After a brief hiatus, Cyber Connect2's cross-promotional series, .hack, is back with .hack//G.U. Vol. 1//Rebirth. Much like the original, the new installment takes place over three games beginning with the aptly named Rebirth. The new name signals both a new epic in “The World” and a much needed revamp of the game’s core mechanics.

Rebirth makes a number of visual improvements, though it still doesn’t escape the generic look that plagued the original. Environments are better realized and replace the washed-out colors with stronger, more vivid ones – evoking a darker feeling than the original. However, characters still lack distinguishing characteristics, leading them to look very cookie cutter. With the exception of main characters, expect to see the same characters running around the game world.

Sound is a mix of good and really bad. The background music is good and fits the game world perfectly. Unfortunately, the voice acting is really bad and makes the extended story sequences painful to sit through. Thankfully the story is good enough that you won’t want to skip, but at the same time you’ll wish you could.

After the destruction of the servers housing the original “The World”, the game has been relaunched as “The World R: 2”. The new version proves to be just as popular as the first, although it attracts a number of Player Killers who prey on weaker characters. You play as Haseo, an angry player who decides to take a Cartman-like approach to the game. After spending months leveling, Haseo sets out to kill the Player Killers.

Similar to the original, Rebirth begins with a player entering a real-life coma after an encounter with one of game’s most powerful characters known as Tri-Edge. The player also happens to be Haseo’s best friend, causing him to seek out Tri-Edge and exact revenge. After tracking him down, Haseo battles Tri-Edge and loses. Rather than respawning in the typical manner, all of Haseo’s data is destroyed, resetting his character to level one. Not one to give up easily, Haseo once again sets out on a quest to take down Tri-Edge, only to find that “The World” is a much different place.

Though most of your time is spent logged into “The World” solving the mystery around Tri-Edge, you can also take on quests, battle monsters, join guilds and trade items with other characters. Rebirth does such a good job at mirroring MMOs that it even includes some of more monotonous aspects of the genre, like endless experience grinds against the same handful of enemies.

Gameplay is very linear. There are sidequests that you can perform, but for the most part, you follow a set path. While the story does have its interesting moments, it never fully explores them. Given the episodic structure of the story, few plot lines are resolved, stalling the story in several areas.

Rebirth features a larger “offline” component than the original. Rather than placing you in the role of the player controlling the in-game character, you play as the player controlling the in-game character (don’t think about that too long).

The real-world elements are limited to emails, forum posts and news broadcasts. The clues you find out in the real-world will lead you to where to travel next in the game. The system is adds atmosphere to the game, though it can be very awkward. In order to check your mail, you have to log out of “The World”, check the message and then log in again. This helps the game within a game context, though it also kills the pacing of the story in some areas.

Although you can have up to three party characters in your party, you only control Haseo. The other two characters are controlled by A.I. Though you don’t have direct control over the A.I.’s actions, you can adjust its parameters, telling it which abilities to use and who to focus on. Generally the A.I. is competent and does a good job of pulling its weight in battle.

Most battles are a contest of who can wear out the other’s hit points first. Smaller enemies go down with a few hits while larger ones can take lots of punishment. Higher health totals don’t make the game any more challenging; they just make tiresome experience grinds necessary and lengthen battles.

Combat in .hack//G.U. Vol. 1//Rebirth has received a major overhaul for the better. Battles take place in smaller areas, rather than the wide-open spaces found in the first series. Once in a battle, a barrier surrounds the combat area. Not only does this give you limited area to maneuver around in, it also keeps enemies from bolting once you’ve done enough damage – something that frustrated players in the original. The smaller space compliments the new battle system, giving it a much quicker pacing.

The new approach to combat is much smoother and doesn’t feel as mechanical as in the first series. Attacks can be combined together and eventually unlock a series of extra special attacks known as Rengeki. Pulling off Rengeki attacks allows you to inflict serious damage on enemies and gives you the opportunity to grant bonuses to your party. It is even possible to have all of your party members team up for one big attack.

.hack//G.U. Vol.1//Rebirth is a step in the right direction for the .hack series. However, the lack of a clear direction in story or feeling of progression will probably appeal more to fans of the series rather than RPG fans looking for a new adventure.