dot hack
 

anyone here played it? impressions?

it's not out yet, end of the month

Actually, I believe it's the 11th or 13th or so it says in the Target paper. Only $39.99!

Tried playing it last week at GameStop. However, the in-game tutorial was so text/speech heavy, I got sick of it after five minutes and left. I can never seem to have the patience for RPG's......

oops thought it was out already... I thought sure my Target had it but maybe it was just the empty box promoting preorder thing....

I've got the demo disc, but to be honest I haven't popped it in yet. The premise sounds really interesting though. It plays like an online RPG even though its not. I'll have to try the demo.

looks interesting to me. only thing is that you're supposed to see the anime and read the manga in addition to playing the game.

i think i saw a review on it and it said it was decent (vaguely remember it saying it was short).

I'm hyped for it. Looks really interesting, and could be fantastic.

I don't mind short games (although, longer games are better, and more worthy), as long as it's good and fun during the short time I play it, then thats all that really matters. But I'm surely gonna check it out.

It seems interesting. The anime is currently running on Cartoon Network.

Yeah I've been watching the anime, it isn't too bad actually, I like the character designs and the music is really nice. Plus its the only show where you'll ever hear people talk about "saving the game" or "checking message boards" other than Reboot, it brought a grin to my face :).

They reviewed it on extended play last week, can't remember what they gave it but it sounded pretty good from what they were saying. This is only part 1 out of a series of games though, in japan I think they are already up to part 4. For the North American Release, i believe they were planning on including a DVD of the 45 minute OVA premier with the game. This is different from the anime tv series which is called .hack//SIGN, not sure what the OVA is called...

I just read a preview of it, and I'll probably check it out, along with Xenosaga.

Seen the anime and thought it started out to slow paced. Though I would recommand it to others as it had a lot of good features and an interesting story that by playing the game you will enjoy it a bit mroe.

As a related question, when does this game actually come out? 2/11 (Tuesday, today) or later? The official site says "after 2/11" and no one at EB Games, Target, etc knows when, either.

BTW, is it true that it'll be 40 bones at Target? ;)

TIA

^ for Cornholio.

Will it be released on the Xbox, Gamecube or PC?

This game was released yesterday. At least Gamestop had it yesterday.

afaik, it's a ps2 only game.

Did anybody pick this up? I bought it yesterday and I'm about three hours in...So far, I really like it. Gameplay wise, it's very reminiscient of Phantasy Star Online. But, I'm really digging it because of the intriguing story. Thankfully, the story in the game is more fast paced than the included 45 minute anime dvd...that thing bored me to tears.

Picked it up as well, and loving it. My favorite games were MMORPGs, and this really emulates them well, and has an amazing story.

So far I really like the game. One of the first truly original RPG"s I played in awhile. I also understand why they bundled the OVA with the game cause it is boring as hell. Hopefully it'll pick up in other episodes.

I like the simulated online universe but it lacks in certain areas. Like all the areas and dungeons you go to are pretty much the same just with different textures and weather. To make up for it, the game does have exotic designs and colorful characters.

Also, since the game is story driven certain things conflict with the game's design. Like dungeons for example. There is no saving in the game unless you are at the real world's desktop or in a town. Just like a real MMORPG, but cause the game is story driven there are certain dungeons you have to venture in alone. So if you die no one's going to resurrect you and you have to start the dungeon over again from the start. Really annoying. Also if this is a MMORPG that sold over "20 million" copies, where is everybody? Every NPC you encounter are in towns, the "fields" you go to are barren except for enemies.

These can be minor gripes, but they all add up and kinda contradict the purpose of the game. Still, gripes aside I really like the story and am enjoying the game. I'd give it a 7.5 out of a 10.

I've seen somewhere on the boards (actualy internet boards ;)) that addresses this. There may be 20 mil users, but the characters are spread out across many, many different servers. Of course, we really don't know exactly how many, but this kinda accounts for the disparity. Of course, the reality is that this is just a game and that's how it goes, eh? ;)

You know what this game reminds me of? Dark Cloud.

Good game. I'd also give it a 7.5 or 8/10.

is anyone going to get all the limited edition .hack videos and all 4 .hack games? at about $40 each, you're looking at $400 total. not to mention the manga you're supposed to get also.

Are the mangas coming out here? I read in a review for the game that we're getting the 2 main genres of the entire story(game and anime). The reason is that the all genres and versions aren't directly related. For example, characters only enter the game as cameos and most of whom not until later chapters of the game. The 45 minute OVA isn't even directly tied into the game it comes with.

I don't know, personally I'm enjoying the game, but the story elements are spread apart fairly wide. I didn't even see the anime yet. I'm waiting for the DVD's.

I've heard that they might bring .hack//Dusk, the manga, here, but I'm not sure.

Well I just picked this up yesterday. I like it, took me about 3 hours to get into it though. I also liked the anime, although it was slooow paced in the first half.

Save often. I just spent 2 hours fighting monsters and was almost to the end of a dungeon, and also reached level 4 from level 1....and got killed. Back to level 1 for me. :(

I'm having a love/hate relationship with this game right now.

Anyone else playing it?

I'm about 11 hours into it. So far I'm liking it alot, which is suprising because usually I get bored with dungeon-crawls pretty quick. The last one I mustered the courage to play was Evolution for the Dreamcast, I think I only made it about 12 hours into that before I gave up. But as long as .hack doesn't start throwing 20 Floor dungeons at me, I think I'm going to be able to stick with it for the long haul. The story is intriguing and I'd really like to see how this series turns out. I really hope I can finish Part 1 before Xenosaga comes out, though. :o