Review: .Hack//Infection

Today's date is February 17, 2014. Had this been 10 years ago, I would have a much different number for .Hack//Infection. I like history, I have a very high respect for where the world has been and where we have come from. As much as I hate to think that age impacts things negatively, some things just don't age well. This game is one of them.

Right from your first log in to "The World" the game starts to show its age. An early PS2 game does not hold

Not very easy on the eyes.

up well graphically in this day and age. Models are all polygonal and jagged while the textures are muddy and dark. The graphics are ugly but perfectly serviceable though. You are capable of seeing everything you need to see, so this is merely a cosmetic issue. Be aware that you if go down this road you  are playing an old game and this is how it will look.

Unfortunately, the menus handle as poorly as they look. Equipping party members requires at least 3 menus, more if you want to see the stats of their items before you swap them out. You have to do this a lot too. For an active combat RPG you will be spending a very large portion of your time in menus. Attacks are selected through menus, group tactics are selected through menus, if it needs done, it has a menu. This interface is ridiculous to have when most of the buttons on the controller aren't really mapped to anything. Clunky and boring are not a good combination for a game going for fast paced combat.

I'm sleuthing

The concept of the game should be praised for its uniqueness. Playing a character who is playing an MMO to solve the mystery of his comatose friend makes for an amusing story. Over the course of .Hack you will be using email and forum boards to discover your next clue, make friends by questing, and trade with players in HUB towns just like a real MMO. Combat takes place in "fields" that you create by entering three random code words. Each word provides it's own attributes to the field so you can mix and match to your content. This randomly generated world has a field area where you start and a single dungeon that you enter and explore. Every dungeon ends with a treasure chest that gives you loot better than what you would normally see. This style of play is fun for a little bit, but you quickly find out that going through basically the same dungeons re-skinned is not the most fun.

There is not much of a sense of character progression as skills are tied to your equipment and not your character's level. Often you will be choosing between having helpful skills or have better stats. The same goes for your party members that you keep equipped as you play. At most it's a lot to consider, at least it is a nuisance to see your most used skill lost to progression.

You can always sell your extra items which you will be doing a lot of since that is the primary monster drop. This money doesn't really have a use besides buying healing items in the game. You will need a lot of money to keep your party stocked up with these since everyone in your party can carry up to 99 of each. You need to personally trade these items to your NPC party members too and good luck trying to figure out how many each of them already have.

To the game's credit the story is engrossing. The characters you play with seem real and you will be bringing people into your group just to continue their email dialog. For a series that spans four discs you can tell that this game is merely building the foundation of the game world but it even does that in an interesting way. I went the whole way through the game for the purpose of seeing the story to the end. It is a powerful goal and you will feel accomplished for getting through the 25 hour game.

I love these guys.

.Hack//Infection has been left in the dust by video game evolution. It is an interesting game with a genuine concept but the execution was I suspect mediocre in its time and even worse now. If you are a true fan of the series or JRPGs it may be worth going back for. Otherwise do not come back for this one. Your time is better spent elsewhere.

-Chemystery

The First Dungeon

I hit that spot in Final Fantasy XIV, the very first dungeon. In that moment I instantly learn what I think of any MMO. It's one of the first major milestones and it sets the tone for the rest of your experience. In the first dungeon you see the beginnings of raid mechanics, how your class really plays, and get a small sense of the community.

Your very first taste of loot.

In the case of XIV the first dungeon is a pirates' cove called Sastasha. My first time through as a level 17 white mage took about 40 minutes. My tank was a good friend from school so I had the benefit of being walked through the dungeon.. The rest of the group was a pug but they were all very consistent in their play, no wipes or deaths. My friend made sure we did all of the fights, apparently most groups that grind this instance just run past a few of the boss fights. Overall, the instance wasn't very different from any other MMO. The raid was solid, most bosses were tank and spank but that is expected in the first dungeon. The last boss was an exception, you had to run around and stop water ripples from summoning extra enemies. Pretty plain but solid all the same. I enjoyed how the groups worked, it was nice to see some synergy between classes rather than each one doing their own things. Also queuing up for the dungeon was simple and super fast, a rare thing for too many games. This dungeon just furthered my current belief in the game. A good game but you've seen it all before.

