Post by Liquid Rogue on May 4, 2004 12:37:43 GMT -5
I was looking pretty foward to this game : I got a glimpse of an import reveiw in a PS2 magazine, and thought to myself "Hey, another anime RPG, this should be intresting".
Months later, it came out here. Well, not HERE (d**n my towns small size) but in Glasgow when I went for a "Whey its the last day of 4th year lets have some fun" trip. I saw the game, and its cheesyness repelled me. I hunted around the store for the nearest ps2 magazine, and flipped to a reveiw of it. 3 out of something it got...it might have been 10, so I gave it up and got Arc : TOTS and Skies of Arcidia instead. My freind ignored the review of .hack and bought it. "thingy" i thought.
Anyway, next day, I saw my mate playing the game. It looked so crappy...everything was going too fast and it didnt look fun. He completed it in a mere 15 hours, and with Skies of Arcidia boring me to death, and being stuck on Arc, I decided to give it a try.
Ok. The graphics are....nutse. Its way too blocky, and the animation is jumpy. Not to mention the voice acting is terrible. I explored the first dungeon with Orca, and cringed as the fantasy element bled into the game when Orca was data drained and the girl gave Kite the book. I had a few Kite-only fights, and I wasnt exactly blown away, to be honest. Unimpressed, I saved, and turned the console off to go on the net. However, something happened while I was on the net. I WANTED to play .hack. I was ADDICTED to the game.
I'm glad I chose to go back, because...well, I dont know what it is, but there is something about this game that makes you want to play it. It certinally blacks out its repeditivness of town-email-board-keyword-dungeon-town-email-board-keyword-dungeon-town-email-board-keyword-dungeon...you get what I mean.
Its probably just the fact that .hack feels so real. You see, .hack is set in an online RPG, so, you dont actually control Kite, you control the 14 year old kid controlling Kite. The game does an exellent job of making this beleivable : People chat to each other, use smileys, use the shops, trade with one another, post on the message boards, send emails, and generally do anything a normal person would do, because, with all due respect, they are the same as you : They are sitting at a computer screen playing the game.
The game also simulates this fact well. Most noticable is the intelligence of them...they are computer controlled, yes, but .hack suceeds where other games have failed in this element (remember kingdom hearts?). They will defend, evade, and attack without your consent, and will shout out to other party members when they need healing ("Skeiz, what is this status effect? Can you heal me?"). You, Kite, are the party leader, and allies wont use their SP or items without your consent, so simpily tapping square and choosing "First Aid" will see that they heal themselfs and each other. Or, if thats not good enough, you can scroll over to individual characters and tell them to heal the party. If that doesnt make you happy, you can choose what skills to use and on who. Its all very simple, they arent thick, so theres no screaming at the tv complaining about the retardedness of your companions. If you like, you can even command them to do bugger all by choosing standby. Watch as they sensibily complain "Am I useless?" or "Sure you can handle it, Skiez?". Unfortunatly, these chat lines never change, and eventually they make you want to scream at the screen, "THERE IS NO FRICKING AROMATIC GRASS!"
Something I find remarkably great about this game is when a character dies. In a real MMO game, when you die, you usually still get to chat and spectate. This is the case with .hack. If an ally dies, they will turn into a ghost and moan "Arent you gonna revive me?" or something. If you die, you cant use skills, items, or attack, but you can still order your party to revive you by choosing first aid on the chat menu.
By the sounds of it, you will spend half the battle flicking though menus. Erm...no! Once you get used to .hack, you will flick through the menus so quickly that anyone watching you play will wonder what the hell you just did.
An element of the game which increases the replay value dramaticlly is the keyword system. You enter 3 words at a gate, which will determine the enemy level, element, and weather of the area. The result? At least 1000 areas to explore. Each dungeon has many floors, and a gott statue at the bottom, containing very rare items you can either keep, sell, or trade.
Anyways, ive said enough, lets goto the verdict.
