MAI WAIFU.
So... I picked up this game pre-owned at Gamestop EBGames for 17 bucks (am I doing it rite?) and it came with a bonus 'get it free for 17 bucks' 45 minute "anime dvd" to sweeten the deal. (Why buy one disc when you can have two? Asian ideology ftw) Both disc and manual were in pretty good condition (not much scratches no obvious tears etc...), which was a good sign. ^____^
So... quick introduction to the .hackverse:
.hack is a huge (and I mean HUGE) franchise consisting of two parts, Project.hack, and hack.conglomerate. .hack//INFECTION (released in 2002) is the first game in the original 4-part series belonging to Project.Hack, and is the game that started the whole .hack saga. .If you want to know more, ask the all-knowing deity known as Wikipedia. Hey, told you it was short.
So I recently finished the first game, and thought I should do a review.
So, as any other self-respecting gamer does, I popped the game disc in my awesome PS2 and booted up the game. [insert loading screen here]
First thing that appears is a language selection menu and after selecting your language, a short opening scene plays. Pretty cute, however, after booting up the game a few times it gets pretty tedious waiting for it to load since there's no skip function. I suggest walking to the fridge to grab a box of delicious pocky and gamerfuel (otherwise known as mountain dew) in the meantime.
If you played this using s PS2 emulator, you'd be emulating an emulation of a MMO.
After that's all done with, you get taken to a title screen with three options. "New Game", "Data Load" and "Options", with a lovely orange backdrop meant to represent a computer wallpaper.
Afore mentioned title screen.
Since this isn't a walkthrough, I'm going to give a brief summary of the game:
The game is basically about a guy called Kite (default name), who is invited to play "The World" (an MMO) by his friend Orca. However, something goes wrong with the game, and Orca gets killed by a monster within the game and instead of waking up normally, he falls into a deep coma. Kite recieves the mysterious "Book of Twilight" from Orca before he dies (in-game), which activates and generates the "Twilight Bracelet" that allows Kite to rewrite the game data of enemies to make them easier to kill. This is a crucial part of the game as Kite has to fight mutated "Data Bugs" that would otherwise be impossible to kill. Kite then resolves to find a way to save his friend, and teams up with another player called Blackrose to find the truth behind "The World". They track down the monster, Skeith, and successfully drain and defeat him, however, upon his defeat, he mutates into another monster, which they have to escape from. The story is then continued in .hack//MUTATION.
Kite data-draining.
(It looks cool now, but have fun watching the cut-scene over and over again until you learn how to turn it off)
...
So review time!
First off, the story. The storyline is pretty good (however, you have many hours of anime watching and gameplay ahead of you if you wish to fully understand it), and the cut-scenes that deliver it are pretty solid. Nothing flashy or super-enhanced, (it uses the in-game character models and environments, however the voices are pretty clear and the story is staggered out in a series of short cutscenes, so it's easier to understand, and you have something to look forward to after all that grinding. After 'finishing' the first game (there are still a few side quests you can do after defeating the first boss), the game 'data flags' your save file so you can transfer all your date from the first game to the second to continue the storyline. That means that all those hours you spent grinding in the dungeons are actually going to prove useful after you finish the first game, which, to me, is a pretty awesome idea.
The simulation of a desktop-computer the game advertises wasn't bad, it included features such as in-game news (with a sneaky appearance from the WonderSwan handheld. Sneaky Bandai, sneaky.) and emails from other characters which you could reply to. The emails part was a bit iffy, as you could only send about three emails before they ignored you, and you could only reply to emails without being able to send one yourself. You could also change the wallpaper and background music that you unlocked throughout the game, which included concept art and some very cute anime-style drawings of the characters. There was also a 'forum board' which updated itself throughout the game giving valuable information which is needed to continue in the game.
Clever way of including concept art. But for everyone else. BEWBS.
One dissapointment, however, is the graphics, which are flat and lacking. Some of the textures within the game are, for want of a better word, terrible. The flesh wall dungeons are a prime example of this. Think purple, grossly coloured and pulsating on a 2D surface. There are also a lot of spots, especially in the field areas, where what appears to be walk able ground is unpassable (for example the space between two rocks appears to be clear, but you can't walk through it). Also, the character models aren't exactly the shining example of 21st century game engine physics as they have a tendency to randomly spazz out (especially in cutscenes) and Kite randomly ends up with his hand partially jutting into his head instead of scratching it for example, nothing too extreme however.
EPIC FIST PUMP.
There are also only four different types of dungeons, and the dungeon graphics and layout are recycled constantly throughout the game. So level grinding gets really REALLY boring.
