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Platform: Sony
PlayStation 2
Genre: RPG
# of Players: 1
ESRB Rating: Teen
US Release: September 2006
Developer: CyberConnect2
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Review by: Matt Gardner
The .hack//G.U. series, like the
previous
.hack
videogame
series, is basically a
set of installments of one big game. With that in mind, I decided to
write my G.U. reviews like a set of installments of one big review. As
a result, if you want to know the back story, go read my review of
.hack//G.U. Vol. 1:
Rebirth, because I will just be discussing the improvements brought to the
series by .hack//G.U. Vol. 2: Reminisce.
Haseo finally gets to use scythes in this installment. This is good
because, not only it is fun to have a new type of weapon to use, but,
when you learn to use scythes, you also get a handy new feature that
lets you quickly switch between weapon types while fighting.
Previously, you had to open your menu and change your equipment to use
a new weapon, and you would have to wait a few seconds before you
could start fighting again after you switched. Once you get the
scythe, you can set up your quick skills bar with moves from all three
types of weapons. What this means is, even if you have a broad sword
equipped, you can use a scythe move and you will instantly switch to
the scythe you have equipped and use the move. It may sound minor, but
it makes battles a lot more fun.
Another fun aspect added is the
bike customization as well as the bike races. Some people may hate
bike racing because it's not the easiest thing in the world to do (if
you don't have Matt Gardner-level skills, that is), but no one should
have a beef with being able to customize the look and performance of
your bike. You can make it look a lot cooler, which is important, but
you can also improve it so that you find more items, are less easy to
detect by enemies, and do more damage when you crash into enemies. And
who doesn't want to maximize the damage they do when plowing into a
group of unsuspecting mushroom people?
There's about the same amount of new party members added in Vol. 2 as
there were in Vol 1. For all those people who can't do math: That's
DOUBLE the characters to use in this volume. Each of the characters
adds something specific to the story, as well, and none of them are
optional (As opposed to
the first series, where there were several optional characters that
you did not have to bother getting in order to complete the games).
The story in this volume is also on par with the first one, only with
a more bearable cliffhanger ending. You still will want to know what
happens and will be impatiently awaiting Vol. 3, but at least you won't
be throwing things out windows.
Let's see... what else. The
graphics have been improved slightly yet noticeably, and the movement
speed of walking and bike riding has been improved. This is extremely
noticeable when you first start the game, hop on your bike and find
that you are running into buildings because you are going
too fast to maneuver around curves anymore. Don't get me wrong, it is
still way more fun to go faster and run into walls than it is to go
slowly and avoid walls.
Oh, and, before I forget, the replay value is still way up there for
this installment. In fact, I beat the game and didn't even put the
controller down before starting a new game. To put this more in
perspective, I will instantly stop playing World of Warcraft
once the third and final G.U. is released.
There are a bunch more subtle improvements here and there that you
could notice. The game could stand to be a bit longer, but the same could be
said about Vol. 1. To sum it up in a sentence: Vol. 2 adds a lot of
things that make the series more fun while keeping intact everything
that you love from the first installment. Definitely worth getting if
you have played the first one.
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PS2:
.hack//G.U. Vol. 2: Reminisce
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Fun
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Novelty
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Audio
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Visuals
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Controls
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Replay Value
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Overall:
9.15
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| 9.9 |
7 |
9.5 |
8.9 |
9.7 |
9.9 |
-- Matt Gardner
{08-2007}
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