.hack: G.U., Vol.3: Redemption

List Price: $29.99 Discount Price: $27.93

Features:

• Enhanced Battle System: Haseo and his Avatar evolve into new forms and utilize new, more powerful attacks. New Awakenings; Haseo gains a new Awakening power to deal out more damage to his enemies
• New Arena Battles: Conquer the final tier of the Arena Battles to become the Sage Palace Emperor! New Crimson VS Cards; Step up the card battle action with all new cards
• New Locations: Investigate two new root towns and two new dungeons, as well as a massive hundred level dungeon unlocked after you beat the game called the Forrest of Pain
• Steam Bike: All new parts to customize your steam bike and five new steam bike missions
• The Best of Friends:Choose from 22 different characters to join your party

Customer Reviews:

WAAAAAAAAA! [Posted on 2007-11-20]
I normally don't prefer RPGs since they take forever to finish and the leveling system is too complex.. but I got the first .hack Rebirth and couldn't stop playing! Within weeks I'm already playing the final game Redemption. Who would've thought!?! Now I'm near the end and I don't want it to end! waaaaaaaa!

ONE thing about this game is that you DON'T need an FAQ in order to play and finish. One might want one to find every item in the game, but I've played other RPGs before like the ShadowHeart series and Grandia III, for those, if I didn't have the FAQs I would've been sooooo lost. But .hack is different. Thank goodness... and it's not too difficult either! Good for me! heh! Hope this helps!

Fantastic. [Posted on 2007-11-23]
As a .hack fan, I had high expectations for .hack//GU. Since I hadn't yet watched ROOTS, I wasn't sure if I could enjoy it without the background information. Thankfully, it was problem, since important info is revealed when needed.

Character development is fantastic, especially on the main character, Haseo. After I finished Redemption, I went back to play Rebirth, and was surprised to see how different he was in the beginning. I hadn't even noticed how much he changed. By the end, I found it difficult to dislike any of the characters, those I hated at first.

The gameplay is a significant improvement over the previous .hack//GAME series. Gone is the repetitive dungeon-crawling, forced to fight every enemy group. Most times, you can slide past the enemies. The battle system is engaging and doesn't degenerate into pure button mashing (unless using a rapid-hit weapon, but then, you asked for it). Skill triggers allow mid-battle weapon changes and are shortcuts to use skills.

Graphics do not disappoint, however they are not perfect. Character sprites sometimes move in ways a human being shouldn't, and Bandai-Namco's CG scenes are not up to standards set by Square-Enix.

Extras serve to customize and to help you get to know your party. Your 'desktop' can be customized with a background and music. Greeting cards can be sent to party members, to which they will respond. In Redemption, you're also given a special greeting card with allows for the Max Affection event - that is, for one male and most female party members that you send it to, a marriage ending will happen. For the others, a "friendship" ending occurs. I suggest saving before you send it; you only get one!

Tl;dr:

PROS

- Character Development is smooth.
- Music is enjoyable without being annoying or "just there."
- Improved dungeon and battle systems.
- Improved equipment system.
- Enjoyable extras (Desktop, greeting cards, marriage, etc.)
- Plot is engaging and unique.

CONS

- Graphics could be better
- Arena battling may feel repetitive.
- A few characters seem "just there."

I recommend this game series to any RPG-player or .hack fan for its overall experience.

a Perfect Ending [Posted on 2008-01-14]
A Perfect ending to the .hack//GU Trilogy.

If you want a video game for sheer action, adventure, and great graphics, I think this game fits the bill, along with its two predecessors.

If you want a game with a story good enough to get you thinking, and possibly even emotionally involved, such as a powerful and moving book or movie, I also recommend this game as well.

Personally, I highly recommend that you play or at least read a synopsis of the stories of the first two volumes of this trilogy, as all unanswered questions and links are revealed in //Redemption, and the story just clicks and makes complete sense, in this end to an utterly great game.

Awesome [Posted on 2008-02-20]
The quality is great and the gameplay is awesome. Definately far above its predecessor series. This being the closing game really made the series come together.

The final chapter in an amazing story [Posted on 2008-06-28]
As a person who is a fan of the .hack// anime and the previous original 4 .hack// games, I just had to play the .hack//GU games(3) to complete the story of .hack//Roots.

The .hack//GU games start right where the anime, .hack//Roots ends. The story unfolds which each part of the game, getting deeper every second. All of the .hack// series are conected to this one, where things like cameos are happening alot in it; making it a game for the fans.

The gameplay is okay but not great. But the story makes up for it! .hack//GU 3 is a must have for the players who enjoyed the first 2 GU games, and the .hack// franchise.

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