[PS2] .Hack//GU

I can't see the avatar movies for some reason, but it's starting to turn into something I might like.

I have to remind myself that it's just another .hack game. It can't be that special, right?

EDIT: Saw Avatar movie, nevermind this is going to kickass.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Extended trailer, some new gameplay and cinematic footage

Very awesome. Skeith-Haseo is almost worth the 50 dollar price tag alone.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

They manage to keep making this game better and better with each bit of info released, and it's already my #1 most wanted game this year. Hell, the music and avatar battles alone make this game look worth it. The most interesting thing about this trailer though is the shot of a fractured Kite transforming into Tri-Edge near the end.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Tritoch

They manage to keep making this game better and better with each bit of info released, and it's already my #1 most wanted game this year. Hell, the music and avatar battles alone make this game look worth it. The most interesting thing about this trailer though is the shot of a fractured Kite transforming into Tri-Edge near the end.

Actually, it looks more to me like Tri-Edge is just using Drain Heart rather than Kite actually transforming into Tri-Edge.

The game has me pretty excited, but my only reservation on the game so far is the battle system. It certainly doesn't look like the mindless boring battles of games past, but I'm out on that one until I get the game in my hands.

How ya doing, buddy?

If you look closely though, it isn't Tri-Edge at first. The eye is different, his face is uncovered, and the brown patches on his pants' legs are gone. Then after the Drain Heart is fired he's Tri-Edge again.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

It still looks like Tri-Edge to me. His eye before firing off Data Drain looks the same as afterwards. The way I took it, Tri-Edge looks as though he was beaten by Haseo and his party, and Data Drains the surroundings to recover.

I could certainly be wrong, but it doesn't make any sense for Tri-Edge to be Kite, since he no longer played after the first series of games.

FELIPE NO

Well, it wouldn't necessarily have to be the player Kite of course. .Hack//Dusk (Key of the Twilight, whatever you want to call it) proved that the system is more than capable of recreating his character model whenever it wants to.

I agree that it looks like Tri-Edge was beaten by Haseo's party in that scene, but it looks like it's hinting that a regular version is hidden underneath. The eye is debateable (I wasn't really sure of that either), but his clothes are obviously different. The face cover is gone, the stitch in his hat isn't there, and various patches all over his outfit aren't there either. It all regenerates/turns back into Tri-Edges costume after he uses Drain Heart.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

He's still got the brown patches on his pants.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that Kite's character data somehow survived the fire that destroyed the first version of The World; that would link with the explanation that Tri-Edge is an AIDA and he's simply "borrowing" Kite's form.

I forgot to mention this earlier, but I'm curious as to why Shino's outfit in G.U. and G.U.+ is black and decidedly darker than her outfit in Roots. Maybe something happens in Roots that causes this costume change?

How ya doing, buddy?

Do you know Tri-Edge?

The full cutscene of Haseo beating the asses of a bunch of PKers. This scene, like the one below, was featured a lot in the trailers. Again, nothing really spoilerish at all. It's mostly a 4 minute fight scene.

This is ...Tri-Edge!

Minor spoilers, mostly stuff we've already seen in the trailer. This is, however, the full scene of Haseo vs. Tri-Edge that was shown several times in early trailers ripped from the actual game. If you want to fastforward through anything potentially spoilerish, watch the clip at the 1:30 timecode.

.Hack//G-G-GUnit will be released stateside early Fall. The guy who made the video also has a bunch of other cool stuff. Just click on his name and view whatever else he's uploaded. Somebody also uploaded the cutscene right before the final battle with...

Spoiler:

Kite/Tri-Edge.

I caved in and watched it. The video wasn't very spoilerish and it was pretty cool, but I think I'm going to refrain from watching too much else.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Spoiler:

Tri-Edge is apparently the character data of Kite, but corrupted, and with a mind of its own. Mind you, this is from players who imported it already. It could also be a lie, but I figured I'd better spoiler tag it anyways.

I'm really looking forward to this game, I like the dark feeling it seems to have.

... I wonder if it will be rated M?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Arc Impulse

... I wonder if it will be rated M?

We would only be so lucky. Nothing about the games nor its accompanying media branches suggest anything higher than a T.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Arc Impulse

... I wonder if it will be rated M?

The game was given al All rating by Japan's Cero board. I don't think there would be anything to get it past Teen.

I was speaking idiomatically.

.hack//GU Volume 2: Kimi Omou Koe
.hack//GU Volume 2: Kimi Omou Koe (2nd Trailer)

Trailer for the second game in the series. MAJOR spoilers for those who haven't played the game or haven't already spoiled themselves (ha...ha...), but cool nonetheless.

