GamerNode was invited to a conference call, in the first week of May, to participate in a Q&A session with the developers of .hack/G.U., the fifth installment in the .hack franchise for the PS2. During the meeting, the developers informed us that several new features would be included in the new title such as new styled graphics, more action oriented gameplay, a cast of new characters and other new attributes.This week, GamerNode had the opportunity to play a working version of .hack/G.U. at the E3 convention. The .hack franchise games have been closely connected to one another as each game takes its storyline cue from previous events and situations in the series. But according to the game rep at E3, the strong dependency on previous plots has changed with the arrival of .hack/G.U.This definitely seems to be the case as we played the new title. The game is an action-adventure-RPG game, set in the future where the preferred game of choice is a MMO in which some players attain abilities outside of the games parameters.The demo featured a level in which the main character is on a mission to open the doors of a temple. But to do this, certain fragment pieces need to be collected first. Of course, the assignment isn,t as easy as it sounds as our hero is constantly challenged by enemies to prevent the completion of his task.In the demo game, the character has the ability to fight with weapons such as swords. These weapons can be swapped out for other weapons during battle sequences and this helps in defeating enemies. One of the weapons, the long sword, was so humongous that it challenged the legendary dimensions of Cloud,s sword, from the Final Fantasy games.Those who are familiar with the series will have no problem in picking up this game as it takes the .hack story to another level. As for those who are not familiar with .hack, they will be able to adapt to their new surroundings in no time.
Stay tuned to GamerNode for further developments in .hack/G.U.
