.hack//G.U. Saitan Impressions
Aug 09,2006
You may be surprised to find that I'm not actually much of an anime fan. I don't dislike anime (in fact, I'm big enough to admit to the "Evangelion" box set I have at home), but I'd say I place closer to the "Kakkoi" side than the "Moe" side on the otaku taste spectrum. And that makes me a huge game geek.
So I'm at the game store trying to decide whether to buy "Persona 3" or not. "I love the megaten series but am I ready to get tentacle-slapped by Hitler again?" I think to myself as my hand moves gradually farther away from the box with the "P3" and in a flash, I'm in my living room booting up ".hack//G.U. Saitan (Rebirth)." I've only played a couple of hours so far but I thought I'd write a little about what I've seen so far.
First off, like I said, I don't watch much anime so I can't talk about all of the connections with the various series. I have played a bit of the first ".hack" game series, however. And now for the bulleted lists everyone loves.
What I've noticed:
When I say the back story is fleshed out, I mean there is a ton of optional text (including a complete creation myth!) to read before you start killing monsters. I've played the game for four hours now but I have only fought in one dungeon. I thought it was really cool to have this much going on around me, but your mileage may vary. They've added a "View all at once" option to the BBSs which makes scanning the articles a lot easier.
They've also tweaked the battle system to make the game feel more like an action RPG, which I find a welcome change. You can now combo, chain, and co-attack as well as sidestep battles all together. I haven't seen it in action yet, but the game apparently features PKing (avatar vs. avatar).
. . . and that's basically my impressions from the first four hours of the game. I may return for more after I've played more of the game.
So I'm at the game store trying to decide whether to buy "Persona 3" or not. "I love the megaten series but am I ready to get tentacle-slapped by Hitler again?" I think to myself as my hand moves gradually farther away from the box with the "P3" and in a flash, I'm in my living room booting up ".hack//G.U. Saitan (Rebirth)." I've only played a couple of hours so far but I thought I'd write a little about what I've seen so far.
First off, like I said, I don't watch much anime so I can't talk about all of the connections with the various series. I have played a bit of the first ".hack" game series, however. And now for the bulleted lists everyone loves.
What I've noticed:
- Graphics level way up. Textures that don't look like they are from a PlayStation 1 game.
- Main character can weild multiple weapons! (Does that mean I can use more of what I win in the game?)
- Well developed back story and tons of new BBSs to gather information "online"
- No loading between areas in dungeons which makes the game play a ton faster.
- But still relatively simple level designs
- More interactive battle engine
- Motorcycle!?
When I say the back story is fleshed out, I mean there is a ton of optional text (including a complete creation myth!) to read before you start killing monsters. I've played the game for four hours now but I have only fought in one dungeon. I thought it was really cool to have this much going on around me, but your mileage may vary. They've added a "View all at once" option to the BBSs which makes scanning the articles a lot easier.
They've also tweaked the battle system to make the game feel more like an action RPG, which I find a welcome change. You can now combo, chain, and co-attack as well as sidestep battles all together. I haven't seen it in action yet, but the game apparently features PKing (avatar vs. avatar).
. . . and that's basically my impressions from the first four hours of the game. I may return for more after I've played more of the game.
.hack//G.U. Saitan Impressions Comments
Really?
I've got the first game in the first series and almost have it beaten but I've not been much for the series. I've heard a lot of good things about this stuff though, so I might just jump in on this.
by Aaron H! : Aug 11,2006
Sorry it's taken me so long to respond, I've been out of the office for the last four days.
I too played a few of the games from the first series and I'm with you, they are all pretty mediocre. It felt like they put absolutely no effort into the level designs, music, or textures which made the game rather boring. Each volume was also unncecessarily short.
The new series is the same basic idea but I've found it more fun to play, the games have been expanded quite a bit so there's a ton more to do, the music is hit or miss but the theme songs are really great, and overall it does feel like a better game. You might want to wait and pick it up used, but its definitely a lot better than the first game in the series.
I too played a few of the games from the first series and I'm with you, they are all pretty mediocre. It felt like they put absolutely no effort into the level designs, music, or textures which made the game rather boring. Each volume was also unncecessarily short.
The new series is the same basic idea but I've found it more fun to play, the games have been expanded quite a bit so there's a ton more to do, the music is hit or miss but the theme songs are really great, and overall it does feel like a better game. You might want to wait and pick it up used, but its definitely a lot better than the first game in the series.
by Dan : Aug 14,2006