There are now apparently super moves and what look like real-time weapon-changing in combat. I could be totally wrong, though.

How ya doing, buddy?

Although I really want to watch those, I'm avoiding all spoilers for volume 1. I've been drooling over its trailer since it was first put up after TGS last year, and it's as awesome as ever.

Oh, also for those who haven't noticed, EB and Gamestop have pretty much a complete monopoly over this if you want the full game experience. The Terminal Disc that has all the unlockable extras is only available with the limited edition version of the game, which also comes with a Haseo figure.

FELIPE NO

Guess I'll have to stop by EB and reserve my copy tomorrow.

But yeah, I don't really care too much with spoiling myself. On one hand I kind of wish I didn't click or watch some of the cutscenes on Youtube, but if anything the new trailers only got me hyped for vol. 1 even more.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Yeah. At least they sort of give you a choice this time around by charging $40 if you want just the game, and the full $50 if you want the Terminal Disc and a figure too. Not a bad deal; they must have taken into consideration all the complaints last time.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Did they fix the control scheme in .hack//GU? I really liked the story for the first series but the button mashing gameplay was unbearable. I ended up wasting money by buying all 4 games at once, because I never made it passed Episode 2. That and the fact that after playing some real MMOs, .hack felt so ridiculously fake..

There's nowhere I can't reach.

They apparently have, although I'm not entirely sure how. Volume 1's battles seem to get sort of repetitive from what I've seen, but this might have been fixed in Volume 2 since they're adding a bunch of new stuff.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

G.U.'s battle system is leaps and bounds better than the original four game's battle systems.

Instead of just pressing X to attack, there are now variations to the combos that are done. For example, say Haseo has his Twin Blade weapons equipped, the first time you hit X could be regular slash, the second time another slash, and the third time you'd have to hit X repeatedly to do more damage. However, there are variations in weapon combos not only between different weapon types (Say, brandish weapons and Twin blade weapons), but also between weapons of the same type. So, while one Twin Blade may have the combo I listed above, a different one could have a completely different one.

There are also Rengeki attacks, which are essentially using special moves after something similar to a "Protect Break" in the original. Though it happens more frequently.

And you can also launch into a tension mode when the tension bar reaches maximum where you just get to pound on the enemies for more damage briefly. And that's in addition to regular special moves.

As well as Avatar battles, which while are interesting, they do become a little repetitive.

Of course, you can also guard in battle now, which adds a little more variety.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Hmmmm....this actually looks decent, but the question is, do you have to play though the other PS2 games to get the story line of this one? I played the first one....but never got the others...

I was speaking idiomatically.

One of the main purposes of the Terminal Disc is to fill you in on key points from the original games. I know it includes several cutscenes redone with better graphics and some story synopsis among other things.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

The Terminal Disc contains twelve files which explain the events surrounding the original games, and the events leading up to G.U.

With G.U. Volume 1, the first four files are available to you, each of which recap one of the four original .hack// games. In these four files, there really are not any new cutscenes, but instead shows most of the scenes from the original games. Keep in mind that you can't select which scenes to play, though, as they're integrated into the reports.

The other 8 files are meant to be unlocked with the next to Volumes, four for each game. However, they have been broken into already and there are English transcripts of them available. Definitely some key information in them.

As for the English release, keep in mind that, unlike the Japanese, you'll only get the Terminal Disc if you pick up the "Special Edition."

FELIPE NO

Good thing I went and preordered the special edition. Although I did feel kind of dorky when the employee mentioned the figurine.

How ya doing, buddy?

Got the game today and it's pretty win so far. I'm only about two hours in and the cutscenes are kind of lengthy, but interesting nonetheless. Combat's really cool, but after seeing what you're capable of in vol. 2, I want more (variety!) now!

Since I preordered the collector's edition, it came with a nifty lil' Haseo figurine. It can't really stand on it's own very well, but it's pretty cool and doesn't look cheap. Now all I need is a Tri-Edge one (better be in vol. 2).

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I played for a few hours last night, and it certainly didn't disappoint despite my high expectations. I would have played for longer, but I wanted to watch all four videos on the Terminal Disc first. The only issue I've got with the game are a few of the VAs. Most of them do a good job, but I wanted to kill those first two people you party up with. They kept reading their lines just like lines; stopping at the end of each subtitle box.

One question about the data converting though. I brought over my data from Quarantine, then started a New Game. It said I would "receive an email from Legend of the Twilight" or something like that, but of course your email box is wiped clean before you even get to check it. Is that something extra that you receive later in the game? So far the only extra emails I've received have been from BlackRose and Hokuto, but the manual says that some special things won't happen until later.

There's nowhere I can't reach.