.hack//G.U. Full of Secrets
By: Andrew Hayward |
Sunday September 24, 2006 |
| Namco Bandai jump on the line to spill (some of) the beans on their new series of .hack games. |
| The first series of .hack games, released between 2003 and 2004 for the PlayStation 2, marked an important experiment in episodic gameplay. Rather than put out one or two full-featured games, Bandai instead opted to release four smaller games, which hit stores roughly three months apart from each other. Simulating the atmosphere of an MMORPG, .hack//INFECTION kicked off the series with a compelling premise - and just fifteen hours of gameplay. The main issue with this foray into episodic gaming was the lack of value; it clearly felt like one larger game split into parts, with each segment largely resembling the one that came before it. While I enjoyed INFECTION, I couldn't make myself play more than a few hours of MUTATION. The series was over for me before it was halfway completed.
Though it failed to capture my own interest, the series did well enough in both Japan and the United States to ensure a follow-up series: .hack//G.U. The G.U. apparently stands for "Grow Up," which is a comforting realization in the wake of the previous games. With the first volume, Rebirth, shipping to retail on October 24th, Namco Bandai held a conference call to fill us in on their attempt to revitalize the franchise. Brian Glazebrook, Localization Manager at Namco Bandai, spoke for much of the call, though Public Relations Specialist Robert Cogburn also chimed in, sometimes to debate what could or could not be shared with the journalists on the line. Many questions were answered with a "No comment," or "We can't discuss that at this time" - what's the big secret about .hack//G.U. vol.1//Rebirth?  Glazebrook called .hack//G.U. "kind of a pseudo-sequel" to the previous series, though stressed that no knowledge of those games was necessary to enjoy it. .hack//G.U. vol.1//Rebirth takes place ten years after the conclusion of .hack//QUARANTINE, the final installment of the first series. At the end of the series, fictional online game "The World" was shut down, and the company that created it went under. Now, the company has been revived, and along with it an updated version of "The World." This isn't "The World" that we remember from the first series - it is darker, grittier, and filled with Player-Killers. .hack//G.U. will feature no reoccurring characters from the first series, though there will almost certainly be references to past events. Those put off by the faux-MMO style of the earlier games might want to give .hack another shot. According to Glazebrook, "the combat type this time around is definitely action-based," though he noted that there would still be RPG elements. The change was done in part to attract a wider audience, as the first .hack series was not a major hit, at least in the U.S. Not only is it an entirely separate series with more simplistic action, but steps have been taken to streamline the experience for casual gamers. An anime disc with hints and tips was included with the previous games, but will not be included with the .hack//G.U. series. Namco Bandai wanted to communicate the entirety of the narrative without relying on secondary media, thus nullifying the necessity of an animated extra.  Still, it's not safe to assume that .hack//G.U. has gone the way of a hack-and-slash brawler - there's still quite a bit to do inside "The World," including the ability to join guilds and use vehicles. .hack//G.U. uses a "Skill Trigger" system that allows your characters to learn new abilities when they level up, depending on the weapons they are wielding. Each character falls into one of many classes, each of which is able to use a particular set of weapons. .hack//G.U. apparently features a card game of sorts, though I was unable to get any details about it. After a couple minutes of discussion, Glazebrook and Cogburn opted not to divulge any information about the card game, claiming it would have a larger role in the second game. What a tease. A handful of screens and videos were sent my way following the conference call, and a quick look reveals .hack//G.U. to be a significantly better-looking series than its predecessor. Gone are the pixilated characters and generic backgrounds - instead, the game has a more striking visual style, more akin to the anime (and somewhat reminiscent of the designs of the Shin Megami Tensei series). In-game anime sequences and story segments will lengthen the overall experience of Vol.1//Rebirth, which is said to be over forty hours in length. A conscious effort was made to differentiate the three intended titles in the series, so that each will be more value-packed than the segments of the first series.  |
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