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The PS2 is a relatively 'young' console, and it has to be said that the majority of the greatest titles for it so far have been sequels of some description or another e.g. GT3, GTA3, MGS2, VF4, TOCA etc.
But hopefully by 2003 we'll start to see not just more original games coming out than before, but we'll start to see sequels to original games released this year too.
One exciting prosepect is the four volume .Hack series. Developed by Bandai, .Hack games emulate Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs, but without the online part. Don't worry, you won't need a modem to play it. What it means is that when you're playing, you're just led to believe you're in a gameworld with 20 million other players.
Some of these 'players' that you meet can team up with you and you can go hunting in dungeons together. You can 'e-mail' them and reply to 'e-mails' that they send to you. How well you reply determines your relationship with other players in the future. There's a Bulletin Board System where you can sign up and read the forums regarding the game you are playing and gather further information about new quests that are starting or new areas of the game that have been introduced. This information is provided by some of the other 20 million players in your gameworld. There are central hubs where you can meet players, chat with them, trade items and so on, just as in a normal MMORPG, with the exceptions that you never have to go online and that the other players aren't controlled by humans at the other end of a modem.
The basic premise of the first volume of .Hack is that you're a newbie logging into the game for the first time, and whilst you are being led around a dungeon by a more experienced character who is showing you the ropes, you both get attacked by a monster who defeats your friend and then logs you out of the game. You then discover that your friend who was controlling the more experienced character has ended up in a coma in real life, so you decide to explore the world of the game more to see if you can uncover more about what is going on there and if it is connected to what happened to your friend.
So you're not just exploring and playing the MMORPG, you're trying to discover if something more sinister is going on. This is where the 'hacking' part comes into play. When you gain the 'hacking' skill, you can use it access better items and weapons from bosses, and gain 'virus letters' which allow you to unlock and play on different areas of the game, as well as different servers.
This novel approach, of a game that emulates a game within a gameworld, is a fascinating prospect for both console gamers and gamers who have had experience of MMORPGs. It's also great news for the PS2 in that finally some ground-breaking titles from unexplored genres are being developed.
.hack//infection is volume 1 of 4, and Bandai hope to release parts 2-4 within a few months of each other. Each volume comes with its own Anime feature on DVD which, they say, enhances the storyline although it's not an essential feature to watch in order to play the game. Volume 1 is already out and doing well in Japan and should be released in the USA around October, which should mean we get to play it in the UK around Easter 2003.
I just hope that someone at Sony Europe doesn't decide that it's not worth releasing over here and schedules in another racing game instead. It's about time we had something different.
But hopefully by 2003 we'll start to see not just more original games coming out than before, but we'll start to see sequels to original games released this year too.
One exciting prosepect is the four volume .Hack series. Developed by Bandai, .Hack games emulate Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs, but without the online part. Don't worry, you won't need a modem to play it. What it means is that when you're playing, you're just led to believe you're in a gameworld with 20 million other players.
Some of these 'players' that you meet can team up with you and you can go hunting in dungeons together. You can 'e-mail' them and reply to 'e-mails' that they send to you. How well you reply determines your relationship with other players in the future. There's a Bulletin Board System where you can sign up and read the forums regarding the game you are playing and gather further information about new quests that are starting or new areas of the game that have been introduced. This information is provided by some of the other 20 million players in your gameworld. There are central hubs where you can meet players, chat with them, trade items and so on, just as in a normal MMORPG, with the exceptions that you never have to go online and that the other players aren't controlled by humans at the other end of a modem.
The basic premise of the first volume of .Hack is that you're a newbie logging into the game for the first time, and whilst you are being led around a dungeon by a more experienced character who is showing you the ropes, you both get attacked by a monster who defeats your friend and then logs you out of the game. You then discover that your friend who was controlling the more experienced character has ended up in a coma in real life, so you decide to explore the world of the game more to see if you can uncover more about what is going on there and if it is connected to what happened to your friend.
