The "Empire Strikes Back" of the .hack saga!
User Rating: 9.9 | .hack//G.U. Vol. 2: Kimi Omou Koe PS2
The .hack series has always been an acquired taste. The original series was admittedly quite average, but the G.U. series, despite being less original plot-wise, is overall a much better, more appealing game. This is Reminisce, the second game in the G.U. series, so if you haven't played the first game, I suggest you do so before getting this game. Not that it can't be played separately, but the series is all about experiencing it as a whole. Reminisce has outstanding graphics and music tracks. While few of the tracks are very memorable, they certainly play to the mood very well. The dungeons in this game aren't as bland as the original series, and several dungeon types were added to the existing ones in Rebirth, successfully getting rid of one of the main weak points of the first series. Seriously, in every single aspect, Reminisce is easily the best out of all the .hack games so far. It's still easy to overlevel, though, thus killing some of the challenge one might find in this game, but the Avatar battles are at least always balanced and don't rely much on the player's level. They are genuinely challenging even if you're level 100. Speaking of boss battles, even though some of them are ridiculously easy if you go overboard with leveling, the plot and mood leading up to them, and even the fields in which they take place are so memorable and interesting that you don't even care that you kill them in less than a minute; you'll still feel as if you experienced the best boss battle ever. As for plot, well... there are so many dramatic plot twists, including a shockingly surprising ending, you can't help but be left in awe when it's all over with. There's a reason I call it the "Empire Strikes Back" of .hack, after all. Personally, I'm more of a Return of the Jedi fan, but Rebirth wasn't exactly A New Hope, now was it? (It wasn't.)
While most players will breeze through this game and it doesn't provide the length or require the skill of other, more popular games, it's definitely worth it for the experience alone. One of the best examples is the News Capture section of the player's operating system. It's filled with all sorts of believable news reports, and even has "streaming" movie clips to go with some of them. The Community Forum is also an interesting feature, as fake players post about certain topics and respond to them. If you've ever been to a message board of forum (say, one in GameFAQs or Gamespot...) you would have no problem suspending your disbelief and maybe, if just for a second, think that you were actually reading genuine internet threads.
Well, that's about it for me. As for whether or not you should buy this game, I say... that depends on you. If you can rent the first and second games, by all means do so. It doesn't take that long to beat it. However, if you're among the myriads of fans who constantly desire more .hack, chances are you already have the game, beat it, and are waiting for the third and final installment, in which case you're only reading this review for entertainment to kill time. Of course, I suggest you actually purchase. Its short length and low difficulty make it a friend to anyone who likes to play through their favorite game multiple times, and this game certainly has many scenes you might want to revisit. If you haven't played first game and plan on playing the second one, I suggest you get the first one anyway. Not only will this second game make the first one seem inadequate, but you'll already be spoiled about what happens in the first game.
Okay, that's definitely it for me now. Go do whatever it is you should be doing now. 
