What Games To Play-buy? - --from 2005 to now--

Four years have passed since the aftermath of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, and a great tension now smolders throughout the ravaged world of Azeroth. As the battle-worn races begin to rebuild their shattered kingdoms, new threats, both ancient and ominous, arise to plague the world once again. Alliance box

World of Warcraft is an online role-playing experience set in the award-winning Warcraft universe. Players assume the roles of Warcraft heroes as they explore, adventure, and quest across a vast world. World of Warcraft is a "Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game" which allows thousands of players to interact within the same world. Whether adventuring together or fighting against each other in epic battles, players will form friendships, forge alliances, and compete with enemies for power and glory.

What is an MMORPG?

MMORPG is an acronym for "Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game". In an MMORPG, thousands of players exist in the same game world at the same time

What is World of Warcraft?

As a massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft enables thousands of players to come together online and battle against the world and each other. Players from across the globe can leave the real world behind and undertake grand quests and heroic exploits in a land of fantastic adventure.


What does World of Warcraft have to offer?

Unlike other MMORPGs, World of Warcraft allows players to play the game at their own pace, whether it be a few hours here and there or entire weeks at a time. The quest system also provides an enormous variety of captivating quests with story elements, dynamic events, and flexible reward systems. World of Warcraft also features a faster style of play, with less downtime and an emphasis on combat and tactics against multiple opponents.

Below are some features found in World of Warcraft:

-Ten playable races
-Nine playable classes
-Multiple professions each with unique benefits
-Thousands of quests to undertake and complete
-Multiple modes of transportation
-Extensive and elaborate storyline
-Four realm types for differing styles of play

The long awaited final part of the .hack G.U. trilogy has finally been released, and it both follows the path laid out in the previous two games, as well as treads into some new territory.

Gameplay: 4/5

The game itself played out much the same way as the other G.U. games. Travel to a root town, make a party, then either go explore a random dungeon or one that progresses the story. The formula is simple, yet the execution is fairly well done. Two new towns are available as the game progresses, one offering dungeons from level 100 to 150 and the other acts as an all-in-one town. Both new locations are filled with NPCs that you can talk to and trade with. Unlike the other two games, the responses you get from the NPCs, as well as your party members, change dramatically as the game progresses so there is plenty of reasons to talk to everyone you come across after every major plot change.

Dungeon crawling will take up the majority of your game time, but don't expect more of the same. Three new dungeon types have been added to the game, each one with their own quirks and traps. One of these new dungeons is a sub-dungeon found in almost every field, giving you the chance to fight some strange enemies in a dungeon unlike anything else in "The World". Unfortunately, the dungeons themselves can feel somewhat repetitive, as there are less than a dozen unique locations, not including the Lost Grounds.

The battles are more or less the same as the other two. You have your basic attack, which you can combo in different ways depending on your weapon. Your skills, which use your SP to unleash powerful attacks, and finally your Awakenings. A new awakening and a new skill for each weapon may seem to add a lot of depth to the game, but chances are you'll find that one skill or weapon you really like and use it more than the others. To help with the insane SP cost of the final skills, a new feature has been added. When your weapon level reached 22, the final skill of that weapon becomes cheaper to use, and the change bar fills quicker. This means by using the skills of a weapon often, the SP cost will decrease, allowing you to use those oh-so-powerful and awesome skills more often. But don't think that these new skills and powers will make battles easy, quite the opposite. The battles are harder, as many enemies have damage reducing abilities and numerous status skills, not to mention much higher HP. The bosses are brutal and can take over a half hour to finish, though your level can drastically effect how hard the fights are.

Visuals: 4/5

The graphics in this volume don't appear to be any better than those in Vol. 2. That said, the details on your party members are well done, and the new dungeons look wonderful. The new skills and spells are also dramatic and visually appealing. The problem arises during battle in the form of slowdown. When you have your party of 3 members up agenst an enemy party, the game can slow down to a snails pace in certain places, mainly when skills and magic are used.

Audio: 4/5

The sound effects in the game are nothing new or special. You have your standard footsteps, your hit and block sounds. Nothing really new. The voice acting, on the other hand, is incredibly well done. Each person fills their role well, and put all their feeling into their performance. You can hear the sadistic nature of Sakaki every time he talks, or Haseo's rage. A few voice actors have been changed, most of them for the worse.

Playtime: 30+

The story moves along fairly quickly, but the many dungeons you go through for both story and leveling purpose extend the game time a lot. Finding all the items and completing all the quests can take a long time, but only two will feel like a total grind. Trying to fill the Book of 1000 is both time consuming and rewarding, so much so that you may barely notice the time pass. If that wasn't enough, there is a 100 floor dungeon, one that actually has a reward worth working towards. It'll take a good chunk of time to finish everything that can be finished. Once you do that, you're free to perfect your characters by going through countless random dungeons, or going to the arena.

Replayability: 2/5

The only reason to play it again is if you want to experience one of the many epic fights again. Beyond that, there aren't any bonuses or anything different when you play again.

Overall: 4/5

.hack//G.U. vol. 3//Redemption is a worthy conclusion to a wonderful series. It has a good blend of new and old aspects that can keep you happy and entertained for a while.