Graphics : 6/10
Gameplay : 10/10
Sound : 8/10
Average time to clear: 15 hours
Replay Value: 9/10
Final Score 9/10
Months later, it came out here. Well, not HERE (d**n my towns small size) but in Glasgow when I went for a "Whey its the last day of 4th year lets have some fun" trip. I saw the game, and its cheesyness repelled me. I hunted around the store for the nearest ps2 magazine, and flipped to a reveiw of it. 3 out of something it got...it might have been 10, so I gave it up and got Arc : TOTS and Skies of Arcidia instead. My freind ignored the review of .hack and bought it. "thingy" i thought.
Anyway, next day, I saw my mate playing the game. It looked so crappy...everything was going too fast and it didnt look fun. He completed it in a mere 15 hours, and with Skies of Arcidia boring me to death, and being stuck on Arc, I decided to give it a try.
Ok. The graphics are....nutse. Its way too blocky, and the animation is jumpy. Not to mention the voice acting is terrible. I explored the first dungeon with Orca, and cringed as the fantasy element bled into the game when Orca was data drained and the girl gave Kite the book. I had a few Kite-only fights, and I wasnt exactly blown away, to be honest. Unimpressed, I saved, and turned the console off to go on the net. However, something happened while I was on the net. I WANTED to play .hack. I was ADDICTED to the game.
I'm glad I chose to go back, because...well, I dont know what it is, but there is something about this game that makes you want to play it. It certinally blacks out its repeditivness of town-email-board-keyword-dungeon-town-email-board-keyword-dungeon-town-email-board-keyword-dungeon...you get what I mean.
Its probably just the fact that .hack feels so real. You see, .hack is set in an online RPG, so, you dont actually control Kite, you control the 14 year old kid controlling Kite. The game does an exellent job of making this beleivable : People chat to each other, use smileys, use the shops, trade with one another, post on the message boards, send emails, and generally do anything a normal person would do, because, with all due respect, they are the same as you : They are sitting at a computer screen playing the game.
The game also simulates this fact well. Most noticable is the intelligence of them...they are computer controlled, yes, but .hack suceeds where other games have failed in this element (remember kingdom hearts?). They will defend, evade, and attack without your consent, and will shout out to other party members when they need healing ("Skeiz, what is this status effect? Can you heal me?"). You, Kite, are the party leader, and allies wont use their SP or items without your consent, so simpily tapping square and choosing "First Aid" will see that they heal themselfs and each other. Or, if thats not good enough, you can scroll over to individual characters and tell them to heal the party. If that doesnt make you happy, you can choose what skills to use and on who. Its all very simple, they arent thick, so theres no screaming at the tv complaining about the retardedness of your companions. If you like, you can even command them to do bugger all by choosing standby. Watch as they sensibily complain "Am I useless?" or "Sure you can handle it, Skiez?". Unfortunatly, these chat lines never change, and eventually they make you want to scream at the screen, "THERE IS NO FRICKING AROMATIC GRASS!"
Something I find remarkably great about this game is when a character dies. In a real MMO game, when you die, you usually still get to chat and spectate. This is the case with .hack. If an ally dies, they will turn into a ghost and moan "Arent you gonna revive me?" or something. If you die, you cant use skills, items, or attack, but you can still order your party to revive you by choosing first aid on the chat menu.
By the sounds of it, you will spend half the battle flicking though menus. Erm...no! Once you get used to .hack, you will flick through the menus so quickly that anyone watching you play will wonder what the hell you just did.
An element of the game which increases the replay value dramaticlly is the keyword system. You enter 3 words at a gate, which will determine the enemy level, element, and weather of the area. The result? At least 1000 areas to explore. Each dungeon has many floors, and a gott statue at the bottom, containing very rare items you can either keep, sell, or trade.
Anyways, ive said enough, lets goto the verdict.
Graphics : 6/10
Gameplay : 10/10
Sound : 8/10
Average time to clear: 15 hours
Replay Value: 9/10
Final Score 9/10
