Customer Reviews

.Hack: G.U., Vol. 2 - Reminisce

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

dot Hack has redefined RPG gaming by pitting players in an MMO simulation. The first four games were great, each title adding to the storyline. Think of it like getting a booster pack from a new set. Each set or game brings in new monsters, items, characters and storyline. But once you beat the game, it's not over, there are still tons of things left to do to bide the time until Part 3 comes out! Definitely a must play, just a shame that these games tend to fall under the radar!

A note to all the bad reviews this game has received from magazines. No, this game is not Halo, World of Warcraft, Gears of War or Zelda. That does not mean it is a bad game (GameInformer, I'm talking to you). Any gamer who has actually played the dot Hack series has loved it, which only leads me to conclude that the folks at these game magazines have not actually played the game, or at least did not play it very far. Dot Hack is anything but repetitive. Granted the levels are generated, the actual storyline is far from repetitive. Dark Cloud was another game with levels that were generated, and that game was awesome too! Just because the dungeons are not manually designed does not make this a bad game.

.hack//Gu volume 2 Reminisce is simply an amazing role-playing game for the play station 2 and is defiantly one of the systems best games bar none.

While some people complain that Rpgs stories are clichéd and overdone but .hack is nether of those with one of the most original and gripping story's I've even seen anywhere let alone a video game. Below is just a small sample of what the game is about.

Something is happening in the online game "the world" that is causing characters to vanish and their players to fall into comas. Artificially intelligent data anomalies or A.I.D.A keep showing up and causing trouble. Is there a connection between these two mysterious? Can anything be done to save the lost ones? Only you Haseo can find the truth.

From Haseo to Atoli to Khun there is a character for everybody to like, heck you'd probally have trouble NOT liking all of them like I do, even the more goofy ones like Prios the third and Gaspard.

If you like rgps and or action adventure games, .hack//Gu Vol 2 is a game you just simple can't miss. In my opinion it's even better then the likes of Kingdom hearts 2 and Final fantasy 12.

Sometimes I wonder if the reason I continue to love the .hack games is that they were among the very first rpg's that I played when I got my PS2. In retrospect the first series was more than a bit repetitive and would never meet today's graphic standards. But they were addictive, and had one of those odd story lines that kept you coming back to find out more. And now here's the new series, already up to volume 2 in the US and I'm just as caught up in them even though they have some of the same faults that the original series has.

Graphics are much better, thank God. Not up to take your breath away CGI standards, but more carefully illustrated, with better animation. More scenery to look at, but fewer monsters. This last is a bit of a sticking point. There are 146 or so different monsters between the first two games in the G.U. series, but many are replays of each other. And at any given level only a few will show up. Keep in mind that there is a lot of fighting in this game. It gets a bit repetitious.

What keeps the main game rolling is the story line, which is much less fragmentary than the original series. Haseo is the lead male, and in the first game he is hard to like. But he develops quite a bit by Reminisce, we come to understand him better and recognize the hero hiding under all the brusque attitude. Atoli is the female lead, but the feelings between them are complicated, and several other females show interest in Haseo. Atoli herself has another interest and this complicated interplay is the key dynamic that keeps the story spellbinding, with more than a few moments of great drama.

One of .hack's weaknesses is the repetitiveness of leveling battles. They play well, but are simple to manage. And don't look for any great variety of monsters. And yes, you do need to level up. If you don't take yourself up to level 100 in this game you'll have to do that anyway in the next (and final) episode. You may as well get it over with. Personally, I found the avatar fights hard to work with and the source of some frustration. And arena fighting is more important in Reminisce, but you get to do very little of it. The side quests are standard .hack fare, the usual races and completion tasks that make the leveling up effort more interesting.

On the whole I would rate Reminisce as the best in either series up to now. It has a real, and often surprising, plot with very solid characters. These are people you can feel something about with a nice mix of comedy and tragedy. I will no doubt play it through again before volume three makes its appearance.

The second installment of the G.U. series is out, with all new improvements! Reminisce takes every excellent part of the first game formula and amplifies it. With a deepened storyline, more intense battles thanks to Weapon Change, bike custimization, new missions and areas, you'll find it pretty hard to become bored of this quickly! Even though the game may play short, and looks a tad inferior in the graphics department, it shouldn't cause any second opinons. If you already own the first, nothing should stop you on getting this. If you don't, you are sure to enjoy this game just as much.