Final recommendation: Buy

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/17/07

review 2."An Epic Ending To A Great Series"
It's been just a little under a year since .Hack//G.U. vol 1 Rebirth came out to America and took the .Hack series to a new level. Long time .Hack fans got their wish for a new game. Some loved it, some hated it, but they all could agree on one thing. This was a completely new .Hack, and it was ready to attack. In Vol 1 players took on the role of Haseo, a PKK(Player Killer Killer) in the search for the mysterious PK; Tri-Edge. 8 months before the start of the game, Tri-Edge PKed Shino, a friend that Haseo felt very close too and he sought revenge. However after facing the legendary PK, Haseo was Data Drained by Tri-Edge and returned to Lv 1. We met many new faces including the Shino lookalike Atoli, the mysterious and elegant Endrance and Haseo's old guild leader Ovan. In the end, Haseo confronted Tri-Edge again and with his newly unlocked Avatar Skeith.

Months later, after many confusing release date rumors by not only fans but the official site as well Vol 2 Reminisce was released. Featuring updated graphics models, twice the extras and moving storyline it was clear that .Hack would never be the same. The storyline picked up right where the first one left off. Joining Haseo in his quest to awaken Shino this time was the hot-headed Matsu of Moon Tree, the twins Sakubo and Endrance himself just to name a few. As the story grew, Haseo started to grow close to Alkaid, a player whom hated him in Vol 1. However she was PKed by an AIDA infected player. Those who played Vol 1 could most likely guess who. By the end of the game, it was clear that Sasaki of Moon Tree sought total control and used Atoli to do it. Haseo was able to defeat him, but now the truth was revealed. The one who Haseo sought out, Tri-Edge, wasn't the one who PKed Shino. It was...

And now we come to the end of the series. All the loose ends are tied in this entry. We meet some new faces, and go up against old enemies.

Graphics: 9/10

The graphics models were slightly updated from Vol 2, and can be noticed in a number of places. Overall their basically the same, beautiful images that we've come to love since Vol 1.

Gameplay: 9/10

With the addition of a new form, Haseo's combat skills are taken to a new level. I won't spoil it for those who havn't seen the trailers, but let's just say it's something that .Hack fans have wanted for a LONG time. Weapon levels can now hit 22, and then at that level all the sp of the weapon class gets cut in half. Now you can use your powerful skills more often than before. The ally AI has gotten a MAJOR increase from the last game, and you won't find your healer running next to a monster a second before it attacks. That was one of my biggest issues with Vol 2. The Books of 1000 have been updated, and are now much harder to fill. Especially if your trying to fill every single entry. All those old quests, like the flyers and such are back. *rolls eyes* Their slightly better with the radars, thank the gods. In the end game there are TONS of things to do. Complete the bike missions, obtain max points in the arena, do the Forest of Pain 100 Level Dungeon(Yes, 100 levels) and much more. Your ally numbers increase to a total of 32 teammates I believe. Some you wouldn't expect. There are three that I won't talk about, but let's just say to train up if you want them. Since you have to beat all three of them in combat at the same time. Trust me, it's VERY worth it.

There are more new dungeon formats, ranging from level 100 to level 150. It's worth hitting Level 100 before starting this game, since you'll be facing alot of high level foes. The overall dificulty has been slightly increased from Vol 2, but the arena is no longer a pain to do thankfully.

Sound: 9/10

The soundtrack is awesome. I couldn't wait for the game so I ordered the vol 3 OST and I must say there are little to no changes at all in the music. It's very nice, even though the dungeon tracks can get boring after awhile. The voices when you speak to party members are back, which I'm SO happy for. Although a few of the voice actors have changed. Their not that bad, but I'd rather have prefered the old ones.

Storyline: 10/10

The storyline picks up right after Vol 2's shocking ending, and doesn't dissappoint. Old enemies return, and new allies are gained in the fight to stop AIDA from flooding into the real world. Powers are lost, and new ones are gained. It's impossible to describe the story in a few words. The end game will completely shock you though, and fans of the old .Hack games will enjoy fighting an old foe who returns for the G.U. Series. But that's not the kicker, it's what happens near the end of that fight.

Overall the storyline won't bring you to tears, well maybe one section will depending on your personality. I know it did me. But it's still a grand story that completely overthrows the one from the last game. Sadly there's no real "extra ending" like there was in IMOQ, but there is a extended ending.

Closing:

It was worth the wait for Vol 3. The gameplay, story and new additions have been taken to a completely new level. The only thing that prevents me from giving a 10 is the slowdown when massive enemies are onscreen. If your a die hard .Hack fan, this is a MUST HAVE. If you don't like the series, at least rent this. Even G.U. haters have admitted this game is worth a play just for the story. It's the closing for the greatest entry in the .Hack series, and I must admit I'm sad to see it end. But here's to a great game, and the hope that Bandai will continue the series. And don't forget, if you havn't seen it yet be sure to buy the .Hack//Roots DVD and catch up on the story before G.U. began.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/19/07

Game Release: .hack//G.U. vol. 3//Redemption (US, 09/10/07