Over Grind in the beginning and the story will be a piece of cake.
The gameplay is still pretty much the same except this time you get to attain Haseo's final enhancement around mid way as a gunner. The game itself ties loose ends and answers questions in the previous 2 installments.
For the average or hardcore RPG gamer this is a great action rpg to quell the tide should you be tired of playing turn based RPGs since the battles are fast, furiously fun but also tedious and repetitive since you will be most likely using the same skills over and over again to defeat your foes.
Item hunting in this game is pretty much final since its the last chapter except you do not need to keep every item just 'attained' it to have the log books in your guild record them automatically. Of course, you would like to keep those rare level 5 items and equipment for personal preferences just because. haha.
bonus bosses there is one hell of a repetitive dungeon called the forest of pain (if any .hack vets remember the dungeon in quarantine this time its twice the length and no save points) once you pass the 50th floor to fight the bonus boss. (note, gamefaqs it so you wont have trouble. seriously). doppleganger is here and stronger than ever as well, and you might want to take my previous advice on how to defeat it as well.
the game is fun, easy if you level grind to around 135 or so in the beginning to make the story a breeze. should take you 10 hours or so depending on what xp plus accessories you have, and if you don't have any go get one anyhow.
final word if namco bandai should ever make another .hack game they really shouldn't cut it up into several parts. Rather, just make it into one whole game that could span up to 70 hours or so. Which would pretty much be the most game for you buck (US dollars btw.). hahaha.