The .hack series continues to amaze. I rarely commit myself to a series but .hack stands above most others. I have invested in the games, anime DVDs, books, and manga. I consider all a wise investment. .hack//G.U. Vol.2//Reminisce continues the great legacy. The G.U. games improved upon many elements from the previous four games and Vol.2 takes it a step further over Vol.1. Changing weapons on the fly, a new awakening skill, customizable steam bike, etc. It's all goes towards a fantastic game that will keep you begging for more until Vol.3 is released. The game picks up where Rebirth ended, after one of the series greatest cliffhangers. With the addition of new characters which can be added to the group, the story expands even further. Combat strategy grows more complex with the addition of a new weapon type for Haseo, the main character in the series. Further guild dynamics add more depth to your experience. With all these elements added together, .hack//G.U. Vol.2//Reminisce delivers on every angle, including the storyline. As you find more of the Epitaph Users, what does their fate hold for `The World'? What is AIDA and its connection to certain players? Who is Tri-Edge? What secrets do Ovan hold? Step into `The World' of .hack and experience this unique and engaging series at it's peak.

In the previous installment of Dot hack//G.U., we were introduced to Haseo, who, after logging into the fictional online game known as "The World: R2", experiences the harsh treatment that most peaceloving players receive, as Player Killers run rampant everywhere. After his friend Shino is "PK'd" by a mysterious player known only as "Tri-Edge", her real life player falls into a coma. Haseo takes up the life of a "Player Killer Killer", hunting down PKers in an effort to find Tri-Edge. After an encounter with Tri-Edge reduces Haseo to level 1, Haseo learns of his power as an "Epitaph User", a special ability that defies system parameters. He joins "Project G.U.", a group of Epitaph Users under the command of a system admin. He helps them track down and destroy a mysterious entity lurking in the world, known as "AIDA", in exchange for information on Tri-Edge. In a final confrontation, he manages to destroy Tri-Edge, but neither his friend Shino, nor any other player who has fallen comatose, wakes up.

In Volume 2, Haseo and his allies suddenly find themselves unable to log out from the game. Moreover, their consciousnesses are trapped inside the game's world. As every player currently logged into "The World" discovers this, a widespread panic breaks out, and not even the system admins know what to do, as the outside world cannot be contacted. This is one of many weird incidents that happen over the course of the story, and at the root of it all, is AIDA. Haseo must once again use his powers as an Epitaph user, to combat AIDA as it becomes increasingly more active and intelligent.

The story is once again what one would expect from something out of the .hack universe. The characters show a lot of emotion in their actions, and it's great to see how our protagonist, Haseo, has "Grown Up" since the beginning of the first game. Starting out as a bratty loner who doesn't seem to care about anyone, he somehow still manages to be some kind of people magnet, and slowly becomes what people would call "A valuable friend". With other characters such as the peace-loving Atoli, the mysterious Ovan, the manipulative Sakaki, the eccentric Piros the 3rd, and the tomboyish Alkaid, you won't be bored. The number of recruitable characters for your party has increased from 6 to 11, but all of them are familiar faces. In fact, there are only few additions to the game's whole cast, which is a good thing, because there is already such an extensive number of them, each with their own distinct personalities.

The gameplay remains relatively unchanged. The game pretends to be an online game. You start out from a 'desktop', where you can do things like read (fictional) email, news and forums, play Crimson VS (a minigame card game that's really easy to get into as it "plays itself"), and of course, log into the world. After logging into the world, you arrive in one of three "root towns", where you can interact with and trade with other "players", do some shopping, and form a party before heading to an area. Once in an area, which is either a field or a dungeon, you'll be fighting monsters as you try to complete the area's mission, which is usually to reach a treasure or to defeat a boss monster.

With everything you do, you control the main character, Haseo, who is of the Adept Rogue class. The Adept Rogue is able to equip different types of weapons and switch between them at will, making way for different fighting style. In the last game, we were introduced to the Dual Swords, low-power weapons that hit fast and multiple times, which work well against mid-size and flying enemies, and the Broad Sword, a huge sword that hits for heavy damage, but is quite slow, works well against large size and shelled enemies. Volume 2 introduces the Scythe, which has a 360 degree range that pushes small enemies back. The Dual Swords and Broad Swords have also been updated a bit. The Dual Swords now hit more often during a combo, and the Broad Sword can now be charged up 3 levels instead of 1. Battles are generally a bit more fast-paced than in Volume 1.

The Avatar Battles are also slightly faster now, and appear a lot more often than in the first volume. The Avatar is a mighty being that is commanded by an Epitaph User. Avatar Battles are a special type of boss battle that pits you agains AIDA or another Avatar. You fly around, evading the enemy's attacks by dashing. You use a shot attack to attack from long range and to stun them, and as they are stunned, you can move in and use the scythe to inflict heavy damage. Volume 2 gives Haseo's Avatar, Skeith, the ability to deflect any projectile by slashing, and a ranged attack at the end of a scythe combo. The new enemy AIDA and Avatars are generally faster than in the previous games, and they use attacks that are harder to avoid. They are my favorite part of the gameplay, and all the bosses can be re-fought at any time.

