.hack: Outbreak

Reviewed by Leland Bonaparte
September 23, 2005

Developer: Cyber Connect Publisher: Bandai Consoles Available: Playstation 2 Players: 1 ESRB Rating: T (Teen) Website: Click Here

In the third chapter of the .hack saga, .hack: Outbreak, ”The World” continues to deteriorate as the computer virus spreads out of control. As Kite tries to figure out what went wrong in a contaminated cyberspace, he has a lot of questions but no answers. Not only is the virus affecting “The World” (cyberspace), but now repercussions are also being felt in the real world. Will you ever find out who and what is behind this nightmare? Can Orca be awakened from his coma?

Just like the first two installments, .hack: Outbreak really does a good job in simulating an online RPG environment even though you are offline the entire time. Outbreak doesn't really offer anything different to the series other than the AI. It seems to operate a little more independently than it did in the first two games, and enemy AI is stronger and even tougher than it was before. In Infection and Mutation, party members acted on their own during combat. This is troublesome because you have to pause the action so you can tell them to heal or heal them yourself. In Outbreak they perform these tasks on their own, which is a welcome addition. Graphically the game looks a little greenish overall and some towns have a ‘matrix' type of appearance. It actually looks like a virus has infected the system.

.hack: Outbreak is a great game and has a high Evolution Factor. The storyline is very intense and keeps your mind wondering what is going to happen next. As a bonus, the third part of the Linimity DVD is included and some of the stars of the movie are also in the game. If you are looking for a good RPG series then .hack is the way to go since you can carry over your saved game from one edition to the next. Bandai did an excellent job of bringing this RPG to life.