2nd Op By

Unavailable N/A RATING

Public Opinion

Jet Black 7.5 Rating

While I agree with Erin's outstanding job on the overall concept of the game, the devil in the details made me question some of the world building aspects surrounding the title.

This is nitpicking, but the characters in .hack show a range of emotion and animation far beyond anything in a MMORPG—which is what the game is based on. This direction ruined my suspension of belief. Lead character animation for humor, pain, and sorrow equal real life, which doesn't jive with other "NPC players" in the game, (The World).

Granted, it would be difficult to convey emotions to the gamer if the characters were presented in true online avatar form—consisting a limited set of animations. In fact, it would be seen as a negative if applied. However, I would gladly accept an explanation for those affected by the game that deems them "special" (such as in a coma and unable to "log out" of the aforementioned game). Thus, characters might grasp a range of animations unlike "regular" gamers.

But such can't be determined in one episode of a four-part story. Perhaps there are reasons the lead characters have emotional abilities beyond the rest of the online community. Can an online avatar really shed tears? Erin's review does an excellent job covering a game and alluding to new story and plot twists—and that is one devil in the details I'm glad to read about.

Reader Second Opinions