So you're not just exploring and playing the MMORPG, you're trying to discover if something more sinister is going on. This is where the 'hacking' part comes into play. When you gain the 'hacking' skill, you can use it access better items and weapons from bosses, and gain 'virus letters' which allow you to unlock and play on different areas of the game, as well as different servers.
This novel approach, of a game that emulates a game within a gameworld, is a fascinating prospect for both console gamers and gamers who have had experience of MMORPGs. It's also great news for the PS2 in that finally some ground-breaking titles from unexplored genres are being developed.
.hack//infection is volume 1 of 4, and Bandai hope to release parts 2-4 within a few months of each other. Each volume comes with its own Anime feature on DVD which, they say, enhances the storyline although it's not an essential feature to watch in order to play the game. Volume 1 is already out and doing well in Japan and should be released in the USA around October, which should mean we get to play it in the UK around Easter 2003.
I just hope that someone at Sony Europe doesn't decide that it's not worth releasing over here and schedules in another racing game instead. It's about time we had something different.
http://www.rpgfan.com/previews/hack.html
(US RPG fansite preview)
http://www.hack.channel.or.jp
(.hack official site in Japanese, but easily navigable)
(US RPG fansite preview)
http://www.hack.channel.or.jp
(.hack official site in Japanese, but easily navigable)
F@ñ†@§¥M€!§†€® wrote:
> Positive, it's already out in Japan, the US release date has been set
> to 16th October 2002, and we're just waiting for confirmation of a
> European release.
cool :)
is there a website with any information on this game do u know?
> Positive, it's already out in Japan, the US release date has been set
> to 16th October 2002, and we're just waiting for confirmation of a
> European release.
cool :)
is there a website with any information on this game do u know?
Positive, it's already out in Japan, the US release date has been set to 16th October 2002, and we're just waiting for confirmation of a European release.
are u shaw this type of game is in development? i mean 4 each charactor in the game there as 2 b a lot of information on each such as personallty and states etc.. and the possibities of them behaving 2 what the players decide 2 do means there as 2 b a lot of open ended game play. what happens if an NPC dies? will they respawn like in a MMORPG.
sounds like a good idea but i have heard nothing about this sort of game.
sounds like a good idea but i have heard nothing about this sort of game.
Hmm, sounds interesting. Be good to see how it plays.
My only first initial thought is i wonder if the fact that you know your not playing with other people and that its all in the computer will effect how you perceive whats going on in the game?
Credit to the developers for bring us something new though, and giving us this type of game that doesn’t need online networks to play.
My only first initial thought is i wonder if the fact that you know your not playing with other people and that its all in the computer will effect how you perceive whats going on in the game?
Credit to the developers for bring us something new though, and giving us this type of game that doesn’t need online networks to play.
That sounds really good. Provided they can run it without it crashing.
The PS2 is a relatively 'young' console, and it has to be said that the majority of the greatest titles for it so far have been sequels of some description or another e.g. GT3, GTA3, MGS2, VF4, TOCA etc.
But hopefully by 2003 we'll start to see not just more original games coming out than before, but we'll start to see sequels to original games released this year too.
One exciting prosepect is the four volume .Hack series. Developed by Bandai, .Hack games emulate Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs, but without the online part. Don't worry, you won't need a modem to play it. What it means is that when you're playing, you're just led to believe you're in a gameworld with 20 million other players.
Some of these 'players' that you meet can team up with you and you can go hunting in dungeons together. You can 'e-mail' them and reply to 'e-mails' that they send to you. How well you reply determines your relationship with other players in the future. There's a Bulletin Board System where you can sign up and read the forums regarding the game you are playing and gather further information about new quests that are starting or new areas of the game that have been introduced. This information is provided by some of the other 20 million players in your gameworld. There are central hubs where you can meet players, chat with them, trade items and so on, just as in a normal MMORPG, with the exceptions that you never have to go online and that the other players aren't controlled by humans at the other end of a modem.
