.hack: G.U., Vol.3: Redemption

With seven games to this series, and an inexhaustible supple of anime, film, toys, etc., the Dot Hack series has reached the heights of longevity shared by very few RPG's. Final Fantasy is the undeniable owner of the title, both in terms of number of episodes and sheer quality, but Dot Hack will always be a contender. And more to the point, a lot of fun as well. The premise of these games is that a multi-player online fantasy game can become larger than life and that threats within the game can endanger the real world. The first 4 games in this series were based on Kite, a young player who finds himself caught up in the game beneath the game. This set of games established the basic pattern - basically a dungeon game with a number of sidequests,

This second series - 'G.U.' - continues this pattern, this time centered on a new set of characters led by Haseo. Haseo, seeking vengeance for the loss of his girlfriend as become an avid killer of player killers whose nickname is 'The Terror of Death.' One of the things that make the three 'G.U.' an improvement over the original games is the strong element of character depth and development. Haseo starts out unlikable and, as the conflict with the viral AIDA develops, becomes more the responsible leader and hero and less the bitter killer. By the end of the game there are some twenty characters that Haseo can team with, oppose AIDA with, or even propose to.

Along with the quality of character the storyline has become more detailed and logical. And the character enemies have become more interesting as well. This last stanza carefully ties many of the threads together. The game uses the interactions in the game, in addition to resources in the computer interface such as emails and discussion groups, to drive the plot forward. In fact, one of the most noticeable flaws in the game is that faithfully reading your emails will drive the story forward faster than you want to go. Of course, this is one of the few games that will let you play all the sidequests after the main story completes but I found this a bit unsatisfactory. But there is a lot of gameplay here in any case.

The game offers a considerable number of sidequests and internal games to keep anyone happy. There's a fight card game where you can go on quests for special cards and challenge other players. There's motorcycle races and arena fights. All of this in addition to the find every one thing or another quests. There is a enough game time here to play until you are senseless. Since this is the last in a long series most of you know what to expect and I promise you that that is exactly what you will get. If you are new to the series I suggest you track down at least the previous two games if you want to understand the plot and the characters.

Now, what should I do until .hack starts up once again?

Honestly, I can't believe this series is over. It saddens me deeply to know that it has come to an end. The game itself is great. It's not disappointed me at all and I give it five out of five on both scales and I would recommend this game to ANYONE I see. I have played .hack from the very beginning with .hack//Infection and I must say that it only continues to get better. The .hack//G.U. games bring back some of the quirks and qualities of the original four but it adds its own flare with side quests, bike quests, arena battles and affection levels for your partners. This is really one of the only games that I have ever wanted to complete. With the original four .hack games I would get frustrated with how much everything in each game repeated itself. They seemed to drag on within the game. The .hack//G.U. fixes these problems very well and continues the excitement from the beginning to the end. The graphics continue to get better and the levels aren't the only things that are advancing with the characters. Haseo's Xth form finally shows itself in this game providing new weapons and new attacks. With Haseo's Xth form also comes new opponents and a new arena to battle in. New quests will pop up in the quest shop and another opportunity to save "The World" comes with it all. I hope this game will do very well in America so that another .hack series will be created and sent to us soon.

It's rare for a game to keep me interested until the end, it's equally as rare for games to surprise me with its story--.hack has done all of the above. //Redemption is an amazing game and a worthy sucessor to the previous volumes. Despite it being a sequel, it's stand-alone-worthy plot would be interesting for anyone to play. The battle system, as well as the overall design of the game is among the most unique out there. The game is fun, addictive, and you get attached to it so quickly. I bought the first volume without knowledge of any of the other games or series', and it quickly grew to be one of my most favorite games of all times. It's a true masterpiece, down to every detail. Everyone needs to play this game. The only negative thing I can say about this game is that it's the last of the series, and I hate to see it end.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 26 reviews  4.8 out of 5 stars