She hasn't said "Hey, Listen!" even once. 

I'm well beyond the first dungeon in Bravely Default however. It is amazingly addictive, it just pulls you in and keeps you there. It has such a strong sense of progression that every level feels like a big deal. I'm always super excited to see what ability the next job level will unlock. That feeling has let me down more than once though. some of the earlier abilities just suck. The Norende mini game also keeps me coming back to the game. My 3DS hasn't actually been shut off in a week. I keep it in sleep mode to get more Streetpasses and more shop levels. I worry though that the shop items from Norende break the game. I've bought some of the higher tier pieces and I feel like my characters are burning through the early game content faster than they should. This is compounded by the fact that I have set my encounter rate to +50% so I'm fighting more things then I am supposed to. For the curious readers my party is White mage, Knight, Monk, and Black Mage. I'm doing something pretty dumb and keeping them those classes until they max out the jobs. I know it is not efficient, but it's fun to me. If I looked more into it, I bet the systems are really easy to manipulate. There is just enough "extra" social stuff in it that I think your party could become excessively strong extremely fast.

Also this week I did a little more grinding in .Hack//Infection. I'm hoping to wrap that game up this weekend. Expect a full review soon!

Happy Valentines Day!,

Chemystery

Finally Default

I have sitting next to me, Bravely Default, resting in my 3DSXL as minutes casually tick by. Although I am typing this now, I am gaining levels in the game, and it feels good.

Bravely Default at it's core is a solid RPG. It has the staples that you want and have come to expect from the genre. You control four charming characters as they tramp about the world trying to save it. I don't want to go too deep into the story as it is still new, but it is interesting and well pieced together. The game has voice acting, AR integration, and an in game encyclopedia to keep you up on all of your lore. It crafts a beautiful world that you will be happy to spend your time in.

She REALLY doesn't want to involve anyone else.

Your characters gain levels and job levels as you play so meters are always being filled. I haven't unlocked all of the jobs yet but there are plenty to choose from and they each level up to level 14. Each job level gives you a new type of ability to use so every number feels important.  Experience points are gained through your standard turn based combat. Bravely Default begins forging it's own path here as the combat comes with a twist. Your characters have a set number of turn points that you can spend or save. You can have one character take four turns immediately if you want to spend their points but then they have to wait a few turns until they get their points back to the starting 0 point. Defaulting defends your character and lets them store up an extra point to use later. 

The real gem is the use of social aspects in the game. Over the course of the game you are rebuilding a village that will give you access to certain items depending on what you have built in it. You start off with one citizen building a store and that chore takes an hour, but with 2 people it takes half and hour and so on. You increase citizens by street passing other players which gives you a bunch of other things to do with streetpasses as well. People you pass can be summoned into your game and you can use abilities they have as well. It actually makes me want to carry my 3DS with me so I can get more done faster. Brilliant use of the features if you ask me.

This is what you are rebuilding

There is a slightly seedier part to the game though. You can buy these "Sleep Points" that let you take turns in between enemy turns. These points can be purchased or you can leave your DS on sleep mode for 8 hours to get one point. This feature doesn't seem particularly useful to me so I think it will be a part of the game that I ignore. I mention it just because I worry what sort of thing Square Enix will get itself into if it keeps following ideas like that.

Before I acquired Bravely Default I was still playing FF XIV pretty hard. I just hit level 15 and did I pretty large quest line. Pretty soon I'll be able to start doing dungeons. I already read up on the first one so I know how to heal through it. It seems really easy though. My big worry is that playing with the controller will make going through the dungeons harder. I wish I had the money to build a proper gaming computer. 

Despite my shortcomings that game awesome. In fact I'm going to go play right now!

Games, Games, Games,

Chemystery