And another thing. Save points. There are only three save points, one in each 'server' and one on the desktop. That means no saving within dungeons, and if you get killed, it's back to the start for you. All the rare items you obtained after your last save, gone. Bye bye. I did the last dungeon at least 15 times before finally defeating the game boss, Skeith. (The final dungeon itself has about five floors, with about 8-15 rooms each floor. The trauma of losing all those items has made me forget, LOL T__T). Nooby, yes I know. >.> So this feature of the game is permanently embedded in my (pea-sized, cookie deprived) brain. However, you could argue that this adds to the feel of the game and is part of the simulated MMO experience. Looking back in retrospect, I can sort of agree with you on that one. However, the item hoarder part of me wants my items back. Now.
FATALITY.
Another thing that kind of annoys me is that you are sort of left to your own devices in regards to item stats and uses. The game is very vague about a lot of things, for example items and their effects. An in-game item set, required the player to collect all 4 pieces of armor and equip them at the same time to be able to summon a goblin to attack the enemy. However, as the armor appeared to be pretty low-level, many players would trade or sell the items, which would then be unobtainable throughout the course of the whole 4 part series without starting a new game. Problem, player?
A big part of the game will be spent experimenting to find out what which items do what. Or you can ask google. Whichever floats your boat.
They get weirder from here.
Skip the following paragraph if you don't wish to play the game and you are reading this just for the lolz:
A word of advice to any one doing the last boss, you probably need to equip your other team members with the item "Scarab earring", which has the spell "Rip Maen", which can revive fallen allies. This can be obtained by chucking a "Fire Dance Hat" into a Spring of Myst. However, make sure it's raining on the field, or else your weapon will be downgraded. Once equipped, access the chat menu with the square button to give out spell commands, so you can tell your dumbass comrades to revive you, so you can FREAKING HEAL THEM SO YOU DONT ALL DIE AND GET GAME OVER AND HAVE TO START OVER AGAIN. Oh yeah, make sure your allies have plenty of MP too, otherwise it can get pretty stress-inducing. And health potions. You can never buy too many...
Yep, all this, found out at the expense of much time and my sanity.
A lot of storyline information is given within conversations, and if your cat randomly spazzes out and decides to attack the X button furiously, you'll miss a lot of information, which you can only access after you finish the game, and for a storyline freak like me, it's a major freak-out inducing point.
She's probably trying to sell you something.
Dubbing. Err... the dubbing wasn't quite Tidus-Yuna level, but it was pretty bad. Voice inflection was all over the place. LiKE tHe AUdIo EqiVAleNT oF tHiS. And there's a character in-game called Mistral, and man, she has one of the most high-pitched annoying voices known to man, and her chat comments are also really quite annoying, but she kind of does grow on you after a while. There is an option for Japanese voiceovers, which can only be unlocked after you finish the game however, and even after that, you need to start another new game to access it. Major c**kblock.
Looks cute now. Wait till she starts talking.
TL:DR IKR.
So, stats:
Storyline 9/10
Revolutionary idea, great story.
Graphics 6/10
Some of the dungeons look like an buffalo did a diarrhea dump on them after eating an exotic platter of purple mystery meat tacos. Bonus points if you get the reference.
Cutscenes 7.5/10
Not extraordinary, and again, minor problems with the game physics. However, gets the story across.
Gameplay 6.5/10
Too much grinding on too many levels that look EXACTLY the same.
Overall 7/10
Final verdict:
Final verdict:
The concept is awesomenekosuperkawaii111!!!!eleventy1sansamaawesomedesu, but the execution... not so much. Kinda like if someone told you they had a super special legendary limited edition of Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection for PSP with never seen before cut-scenes and special features two weeks before the release date, and that you could have it for 70 bucks, and it turned out to be some crappy bootleg version of the first final fantasy game for the NES, and what's worse, your mom threw out your old NES console with all your games last week without asking you first, and you lost all the game data you spent most of your childhood years obtaining on that special edition of some rare exotic-limited edition game you got at a yard sale 20 years ago for a month's allowance. Kinda like that but in game form. Ok, not so much, but still.
Was it worth 17 bucks?
Well, yes. I got Kingdom Hearts for 20 bucks (late bandwagon jumping ftw), and that didn't come with a free dvd. Even though it was a bit lacking, it was still a pretty good game, and I didn't even have to order it off ebay. 17 bucks well spent imo.Unless you're a game pirate.
Was it worth 17 bucks?
Well, yes. I got Kingdom Hearts for 20 bucks (late bandwagon jumping ftw), and that didn't come with a free dvd. Even though it was a bit lacking, it was still a pretty good game, and I didn't even have to order it off ebay. 17 bucks well spent imo.
..in bed. *giggle*
No comments:
Post a Comment