.hack//Infection Part 1

"Project .hack passes with flying colors"

As many of you may know, anime fans in particular, .hack//INFECTION is a one-player action RPG that takes place in the same setting as the series .hack//SIGN--several years into the future, inside a realistic, incredibly popular online gaming adventure called ''The World''. In ''The World'', people team up with other characters to explore, fight monsters, etc. Many play to find solace from their everyday lives. The story of INFECTION, however, focuses on a different aspect of ''The World'' than SIGN; it's about a newbie player, default name Kite, just logging into the game for the first time, only to discover a terrible presence hidden deep within ''The World''.

Gameplay: The gameplay is fairly simple outside of battle--basic camera controls, responsive variations of running and walking speed, and an easily noticeable cursor that points to someone you can talk to. In the heat of battle, however, it can become quite different. The player can unleash a basic attack with the equipped weapon simply by approaching the enemy and pressing X. There is only one physical attack though, despite what you see (Kite will perform a cross-slash the first strike, and uppercut the next, but they are essentially the same). Depending on what weapon and armor you are equipped with, you have the option of a very wide variety of special attacks, called Skills. You can open your personal menu by pressing Triangle, from which you can use any items or Skills you want. All you have to do is get within the appropriate range of the enemy, press Triangle, select Skills, and pick the one to use. Skills use SP, or Skill Points, which recover slowly over time. The thing is, in a very tough battle, things tend to get extremely hectic and hard to figure out. The enormous ''Battle Mode On'' message, which appears whenever you approach a monster or vice versa, doesn't help much either. Neither does the shaking of the screen from powerful spells being cast. Although, it is pretty easy to control, and the personal menu offers a pause and a break to decide a course of action.

Graphics: The graphics featured in this game are massive, well executed, and beautiful. The regular actions of walking around and fighting portray the anime-styled characters just as well as the many cinema scenes. Facing the end, you will encounter a fiend who possesses several attacks that get their own little movie scenes before crushing you. There are three hundred and three monsters or so, I believe, and there are plenty of original designs for them. True, you'll often come across the same monster with a recolor, a stat boost, and a new name, but overall it's very diverse. Even better, the sequence preceding your oft-needed special move (no spoilers) is just awesome. And you will acquire special items through magic books that allow you to change the beginning screen, your ''desktop'', by giving it new anime wallpapers. No fooling. Enjoy the spectacular art. When you come across an area that has been attacked by your nemesis, you can plainly see what's happened to ''The World''. Holes like acid spills reveal numbers and code. Constant interruptions and static. More, too. How cool is that?

Sound: Enthralling. The plentiful music is subtle and sneaky at some points, peaceful and calming at others. Just like the aforementioned wallpapers, you can also earn music to play on your desktop. The major characters are voiced wonderfully, and the script is very well translated.

Innovations: This is where the game really shines. This is a one-player game, right? Right. But it simulates an online game. The characters you interact with are all preprogrammed, but seem very real, at least until you notice A. that they're saying the same things over and over, and B. That everyone has perfect spelling and grammar. No way. Getting back to the point . . . If you be nice and try to make friends with the people around you, you may receive someone's ''Member Address'', which will allow you to ask them to fight by your side. You can trade with anyone you see just running around in the Towns, and give gifts to your teammates. Speaking of which, the teammates in question will send you emails and such, which you can check and often reply to. In battle, press the Square button to give orders to both or either (you can only have two partners at a time), which they will then carry out if they have the ability. There's a lot of strategy involved. The system of choosing areas to play in is as such: At a Chaos Gate, three keywords are required. Each one determines some factors of the area. So mix and match 'em for thousands of different areas! Be careful not to enter a level where the monsters are too strong for you, though. Just like an any online game, there are different character classes which determine stats, weapon, and what kind of armor is available. You start the game as a Twin Blade, but one flaw is that you can't change this. You will always remain a Twin Blade, and your friends will remain their respective classes. Overall, the additions to this game make it stand out from the crowd, looking for all the World (get it?) like any true online game.

Conclusion: So there you have it. Look back and you'll see an amazing, modern story, great sound and gameplay, and now, that I'M looking back, too many big words. Oh well. But I'm by NO MEANS saying that .hack//INFECTION is perfect. Oh no. It gets a little flaky at times, and a very small portion of the humor is a little distasteful. Tough battles can also tire you out quickly, as well as your character, what with all the running and curing and slashing and blasting and dying. You have no choices about what types of weapons or armor you can use. Nonetheless, I'd definitely buy INFECTION, unless the price tag is a bit too steep, in which case you should rent it. Remember, no matter how expensive it is, or how nice the graphics and sound and story and all that are, this is only Part One of four games: .hack//INFECTION, .hack//MUTATION, .hack//OUTBREAK, and .hack//QUARANTINE. So don't expect it to last too long.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/16/03