Welcome (back) to The World
The game takes place after the animated series (.hack//roots) ended... (As such... it is recommended for players to watch the series before playing...)
Months have passed since the incident... Haseo has become a PKK known to The World R:2 as "The Terror of Death"... And is always Searching for Tri-Edge (Who's character resembles closely to Kite... the character of the first game series) who was responsible for Data Draining Shino... He made it his mission to hunt down and defeat Tri-Edge... But as fate would call it... He himself was defeated and Data Drained... Resulting in his character data to be formatted and restarted back to Level 1 and this is where the game begins...
As the name implies The World R:2 is an upgraded version of the first… the game is more action-based and active than before... Battles depend primarily on how you start it... you have a chance to issue a Initiative attack on monsters if they didn’t detect you... The "?" on a monster means they spotted you meaning they are aware of your presence... As the Battle Starts you'll be surrounded in a blue field (a "Battle Area" if you will...) which disappears if you defeat the monsters or escaping by using the "Smoke Screen" item... You also can help other “players” in the World R:2… while exploring areas… you will usually come across other “Battle Areas” here… Other “players” are usually in trouble of being PKed or defeated by monsters… Haseo has the ability to change or use other weapons because of his Character Class the Adept Rogue… (which is unlocked on his Job Extensions) This proves useful as you are not limited to a type of weapon and you are able switch weapons as the situation calls for… Haseo also gained the ability to summon Skeith, (which veteran .hack players would remember from INFECTION) When summoned the game play will switch to something like a Shooter game… Requiring Skeith/Haseo to shoot his opponents to stun them and get in close to slash them with his scythe… The Idea here is to break through their protection so Skeith/Haseo can use Data Drain which is not an easy feat… After the Data Break, Skeith/Haseo will prepare to Data Drain… which requires dodging the enemy while charging the Data Drain… and since it’s a moving target it’s usually a pain to hit it on the mark… The Addition of Quests and Arena battles are so-so... (since the Arena Battles are sort of Area Battles with Monsters able to counter or use Rengeki...)
Graphics was definitely improved... its seen everywhere... the addition of larger towns is good... Sound is good too... (But they could have retained the Japanese dubbing... which will be a Plus as well...)
Though it is short... All in all a fan of the series will surely like this game...