The basic premise of the first volume of .Hack is that you're a newbie logging into the game for the first time, and whilst you are being led around a dungeon by a more experienced character who is showing you the ropes, you both get attacked by a monster who defeats your friend and then logs you out of the game. You then discover that your friend who was controlling the more experienced character has ended up in a coma in real life, so you decide to explore the world of the game more to see if you can uncover more about what is going on there and if it is connected to what happened to your friend.
So you're not just exploring and playing the MMORPG, you're trying to discover if something more sinister is going on. This is where the 'hacking' part comes into play. When you gain the 'hacking' skill, you can use it access better items and weapons from bosses, and gain 'virus letters' which allow you to unlock and play on different areas of the game, as well as different servers.
This novel approach, of a game that emulates a game within a gameworld, is a fascinating prospect for both console gamers and gamers who have had experience of MMORPGs. It's also great news for the PS2 in that finally some ground-breaking titles from unexplored genres are being developed.
.hack//infection is volume 1 of 4, and Bandai hope to release parts 2-4 within a few months of each other. Each volume comes with its own Anime feature on DVD which, they say, enhances the storyline although it's not an essential feature to watch in order to play the game. Volume 1 is already out and doing well in Japan and should be released in the USA around October, which should mean we get to play it in the UK around Easter 2003.
I just hope that someone at Sony Europe doesn't decide that it's not worth releasing over here and schedules in another racing game instead. It's about time we had something different.
But hopefully by 2003 we'll start to see not just more original games coming out than before, but we'll start to see sequels to original games released this year too.
One exciting prosepect is the four volume .Hack series. Developed by Bandai, .Hack games emulate Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs, but without the online part. Don't worry, you won't need a modem to play it. What it means is that when you're playing, you're just led to believe you're in a gameworld with 20 million other players.
Some of these 'players' that you meet can team up with you and you can go hunting in dungeons together. You can 'e-mail' them and reply to 'e-mails' that they send to you. How well you reply determines your relationship with other players in the future. There's a Bulletin Board System where you can sign up and read the forums regarding the game you are playing and gather further information about new quests that are starting or new areas of the game that have been introduced. This information is provided by some of the other 20 million players in your gameworld. There are central hubs where you can meet players, chat with them, trade items and so on, just as in a normal MMORPG, with the exceptions that you never have to go online and that the other players aren't controlled by humans at the other end of a modem.
The basic premise of the first volume of .Hack is that you're a newbie logging into the game for the first time, and whilst you are being led around a dungeon by a more experienced character who is showing you the ropes, you both get attacked by a monster who defeats your friend and then logs you out of the game. You then discover that your friend who was controlling the more experienced character has ended up in a coma in real life, so you decide to explore the world of the game more to see if you can uncover more about what is going on there and if it is connected to what happened to your friend.
So you're not just exploring and playing the MMORPG, you're trying to discover if something more sinister is going on. This is where the 'hacking' part comes into play. When you gain the 'hacking' skill, you can use it access better items and weapons from bosses, and gain 'virus letters' which allow you to unlock and play on different areas of the game, as well as different servers.
This novel approach, of a game that emulates a game within a gameworld, is a fascinating prospect for both console gamers and gamers who have had experience of MMORPGs. It's also great news for the PS2 in that finally some ground-breaking titles from unexplored genres are being developed.
.hack//infection is volume 1 of 4, and Bandai hope to release parts 2-4 within a few months of each other. Each volume comes with its own Anime feature on DVD which, they say, enhances the storyline although it's not an essential feature to watch in order to play the game. Volume 1 is already out and doing well in Japan and should be released in the USA around October, which should mean we get to play it in the UK around Easter 2003.
I just hope that someone at Sony Europe doesn't decide that it's not worth releasing over here and schedules in another racing game instead. It's about time we had something different.