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PLATFORM
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PS2
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BATTLE
SYSTEM
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INTERACTION
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ORIGINALITY
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STORY
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MUSIC
& SOUND
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VISUALS
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CHALLENGE
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Moderate
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COMPLETION
TIME
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20-40 Hours
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OVERALL
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+
Incredible detail paid to
worldbuilding
+
Great visual style
+
Fun and challenging combat
-
Battle system starts off slow
-
Dungeons can get repetitive
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Ends with a cliffhanger
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Click
here for scoring
definitions
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.hack //
G.U. Vol. 1: Rebirth is the first entry in
the second series of games in the massive
multimedia .hack project. Using the unique
MMO setting to its advantage, Rebirth
manages to not only outdo the original series but
also use a fantastic cel-shaded style and
well-paced story that stands the test of time. The
fast-paced, realtime combat provides enough
diversity to keep things interesting but takes a
bit too long to get going early on. Though it does
have some of the repetition issues of the original
.hack series, a much better story and cast,
the improved combat, and pruned length more than
make up for these.
Taking place
almost completely in the massively multiplayer
online game The World, Rebirth follows the
adventures of Haseo as he tries to track down the
mysterious character known as Tri-Edge. Tri-Edge
is responsible for somehow knocking Haseo back to
level one and causing the mysterious disappearance
of a friend. While on this search, Haseo meets up
with a group dealing with various mysterious
happenings in the game. It will be a bit weird for
those not already familiar with .hack, but
Rebirth packs an amazingly well-defined
world. Haseo is initially a very angry and
unfriendly character and quite unlikeable. As
things move along, however he shows some growth
and shows he cares more about his companions than
it initially appears. It's an interesting story,
though being part one of a trilogy it naturally
ends on a cliffhanger and leaves many things
unresolved. Even so, the story will leave players
wanting more rather than leaving them unfulfilled.
The
cutscenes have a tremendous
visual style. |
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Helping define
the game's world and expand backstory and
character relationships are the faux-MMO elements,
complete with convincing e-mails, forums, and even
news reports that players can read through and
explore at their leisure. The World's players
complain about the game, share rumors, and even
talk about Rebirth's main characters
complete with fan art. E-mails from party members
provide hints at those character's offline lives
as well as offering players a deeper level of
interaction with them. How the player responds to
these e-mails can improve relations with that
character and leads to further character detail
being provided in Rebirth and its
successors. Meanwhile, news reports give an
overview of happenings outside of the MMO,
painting an interesting picture of the near
future. These aren't always unrelated to The World
of course, as they sometimes take a look at
strange events related to the game.
The gameplay
that goes along with this wonderful story is fun,
despite retaining some of the repetition of the
original. Players can explore the game's city, buy
equipment, visit several guilds, interact with
characters, or take on optional quests. Quests
take place in relatively short dungeons generally
with simple objectives such as hitting a certain
number of switches or similar objects to unlock
treasure or a boss fight. Environments are reused
but appear with enough different configurations as
to not get too repetitive. In dungeons players
will experience plenty of combat, and thankfully
it proves to be a highlight. Enemies are visible
on the map, and when the player comes into contact
with them by attacking or running into them,
combat will begin in an enclosed area. Battle
takes place in real time, though with a measured
pace since the action will pause when selecting a
skill, using an item, or commanding allies. Combat
is still fast-paced and fun. By the end of the
game the player will have two classes to switch
between, each providing a good variety of skills.
Even so, Haseo is stuck with only a single skill
for a bit too long, making early portions drag,
especially when the party consists of Haseo or
only one other ally. It does give time for the
player to learn the ins and outs of the system,
but it still feels like this could have been
handled in a much better way to keep things
interesting. Skills transfer from one game to the
next so at the very least this issue is not
repeated in the latter games.
Despite
the game's age, Rebirth's
world still looks great.
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Battles can be
fairly challenging, and boss fights in particular
prove to be a fun highlight. In addition to
regular combat, special arena battles are spaced
throughout the campaign. These don't allow items,
and provide some challenging battles for players
to conquer. A lot of the story centers around
these battles, which helps enhance these often
tense encounters. It feels like more optional
fights could have been fit into the arena, but
thankfully there aren't any issues once past the
tedious early going. Once the story is complete,
players are free to keep doing side quests to get
more gear and levels to carry on into the next
game, though there is a level cap.
Thanks to a
great cel-shaded art style, Rebirth is
still a fantastic-looking game despite its age.
Some of the environments can be a bit bland at
times, especially in some reused dungeon styles.
Enemies and characters in the player's party look
and animate quite nicely. Environments look nice,
but they do get reused a bit, especially if the
player takes on optional side-quests. The music
does not disappoint, providing many memorable
tracks and helping enhance every aspect of the
game. To top it off, the voice acting includes
stellar performances from a variety of actors
familiar to JRPG fans such as Yuri Lowenthal in
the role of Haseo. Those worried about how this
old PS2 game will look and sound have absolutely
nothing to worry about.
The original .hack
series was a bit of a disappointment in many
respects. Thankfully, the developers have fixed
many of the issues that plagued those games, and
the result is a wonderful part one that sets up
this new trilogy nicely. It has some minor issues,
primarily a slow buildup before combat gets truly
interesting. However, the worldbuilding on display
in the game is incredible. There's everything from
accurate online forums to a series of videos about
an obnoxious reporter investigating mysteries
related to the game. There are plenty of
references to past .hack media as well. .hack
// G.U. Vol. 1: Rebirth truly executes on
the promise that the first series never quite
lived up to, and sets up perfectly for its
followup. All fans of JRPGs need to play this
game.
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