The graphics and music are pretty much the same as in the previous volume. The environments are quite beautiful and decently detailed, with things like a giant cannon being visible from field type areas, and the general atmosphere of the areas you visit is great. The choice of lighting is always perfect. There are also a new type of field and a new type of dungeon to visit, making the game less repetitive than the previous one. The sound that accompanies it all only adds to the amazing atmosphere of the game. However, although the voice acting is still quite good, it kind of feels like they've gotten a bit sloppy since the last game. The character models are great, and during close-up scenes, the faces show an amazing amount of emotion.

I've always been a fan of the .hack series for amazing storylines with amazingly deep characters, and Haseo is most likely the deepest of them all. It looks very nice for a PS2 game, and the music has amazing atmosphere. The gameplay is also fun, and not too repetitive to most people. All in all, a solid game that any action RPG fan should try.

This game was by far one of the best i have ever played and trust me I have played A LOT of games let alone rpg's. I bought .hack//G.U. vol 1 and found it to be amazing but if i thought that one was good Vol 2 out did it by a long shot. The story line is anything but boring. The game leaves you on the edge of your seat wondering whats gonna happen next its hard to put the controller down. I played for 36 hours straight (which i NEVER do) because i couldnt put it down. I went through a lot trying to get this game and when i did it was well worth it.

.hack//GU Vol 2 picks up at the exact *moment* that the first installment left off on. So far, the gameplay and storyline seem all right, but a few things in this new volume gripe me. For instance, the change in sound effects in battles...they are too soft now and barely audible and the voice-work in the battles is mediocre at best...Haseo seemingly having gone through a change in voice-over actors. And where in the world did the spoke dialouge go when trading/giving gifts to party members? And why doesn't Death Grunty speak anymore?!

Another thing that gripes me is the fact that *now* they decide to let you be able to change your party members equipment and allow them to be more interactive with the environment around them...if they were going to do this, why not include it in the first volume and save me from feeling so...frustrated while playing the game? Change is something that does not go over well with me. As they say, "If it's not broke, don't fix it".

That being said and those being my only gripes, .hack//GU Vol. 2 is a great game, continuing on this new and somewhat innovative story. I would suggest it to anyone that was a fan of the old .hack series

.hack//GU volume 2 is much the same fare as .hack//GU volume 1 or even the original game series. You level up, you go on quests and you help your friends all with the ultimate goal of defeating 'AIDA'.

In this it hasn't changed very much.

What has changed is what you learn. Everything is not what it seems--either in the World or with your companions. For anyone who has watched the .hack//roots anime, a sort of prequel to the events of the beginning of the first game, you might understand my meaning better. Friends who were enemies at one time will now be your boon companions, while the people you might have trusted in the past will no longer be so trustworthy.

Controls are the same. Hitting the X button pretty much gets your point across with a smattering of the R1 function and some quick item usage if your 'healer' runs out. With such a straight forward approach you can't go wrong with either new players or old pros at RPG style.

Its a benefit to the player if you start the game at something higher then say level 40 (I began at level 44). I was told that as long as you are past level 30 you should do fine, but if you wish to have that extra jump up, then spend a few more minutes in the first game leveling some more.

What I found most interesting about this second series of .hack games is possibly the interactivity with the rest of the World. There is tons to explore outside of the 'game' itself. Forums--where you can learn new passcodes for new areas, learn hints at Tri-Edge's whereabouts or just find out interesting gossip, the Crimson VS game is interesting and easy to handle. Once you set up your cards the system does the battling automatically while you are playing.

The News and World features are also interesting. Not so much helpful in your quest inside the World it gives the player a better understanding of the world outside of the game (much the same function that the Liminality series gave to the original series of games).

All in all I would greatly recommend this game. It might not be the most polished game, and you'll get frustrated (in you're like me and the stupid Quests...oiy...), but ultimately its worth the hassle.

This was great addition to add to the series. The characters were much more mature this time around, and Piros wasn't around that much either. The story had multiple main enemies at once, and a huge surprise at the end if you had not guessed who tri-edge is.

Pros
1. I love this story, and the characters feel so real I could feel their pain and joy throughout the game.
2. There is many more boss fights this game. The enemies feel stronger, and smarter this game.
3. The dungeon layouts have changed as well this time, so thats good too.

Cons
1. There is not too much to rag about this game. There is a glitch here and there, but for the critics to rail against this game was idiotic of them. The fighting gets boring at times, but I really don't know any game where you have to change much of your stragegy when it comes to fighting except shooter games.

Overall this was a great game, and possibly the best in the series. I have yet to play vol 3, but I just ordered it so I will let you know soon. 9.1/10.

Game on my fellow Gamers.