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19 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Yet Another Golden Grunty Oct 13, 2003
By Marc Ruby™
"The Noh Hare™"
From a story viewpoint, this is the most interesting of the .hack games so far. Kite's efforts to find a way to help his friend Orca and other players who now lay comatose find him cooperating with a surprising array of characters. Several new companions appear, including Balmung, who originally stood in Kite's way. In addition, Kite manages to unite Helba and Lios in an effort to fight the encroaching virus wave that is attacking not only the game, but the world beyond it. And in the background, frightened CC Corp executives are preparing to pull the plug on the games servers - even though this will end all efforts to cure the injured.If the story and character definition have improves, though, the game play has stayed the same. This isn't all bad, since the .hack series is marked by an easily playable game interface for what is actually a complicated RPG dungeon based battle style. But after two games, the third gets a bit repetitious. The dungeons aren't quite the fun they were, and long time players will find themselves rushing through the levels once they have figured out the needed battle strategies. Which introduces the real flaw in spreading the game over four volumes, something I'll call 'over-levelling' for lack of a better term. All of the games allow the player to continue once the core game is complete. During the down time between games one is encouraged to play to complete side quests and improve stats. Which I did after completing .hack//MUTATION. Unfortunately, the side effect is that all my main characters were already at high levels when I started Outbreak. The result is that I spent a whole game with Kite getting exactly one experience point per kill. In other words, he advanced exactly one level during the entire game. That is tedious, and reduces character development to a continuous quest for items that will permanently improve stats. Also, high stats mean you tend to blast through most conflicts without much need for finesse. Despite this, .hack//OUTBREAK is one of this years better games. The marketing scheme where the story is allowed to progress ovewr several media makes the .hack universe a rich experience, and the games are marked by a high level of professional quality. If you are a fan of dungeon based RPGs you will want this. The accompanying Liminality DVD, by the way, is the best so far in the series.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 Sweet Dec 06, 2003
By Damian
First of all, the two idiots who rated it one and zero screwed up this game's rating, but whatever. It's a great game, better than Mutation, and even better than Infection, in my opinion. Although it is identical to the first two games in many aspects, this is both a good and rarely bad thing. The story and characters are better than in this edition, the spells get pretty badass, and the weapons look awesome. For those of you who have played the first two, you finally get Balmung in this game, which makes it tough to decide between him and BlackRose. But anyway, great game with better characters and character development. Very recommended.
5 of 7 found the following review helpful:
.hack//outbreak Mar 18, 2004
While .hack// is quite a phenomenon, a review of the enjoyment of this game has nothing to do with the anime series (although fans of the series can find little easter eggs in the game series). The strengths of .hack//outbreak are the same as the first two in the series (.hack//infection and mutation): it has a great plot line, interesting new skill system, easy to use interface, and you can continue on your character into the next of the series. This is as expected, there were no changes to the game design. Despite this, I found this game to have lost some of its excitement (relevant to the series, it still found this game more exciting than other comparable games, like FFX or X-2). In my opinion, they introduced a weakness to the series by making this a 4 installment series rather than a 3. I've started the 4th game and am very excited, but due to the total series game play hours and the layout of the plot, it would have been better as a 3 game series (with no plot changes, just the quantity of material per release changed). Go capitalism. Like the previous game, if I were to say this game had any other weakness, it would be that it is quite a bit shorter than many comparable games. With completion of the story line (in this installment), the extras, and just having a little fun, I completed the game in about 30 hours. Overall, the .hack//outbreak is a must have if you wish to play the series. I don't think that the series would have been as much fun if I did not play all of the installments. Having finished the first three game, .hack//mutation is my favorite of the series so far, but quarantine may very well take that throne once I finish it.
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Holy cow Oct 06, 2003
By Justin
This is so far the best of the four part saga. Now I won't soile it by telling to much but if you ever saw how the first boss in Dot Hack//Sign. The one chasing Aura. That is a key in this game. I really think hat people will love this game. You really do need to be at least level 53 to start. Five stars
That was quick! May 11, 2012
By TM
Hello! I got this game very early! 5 days after ordering it!
It works fine, and the disc is in perfect condition. Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!!
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based on 27 reviews
