At present time only a few remember or know of the Twilight Event. If CC Corp (the company which designed and maintains The World) has their way no one would know of it. The World’s administrators strongly discourage circulation of that information. The winds have shifted and trouble is upon us again. Orca, known as Orca of the Azure Sky, has invited his friend Kite to join him inside The World. Not far into Kite’s tutelage he and Orca witness a ghostly girl being chased by an odd entity wielding a red staff.

This never-before-seen monster defeats Orca in so strange a manner that he is removed from the game. The player behind Orca is hospitalized in a coma. The ghostly girl gives Kite a bracelet which will allow him to drain monsters of virus-corrupted data files. This is known as Data Draining. Convinced that he can save his friend from inside the game, Kite sets out on a quest to uncover the secret of the strange being which defeated Orca. Kite receives helpful hints and a few threats from various players through the game’s mail system and message board. Some of the more helpful players join Kite as he searches for clues. Not all areas of The World are open to the casual gamer so Kite extracts Data Cores by using his own Data Drain skill during combat. The knowledge that this very skill is the same the strange monster used against Orca weighs heavily on Kite. These cores are needed however to hack gates to protected areas.

It soon becomes apparent that Kite isn’t the only one seeking answers as to the mysterious events. Further, Orca is not the only person to end up in a coma after playing in The World. Kite must learn that not everyone who offers to help is really helping. CC Corp is adamantly denying the game’s responsibility for the multiple cases of player illness. There are even some who seek to silence anyone who would bring this problem to public attention. So be careful of whom you makes friends with.

.hack//Infection plays a lot like a MMO, with NPCs that act like normal players going about their business, and "logging in" at different times. This can get to be frustrating at times, though, as say when you want to trade this item for that player;s item, only to find that NPC isn't even "logged in". Interaction with NPCs doesn't go far, you can trade with them, get information by talking to them, or just stand around and watch them talk to each other.

Game progression is achieved though exploring certain fields and dungeons. The only way to get there, though, is through the Chaos Gate. The Chaos gate is located in the Root Town. This is where you can easily get lost. By selecting certain three-word combinations you can determine the level and difficulty of the field you wish to play. You can almost totally customize each field to what you want to see. What about those certain fields you mentioned? How do I find those? Is it by guesswork, or random selection? Accessing the storyline fields is as easy as checking your messages the bulletin board. Word combinations to key story dungeons are handed to you, so you have to keep checking back. Simple as that, really.

Combat is in real time. This proves to be very useful as you can fire off a set of commands or quickly heal a part member in mere seconds. Opening the menu pauses the game to give you time to effectively plan your strategy. Combat can be pretty fast paced, as the number of foes you can stand against at any given time, is only limited by the number of creatures on the field. You can find yourself overwhelmed pretty fast! Multiple side quests are available distract you once you've gotten tired of dungeon crawling. The Goblin tag side quest has multiple parts. Raising Grunties is another side quest of sorts. Since there is not a gruntie food mart available you have to traverse all corners of The World to find whatever morsel your gruntie is craving at the time. A well fed gruntie offers useful items, while a generally ignored gruntie does not offer anything of use. It is an optional past time.

Bandai has done a remarkable job creating this RPG within an RPG. The art style is the same as seen in the anime series and The World certainly has a unique style. Part of the thrill comes from being able to fight along side living legends within The World. In the anime series .hack//Sign the names of Balmung, Orca, and Helba are spoken of with awe by fellow players. These individuals have mastered the game. Their max stats alone don’t make them legends. It is their gaming skill and personalities which have caused more than a few fan clubs in their honor. Well, maybe not Helba. There are those who look down on hackers.

.Hack//Infection is only the first chapter in the Kite’s story. The character Kite, as you’ve played him, is transferred into the later chapters along with all your gear and experience. From here on you play Kite in .hack//Mutation, .hack//Outbreak and .hack//Quarantine. All these games come with the anime DVD, .hack//Liminality.

I was quite drawn to this game as I am already familiar with the anime series. As I am unfamiliar with RPGs I quickly found myself wishing the tutorial was done a little better. When showing me how to engage in combat Orca dashes in and slays the monster before I can even hit the x button. I would have liked him to stand by and give me pointers while I did the fighting myself. I am most fortunate to already have the first three chapters of this game series in my possession, so I will be continuing on with the series. I will need to purchase the final chapter eventually but I consider it a worth while investment. There are many mysteries and story twists presented to me in this first volume and I am very curious to see what happens next.