Game Review

Mania Grade: C+

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Info:

Platform: PS2
ESRB: T
Genre: RPG
Players: 1
Online: No
Developer: CyberConnect2
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Suggested Retail: $39.99
Graphics: C
Sound: C-
Gameplay: B-
Replay: C
Fun Factor: C+
Reviewer's Wild Card: C+

Hack G.U. Vol. 2 Reminisce

By Captain Gordon Edward June 11, 2007

"Hack G.U. Vol. 2 Reminisce" for PS2.
© Namco Bandai

The Dot Hack series has been around for years now, but is it getting better with age? First and foremost it is -- by far -- the best artificial MMORPG game ever made, but as the years rolled by it has grown beyond that. The series has evolved into an anime and a manga, which help further the back-story. Getting back to Dot Hack G.U Vol. 2, this is not only a continuation of the series but also of the current plot. Luckily the plot happens is as epic as the first set of games that reached our shorelines several years ago, even though it was in a four game release set. Of course the Dot Hack G.U. series follows in its father’s footsteps by distributing itself in an episodic format by releasing the game across multiple discs and multiple years.

Leading off from the last G.U. game, Dot Hack G.U. volume 1, the storyline follows Haseo trying to regain his experience levels while helping out a group called the G.U., which is a protective force for in game world. At the end of the last game, which I only reveal because it is recommended that you play through the game before tackling this later episode, Haseo’s friend Atoli is attacked by a massive creature called AIDA. This creature appears as a giant virus that seems to be destroying the world and all that it touches. After it successfully attacks Atoli she is unable to log out of the world, and her in game avatar slowly deteriorates as per the in game rules. Coincidently at the same time characters around the world are unable to log in or out, and so Haseo must find a way to save the current users from being deleted.

The combat style is similar to the previous RPGs, especially the previous Dot Hack G.U. game. It has an active battle system with RPG elements, which allows you to attack enemies freely without needing to wait turns. You are also accompanied by up two other characters, which you indirectly control for battle. It features a third person perspective which helps keep the action on deck and immediately in control. After a while though the battling system felt a bit too repetitive and boring, which dragged down the enjoyment of the game. I would love to see them tighten up the battle system for the final instalment. Of course they have involved the battle attacks with the introduced cycle.

Those returning to the game from the previous volume will retain all of their levels and equipment, and that gives them a giant boost over those playing the second volume first. Characters that are also returning receive addition wallpapers, items, and money to make their fight a lot easier. Of course I personally recommend playing the first game before this one so that you fully understand the story along with getting all of the enhancements.

Focusing on the RPG elements you have immediate control over the equipment that you and your party wear. As per most other RPGs you have weapons and armour to boost the stats of your characters. Like other RPGs you will increasingly find better items as the game progresses. There is also an option to customize equipment to help boost some of their stats, but this is not something that needs to be completed. Avatars do not reflect the change of armour, though the main character Haseo evolves his avatar as side-quests are completed.

Graphically the game is pretty much identical to the previous Dot Hack G.U. game. The in game general graphics are fairly under whelming, which is a little bit of a disappointment considering the evolution that other games have made over the years. The cinematics on the other hand are quite beautiful, though few and far between. The engine uses cell shading as its base, which retains a child-esc quality to the game, though adults should find the game appealing as well. For sound the characters sounded mediocre, and they generally did not display the proper emotion for the storyline. I personally believe that the voices came off a little whiney and annoying, which did not help develop the storyline properly. I personally believe that they were improperly cast, but they are not bad enough to make you want to walk away from the game. General sound effects are passable as well, but do nothing to revolutionize the RPGs.

In the end, this is another typical Dot Hack game. If you liked the previous ones you will probably enjoy this one as well. It helps advance the storyline but like the previous instalments that is all it does (If you catch my drift). This serving did not feel like you are getting the proper portion, as you would normally expect from other RPGs, which is a minor complaint from this reviewer. I personally would have loved for them to combine all of the games into one set and release it that way, rather than making people wait many months between releases. If you have been following and enjoying the Dot Hack games you should pick it up if you want to see the finish, but other than that you can probably pass on this game. Wrapping up, Captain Gordon gives Dot Hack C+.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? CaptainGordonEdward@Gmail.com

