.hack//G.U. Vol. 1: Rebirth
.hack//G.U. simulates a massively multiplayer online role-playing game; players take on the role of a participant in a fictional game called The World. In The World, the player controls the character Haseo from a third-person perspective (with optional first-person mode). The player can control the camera with the right analog stick of the game controller. In the fictional game, players explore monster-infested fields and dungeons, as well as "root cities" that are free of combat. They can also "log out" of the game and return to a computer desktop interface that includes in-game emails, messages and message boards, as well as options to customize the desktop and background music. In Reminisce, an optional card game called "Crimson VS" becomes available. The player can save the game to a save store on a memory card both on the desktop and in The World. After the player completes the game, a data marker appears on the save file that allows all aspects of the player character and party members to be carried over to the next game in the series. This can also be applied to previous games if the player completed Reminsce or Redemption first. Players can attack monsters in real time. However, the action is interrupted whenever the menu is opened to select spells, items or abilities. The player only controls Haseo directly, while the other characters are controlled by an artificial intelligence. The player can either give the computer-controlled characters defaults ("Free Will," "Rage," "Life," etc.) or give them direct orders (e.g., cast a specific spell on a specific enemy). Monsters roam freely through the environments or guard treasure chests. Once combat begins, such as a "surprise attack" or when the player is discovered, a wall is erected around the combat area to prevent escape. With the weapons, the player can make a powerful attack that costs SP. As a skilled rogue, Haseo can use multiple weapons for close combat. Although Haseo can only use one weapon per battle, the player can switch weapons in Reminisce in the middle of the skill trigger. Under certain conditions, the player can perform an improved type of skill trigger called "Rengeki". These attacks do more damage and fill a morale meter, allowing the player and their teammates to perform a combo attack. Certain battles related to the storyline, called "avatar battles", use a different interface that includes shoot 'em up elements. After the opponent's health is depleted, players must recharge a "data drain" to finish the fight. Root cities are combat-free areas in The World. Here the player can replenish supplies, buy equipment, or chat and trade with other "players" of The World. The player can also take optional quests and visit guilds. An important feature of all cities is the chaos gate. This blue portal is used to travel between cities (called "servers") and enter the fields and dungeons where battles take place. A password system controls the properties of each area. Depending on the properties of each word in the three-word phrase, the resulting area can have different attributes, such as the frequency of monsters or items.
Story
.hack//G.U. takes place in an alternate version of Earth in 2017. As described in the first .hack game series, the "2nd Network Crisis" was an incident that occurred seven years ago and caused many computer systems in Japan to fail. Thanks to the efforts of the games' hero, Kite, the incident led to the birth of Aura, the ultimate artificial intelligence (AI) capable of making decisions on its own. Under the guidance of Aura, The World, the most popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game at the time, flourished, and the events of .hack//Legend of the Twilight coincided with this four-year period. At the end of 2014, Aura disappears, leading to a slow decline of The World and the Internet as a whole. The company that manages The World, CC Corp, then calls "Project G.U." and assigns it the task of fixing the problem. They develop the "Restore Aura (RA) Plan," in which they attempt to retrieve the fragments of Morganna - an AI that served as Aura's "mother" - and lock them into player characters (PCs) of The World. Theoretically, Project G.U. programmers could thus manipulate the Morganna program to recreate Aura. Only certain "select" players could control these special "Epitaph PCs." After finding candidates to operate the Epitaph PCs, the team tests the RA plan despite concerns about "anti-existences" that could damage the Internet. The program fails catastrophically, destroying over 80% of the data for The World.[9] Instead of trying to recover the data, CC Corp develops The World R:2 and releases it to a new generation of gamers. However, this new game is less popular than its predecessor and is plagued by "player killers" (PKs) who attack other players for fun and sport. The Epitaph PCs, which were lost during the RA Plan disaster, reappear in the new version and are attached to specific players of interest. Volume 1: Rebirth: The story begins with Haseo, who has become a powerful player killer or PKK eight months after he started playing in The World, searching for Tri-Edge, who is responsible for killing his friend Shino's character and leaving the player behind her in a coma. Tri-Edge uses an illegal ability on Haseo that resets his character data to level one. Not being as strong as he used to be, Haseo is mistaken for a rookie by Silabus and Gaspard, who invite him to join their guild Canard and eventually become their guildmaster. Meanwhile, he is approached by Kuhn and Pi, two players who belong to G.U., a group led by Yata, who works for CC Corp. and investigates AIDA, a bizarre computer anomaly that appears in the game. Yata asks Haseo for help, since he is an Epitaph user and one of the eight players who can use an avatar, the only means of fighting AIDA. Haseo agrees on the condition that Yata finds Tri-Edge for him, to which Yata agrees. During this time, he is repeatedly contacted by Atoli, a gentle healer who tries to convince Haseo to enjoy the game and his world more, although Haseo is annoyed by her resemblance to Shino. Haseo also observes an arena fight between Endrance, the arena emperor, and a challenger, and is surprised to see that Endrance, a player he saw in AIDA, uses an avatar. Determined to learn more, he enters the arena and eventually defeats Endrance. After the victory, Atoli, on the advice of Ovan, finds a triangular sign, a red carving, and transports herself to a region outside the normal game parameters, determined to make Haseo see her as valuable. Realizing she is in grave danger, Haseo, Pi and Kuhn find her trying to open a locker. After distracting her, Tri-Edge appears and is defeated by Haseo. As a result, an AIDA Atolis figure attacks.