.Hack//Infection is the first of a series of four games, titled .hack//Infection, .hack//Mutation, .hack//Outbreak, and .hack//Quarantine, features a “game within a game”; a fictional massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) called The World which does not require the player to connect to the Internet. Players may transfer their characters and data between games in the series. Each game comes with an extra DVD containing an episode of .hack//Liminality, the accompanying original video animation series which details fictional events that occur concurrently with the games.
The games are part of a multimedia franchise called Project .hack which explores the mysterious origins of The World. Set after the events of the anime series .hack//Sign, the games focus on a player named Kite and his quest to discover why some users have become comatose as a result of playing The World. The search evolves into a deeper investigation of The World and its effects on the stability of the Internet.
Story, characters, character designs, grunties, atmosphere, area designs, music.
None, but I can understand why the battle system might bore some people.
Great story, characters, music, and atmosphere. The four original .hack games are among my favorite PS2 JRPGs.
The .hack series in general has strange stories and characters that aren’t for everyone. If you like .hack//Sign, you will probably like these games. If you came to this series after playing .hack/G.U. and are expecting more of that or vice versa, you will be disappointed because the games are fairly different. G.U. is more anime-ish in character designs and story, and has a faster-paced battle system and less dated graphics.
The premise is that you are the player behind Kite (the turquoise-haired boy in orange-red), which is your in-game character in the fictional online game The World. Other players have been falling into comas while playing the game, and solving the mysteries of The World and curing these people is the goal of the series. You are not trapped in the game like in .hack//Sign or Sword Art Online, so you can log out to your desktop and read emails from your fictional online friends, which reveals more about them and can increase your affection with them.
The battle system is a simple action one and can be repetitive. Your skills are primarily determined by your weapons, which you can change in the middle of battle. You can also bring consumable items that cast spells when you use them. Elemental affinities need to be taken into account to make regular battles much easier.
Data Drain is the main thing that differentiates this battle system from others. By Data Draining enemies, you can turn them into lower level enemies and receive items and equipment. Some enemies are hacked and need to be Data Drained in order to be defeated. As you Data Drain enemies, your infection level increases, and when it is red, you may randomly get a game over after using Data Drain, so it’s important to pace yourself.