"GU Is Better Than They Think"

.hack//G.U. is one of the best RPGs this year!

Introduction: I love reading all these reviews that make GU sound like its a reptitive game and dragged out storyline. To tell the truth, I bet most of these reviewers don't understand what GU is about. Blindly thinking that this game is a sequel; this game offers a much more appeal to it's plot and different format than the old dot hack games.

The Story: Due to a fire in CC Corp, all data from The World was damage, thus they had to rebuild The World and revamped its interior. This resulted in The World:R2. Most of the people didn't like the fact that all their character data was lost so most people quit the game all together. However, this new appeal to The World invited a lot of newcomers. One such character, Haseo, whom you play as, is the job class Adept Rogue. Haseo meets Shino in The World and forms a close bound with her. Through Shino, Haseo has met a few people such as Ovan, a mysterious person who invited Haseo into the Twilight Brigade guild to search for the Key of the Twilight. One day, Shino went to Delta's Forbidden Holy Ground, where she stares upon a missing statue of Aura. Suddenly, Tri-Edge, a PK shrouded in blue fire, PKs Shino. This caused Shino to go in a coma in the real world and never logged in again. Although, Tri-Edge is not a real playable character, it ls possible that it's corrupted data due to the fire in CC Corp. A bug that is not a bug.

Ovan tells Haseo that Tri-Edge will show up at the scene of the crime, thus getting his revenge for taking Haseo's closest friend in The World. Tri-Edge PKs and data drains Haseo, deleveling him back to 1. And this is where your adventure takes place.

Gameplay: Very much improved from the old dot hack game, GU opens up to a whole new world (no pun intended). The battle system is revamped to a fun, stylish battling area. New skills, new players, new quests, new areas, you name it.

Avatar battles is one of GU's new and probably best features to its fighting style. Most people loved the Epitaph Phases in the old series, tough fights, but were fun nonetheless. Now, you play as Skeith (Terror of Death) that Haseo has control of; in certain situations. A huge twist to its storyline.

Arena battles are another fun task to do. This makes The World feel like a real MMORPG when it lets you actually PK people and have some competitive fights. Not to mention, PK areas outside of the arena.

Now, people say that fighting gets reptitive in this game. But let me ask you about, Final Fantasy. About Star Ocan. Basically, any RPGs. You get the same battle system. You fight the same way over and over again. And these games aren't reptitive? Please. Bottomline, GU is much more enjoyable than the old dot hack games.

Graphics: A great deal of improvement, cel shaded graphics. Gives an anime-like appeal to their respective characters. Nuff' said.

Sound: Like always, dot hack produces one of the best features of their games, the sound. The music is wounderful as usual, and probably some familiar tunes from the old dot hack games. The sounds are crisp and clever like always.

Value: The game lasts longer than the first volume of the old dot hack. One of it's cool features, is the improved ALTIMTI OS system. You get community forums, news information from sites, official site for The World, etc. Most of this stuff can keep your occupied reading everything and learning different areas in The World. GU has more options and stuff to do after you beat the game, but this volume is nothing more than an Introduction to the game to get the story going. Volume 2 and 3, will be more action-packed because you don't need to learn the basics and stuff, you can get right to the storyline.

Overall: If you are a fan of the old dot hacks, it is a must get. Either you are new to the series or not, this is a must get, disregard all of the negative reviews you have heard. It doesn't hurt to try something new, and you might just like it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/02/06