"Another chapter in greatness"

The long awaited sequel to last year's sleeper hit finally hit store shelves today. After a long seven month wait, fans can finally return to “The World” and reunite with our cast of heroines in their journey to solve the mysteries of “The World”. Chapter two picks up directly where the first one ended. Players assume the role of Haseo, a hard headed Hot-shot with revenge on the brain, in his quest to avenge the in game death of his friend Shino. Players of the first game soon learned of new secrets and possible conspiracies that plagued the on-line universe, and those who finished the first game were left with few questions answered and many more questions created.

There are a few new game play improvements introduced in volume two. Minor issues that fans had with the first game have been addressed in chapter two, such as minor graphical tweaks and movement and camera issues. Most noticeable is the large speed increase found on the steam bike. Now it finally feels like Haseo is riding a motorcycle instead of a crazed warthog. Of course the game includes new weapons and armor found only in volume two to keep players eager to earn the best equipment in the game. Most exciting is the new face lift Haseo's armor get in the later half of the game and a whole new weapon class for Haseo to wield, Scythes. New achievements in the “Book of 1000” have been added to keep the perfectionists reaching for that ultimate goal, some of which include bestiary completion, game time total, and a new achievement to chapter two, bike parts. In volume two players can now upgrade their steam bike's speed, handling, and acceleration to make it more equipped for battle or for fast travel. Combat is still generally the same in comparison to the first game. A fast paced real time battle system which primarily revolves around Haseo. A new all party member group attack called “Divine Awakening” has been added to spice up battle a little more for volume two. Divine Awakening has player enter a series of button commands to inflict BIG damage on the enemy's party. New special attacks called “Arts” are introduced as the characters weapon skill raises, adding new flashier attacks to give the players bigger damage and higher combos. A battle system that was near flawless in the first chapter is back with a few improvements to keep the game exciting. Why fix what's not broken?

In all the Dot Hack G.U. series has proved to be a must have in any RPG fans collection, and Vol. 2 is nothing short of great. Fast paced action, beautiful cut scenes, and a deep and original storyline are just a few reasons to check out Dot Hack G.U. A great cast of characters is brought to life by the best in today's game and animations voice talent. For those looking for a little anti-hero in a main character, Haseo will not disappoint. Those who played the first Dot Hack series will notice a lot of references in G.U. to the first series. Is this coincidence or part of the story? It's simple, the more you know about Dot Hack the better off you'll be when playing. RPG fans will greatly regret passing up this series. Volume one was unfortunately released in the shadow of the LONG awaited final fantasy XII, and kept this great series under the radar for too long. Hopefully volume two will inspire gamers to play a truly amazing step in the right direction in the RPG genre.

+ Excellent story, great characters, fast action.
- Absolutely must play the first game to know whats going on.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/21/07