go, to solve the mystery of "The World". Customer Review: Excellent Storyline!
Summary: 5 Stars
This game's storyline is EXCELLENT. Some features leave much to be desired. The "Myst Spring" system, for example, is somewhat complicated and can confuse newbies (unless you have a game guide or use online sites like Gamefaqs) and the battles aren't the most exciting either. The Dot Hack series fans (like myself) will definitely love it though and so will anyone who enjoys games w/ deep storylines will love it too.Customer Review: An Above-Average Story.
Summary: 4 Stars
STORY-
You are an 8th grader who has recently been introduced to an online game known as "The World" by a friend. When you log in, your friend's character is attacked and he is put into a mysterious coma. As the rogue player, Kite, you must unravel the mysteries behind "The World" and the strange bracelet you have been granted. Along the way, you will cross paths with a variety of colorful players who will aid you in your quest for truth and give you insight into what lies behind the game.
The story of the game is probably one of the better aspects of the all-around package. It's not nearly as contrived and overused as the other standard RPG "save the universe" plot, and it offers up a fresh take on a game inside of a game. It does a good job emulating the feel of a true MMORPG, and I found myself wanting to play even after the gameplay became somewhat dull.
BATTLE SYSTEM-
The fighting in .hack is reminiscent of other MMORPGS such as World of Warcraft. The idea is basically that you run around dungeons, and upon encountering monsters, initiate in a real-time fight. There's not much strategy here: all you do is press the `x' button rapidly until one of you dies. It's hard to call this a step into new territory, especially when we've seen this done many, many times over. To be fair, as with everything else, the battle system holds true to the MMORPG tried-and-tested formula. You can attack with your weapons, cast buffs and debuffs and unleash spells on your hapless opponents. Along with the standard assortment of physical and magical attacks, Kite possesses a magical bracelet which allows him to perform a Data Drain on enemies (essentially a one hit K.O.) at the risk of becoming infected through overuse. Data Drain is a useful and interesting concept, and it provides you with Virus Bugs as well as the occasional new piece of equipment.
Kite can have up to two other members in his party at a time. You can command them through a separate menu and for the most part, their AIs do a decent job of supporting your character throughout the game. They can also be something of a hindrance, however. In dungeons and during fights, they have the irritating tendency to reciting mechanical one-liners (such as "Take that!"). These one-liners appear in large text balloons and occasionally obscure the action, especially when more than one person in talking. There's unfortunately no way to turn this off; at least not that I've found.
GAMEPLAY-
Throughout the game, you'll be going back and forth from the game "The World" and the main area of your PC. You don't see the person controlling Kite, which only further alludes to the `in a game' sensation, and was something I felt was a nice touch. In the main screen of your PC, you'll be able to check your mail which lets you correspond with other gamers as well as worldwide news. There's even a forum for the game which is updated with threads periodically as you progress through the game. I've said it before and I'll probably say it again, but .hack really exudes the feeling of an MMORPG and involves you in the experience. When you're not on your PC's main screen, you'll be in "The World". You can travel from different servers, each of which has their own special town. The towns all have basically the same shops and aren't really much to rave about, but they're accessible and easy to navigate.
The dungeons are created through the input of a three part keyword. The combination of the keywords sets the level and elemental type of the dungeon. There are a variety of different kinds, but after a while, they end up looking quite similar (especially the insides of the dungeons). Most of the time you'll be trekking through dungeon after dungeon to grind levels or simply to advance the plot. As with many dungeon crawlers, the gameplay can become tedious after a while.
Overall, the gameplay isn't bad, but it can become mind-numbing after you spend hours slogging through wave after wave of dungeons.
VISUALS, CHARACTERS and AUDIO-
.hack part 1 is presented with fairly bright graphics, distinctive character designs and decent textures, but it still falls short of the mark somewhere. They graphics really aren't particularly impressive if you study them, and although the character animations are quite nice, there's a distinct lack of detail in a lot of your surroundings. Take the dungeons, for example. The majority of them are simply long, winding hallways with little decoration and almost no detail. The different types of dungeons have different walls and floors, of course, but they're still just long corridors connected by rooms. There's just not enough variety to make the graphics pop out.
The characters of the game are for the most part, well-presented. Although they're not always very well portrayed when you first acquire their assistance, the more you use them, the more you learn about their interests. Even the characters who don't play a large role in the main story of the game ended up having more developed personalities than I expected. Although none of them seem to experience any particularly deep emotional growth, it didn't bother me so much. The characters don't seem to be the main focus of the game anyway; the story is what really drives everything.
The music of the game is standard RPG fare. It's nothing to write home about, especially the dungeon music and the repetitive battle theme. There are a few nice, catchy tracks, but for the most part it's basically average stuff.
CONCLUSION-
To summarize, .hack Part 1 is a dungeon-crawler with an above-average and fairly interesting story. The presentation of the `game within a game' concept can be very involving at times, and the idea is very well executed. The gameplay itself falls a little short of the mark, since there is too little variety between dungeon areas. The character models are pretty interesting and Kite's is fairly detailed, but the rest of the graphics are generally quite cookie-cutter.
If you're looking for something that has a different type of storytelling as well as lots and lots of dungeon levels to traverse (there are probably hundreds of different keyword combinations) then you'll have a roaring good time with this game. As for my personal opinion, I'd say that it's a decent game and a good way to pass time. I've seen better, but then again there's far worse. Give it a shot if this type of thing interests you.
Customer Review: Good for its time
Summary: 4 Stars
This game came out a while ago... 80's I think. Anyway, I got bored with it rather quickly because I'd just beaten the .hack//GU games, and the gameplay is just about the same. You still dungeon dive, you still make up dungeon keywords, and there's still a lot of leveling involved (which is why I got bored). Personally, I think seven games with the same gameplay is pushing it, especially when the story doesn't even change much from game to game. All things considered, the .hack//GU games are better: graphics, story, gameplay, etc., and they should be; they came out long after the original .hack games. The backstory of the original games isn't important to GU either, so I recommend just those three.
.Hack//G.U. Vol.1//Rebirth Special Edition
.Hack: GU, Vol. 2: Reminisce
.hack: G.U., Vol.3: Redemption