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COMMENTS AND RESPONSES

Bodhi 6/11/2007 3:14:45 PM

You obviously didn't play far into the game. Reminisce deserves a much higher score than just C . The graphics were actually improved slightly from Rebirth. Few direct sequels can claim that. I'm not talking about games that are made years apart or the time in game between events are years apart. Between Rebirth and Reminisce the games were only released months apart and the game picks up exactly where the other one ended. The battle system was improved upon from the original 4 games by far and it was improved upon from the first G.U. game. *The twin blade weapon gained speed and extra combos *You gained a new awakening (Divine Awakening) on top of the two existing (Beast and Demon) *You gain a 3rd weapon type (scythe) *Once you do so you also gain the ability to switch weapons on the fly while in combat with skill triggers. *A new field and a new dungeon type were added. *Monster AI was improved *Monsters no longer just sat in place or paced in a circle (minus those protecting alters). They freely roam which forces more strategy *You gain the ability to steal the doppelganger's weapons *You gain access to lost weapons *Weapons were only alchemizable in the first G.U. game, now in Reminisce you can alchemize your armor and accessories. Doing so in all three cases does make a difference. *You gain more customizable options with items that can be added to your weapons, armor, and accessories. How your customize you weapons/armor/accessories can have a HUGE impact on the game. The steam bike's speed was increased. You gain the ability to customize the steam bike, and steam bike missions were added. Unlike many of the games in the FF series, gaining 100% is actually realistic for most players. That is one thing I HATE about many other RPGs (especially Final Fantasy), they make gaining 100% impossible or so tedious that you give up out of sheer frustration. You can also complete the Ryu Book without finding every single little thing. They added a new card game "Crimson Vs". While they did add a card game it is was not the pain in the ass that the card games from the FF series were. The *expletive expletive* rules mixing by the end of FF8 was one of the worst things even in any game. I'll agree that some of the voice over choices aren't my favorite but there are some that are spot on. The game is too big to be in just one volume. That is why it is split in three. Also, splitting the game as such allows for time between the two to gain that 100% that most player strive for in games these days. I also love the amount of backstory available with this game. It has always been a gripe of mine that they keep making Final Fantasy games under the same name but for the most part they have absolutely nothing to do with each other. .hack//G.U. does follow the original 4 games by 7 years. It also follows the multiple anime, manga, and books. Heck, G.U. is so involved with the anime .hack//Roots that it is just about required viewing. Reminisce is a direct sequel to Rebirth and Redemption will be a direct sequel to Reminisce. Because the game does simulate a MMORPG, it further adds elements to the game that you will not find anywhere else. This unique element is one of the largest assets to the game. I could go on but I think I made my point. Your review was not an accurate one. The game easily deserved a B to an A. Next time, play more than an hour into the game if you're going to review it. If you actually did, you didn't convey that in your review.

Wildfire 6/12/2007 5:08:42 AM

Gotta disagree with you Bodhi. :3 I'd have to actually say this game deserved a C, at best. It didn't evolve the game to the point that it warrented another game. The storyline didn't go very far, combat (While improved) was still too repedative, the graphics were rather plain still (even though they were marginally improved). I was going around with my broadsword swiping things until you evolve, and I was just so bored of the combat! Improved or not, this game could have easily fit onto the same disc as the first, making you buy two different copies for content that should have been included in the original game isn't the most fan-friendly thing to do. Everything they added should have already came with the first game, plain and simple. And while the backstory is nice, it shouldn't be manditory for someone to watch an anime just so you can like a game more. :S They're milking us fans for what they can get sad to say. And while I'll buy the next installment, I think for the amount of content you get from other RPGs, you shouldn't have to pay over $150 to get the same from a different series.

Bodhi 6/12/2007 8:32:41 PM

First off captaingordon, thank you for your response. Looking back I see that I was a little more harsh than I originally intended. Thank you for not reaming me on it. I understand your review more now with your rebuttal and I do agree with parts of it. There are features that I agree should have been in Rebirth so I'll give you that. In my opinion though, the story evolution was massive from the end of Rebirth to the end of Reminisce. I really enjoyed FFX and FFX-2 (partly because it was a sequel and it did wrap up loose ends). And while I was happy to see the story completed with the loose ends tended to, with all that went into FFX-2, I feel it only had a fraction of what Reminisce offered. As far as the repetitive battle, I've actually spent quite a bit of time dealing with a few real online games. I gave up on them because of the massive time sink, little reward yield, and the repetitiveness. Because of this, I felt that Reminisce addressed it better than say Dark Age of Camelot. I was especially happy with the increased amount of monster model art. I've never been happy with games that rely too heavily on having multiple monsters with the same model but different color schemes and names. While .hack//G.U. does feature this (as do many games still at this point), it did improve drastically over Rebirth. I've never been one to actually write a direct review but I'll definitely consider it for this instance.

tapayn02 9/26/2007 2:08:11 PM

have to agree with bodhi it was a good game it should have got a better score than that

tapayn02 9/26/2007 2:08:44 PM

have to agree with bodhi it was a good game it should have got a better score than that

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