.hack//G.U. vol. 1//Rebirth

"A True Rebirth Indeed"

I've been hooked on .Hack since Sign started all those years ago. The events of the series just locked their claws into me and didn't let go. By Sign's end I wanted to know what happened to everyone, and why Skeith as Morgonna called him, absorbed Sora into his body. Then came a huge gap, the games came out for the PS2; a system which I didn't have at the time. Lucky for me, one year after Vol 4 came out I had enough cash to buy a system and all 4 games. The events of Sign were played out by Kite, who was chosen by Aura*awoken in Sign* to weild the Twilight Bracelet. An item that overrode the system rules with powers like Data Drain and Gate Hacking. He was soon pulled into the events aroung the Epitaph of Twilight and the 8 Phases of Morgonna. Upon defeating her and allowing Aura to be reborn, Kite and his party became known as the .Hackers. A few years later, Kite and Blackrose vanished but their characters were given to new players Shugo and Rena. Thus began Legend of the Twilight Bracelet. This 12 episode anime marked the end of The World as we knew it. In order to stop a massive virus spread into the real world, Shugo and Rena had to use the newly reborn powers of Kite's Bracelet, given to Shugo by Aura. And thus...The World ended....or so we thought.

Now, after so many years of nothing. The World has been reborn as The World R:2. Many new classes have been added, the root towns have been completely remade, and a new foe has appeared.

Story:

As Haseo, An Adept Rouge, you log into your first day only to end up in a bad battle. However, you meet a "friend" who saves you. Ovan. This is where we enter the new anime starting November 10th, .Hack//Roots. The game then cuts to 8 months later. Haseo is now known as the Terror of Death, and as become a PKKer(Player Killer Killer) His search for the unknown PK Tri-Edge leads him back to the place where it all began for him. Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground. In the place where his friend Shino was PKed and put into a coma by Tri-Edge, he encounters the strange player again-only to be defeated and Data Drained. Haseo loses everything and is returned to Level 1. Thus, his quest to find and defeat Tri-Edge continues.

Gameplay:

The gameplay is more complex than that of the first four games, but it won't take more than two or three areas to learn mostly everything. Instead of weapons giving you skills, you must level up your weapons, which start was a pair of Twin Blades and later in the game you also get to use a heavy sword, kinda like how Blackrose did in the last game. Your spells come in the form of scrolls which you can trade for and/or buy. As the game goes on, you'll gain the Steam Bike, which you can use in Field type dungeons and in the towns.

You'll encounter all new characters such as Altoi, a Harvest Cleric who looks just like Shino. Ovan, a mysterious Steam Gunner who's arm is locked within a strange device. Yata, a system admin and the head of GU and many others. Every one will become involed in the battle against not only Tri-Edge, but the strange virus known as AIDA.

As the game goes on, you'll see a bit of what AIDA really is. Also, near the start of the game you'll see a player known as Kuhn call on an old enemy which you may remember from Mutation if you played it. Hint hint wink wink. I won't spoil it, but his power will also become yours over time and trust me; it adds a whole new experence to the game.

Sound:

Much more vamped up than the last entries, though the field and dungeons still lack a good tune. The Default desktop theme just bites, but you'll gain the power to change that via the Books of 1000, or the Ryu Books for those coming from the first games. I'm sure you remember what they do. Overall, the background themes, as well as the root town themes are good, but that's it.

Graphics&Replay:

The graphics are must better than those of the last games, and all the characters save for the other "real" players that can't join you party talk. YES, they all TALK! It's great and I know you'll love it. Though some minor blockage and lag issues still hit during times of massive players in one area. You'll see this toward the very end of the game. The replay value is huge. Apart from the main story which so far as taken me about 20 hours*and I'm at the final battle* you have guild rankings to climb, rare items to collect, levels to gain and books to fill. The amount of quests you can take is massive and easily addes another 10 or so hours. But then you have to include all the above which makes this game about 35-40 hours to finish after the main story.

Ending Comments:

.Hack//GU Vol 1 Rebirth is a great game, and will catch you in the folds it makes. If your a new player to .Hack, dont be afraid to start with this game. And if your a old fan of .Hack, then I can only say this. Welcome back to The World.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/06