.Hack//Infection is a game I've had in my cupboard for ages now, infact almost a year, and I've just never got around to playing it. Actually no, that's not entirely true... I started playing it, but the concept of playing an online game that screwed up your head so badly that you ended up in a comatose state freaked me out. So, after my initial introduction to the game, the disk went back into it's box, never to be seen again, until this weekend. So, getting over my intense wussyness I popped the disk into my PS2 and spent the next 5 or so hours glued to the television. I can't believe how addictive that game is! The hours just flew by!! And that is what I did during the sunny hours of Saturday.

Sunday saw me pulling out .Hack//Mutation, another game that's been collecting dust in my cupboard. Mutation is the continuation of the story of Infection. I have to say though, I far prefer Mutation, as you start out as a Level 30 character, as opposed to the Level 1 character in Infection. You also start the game with a handful of friends which really goes along way against the tougher monsters.

I have to say, both games are fantastic, but by no means easy. I've never ended up dieing so many times, and any game, as I did in Mutation. That's the one thing that bugged me about the game, was it's lack of saving points. You can only save if you're in a root town. If you're on the battle field, or in the dungeons, there are no save points, so you have to make sure that you go in with enough strength, potions and scrolls to make it out again. If you don't you have to start again from your last save. That aspect of the game drove me a nuts, and it's the reason why I gave up with Infection and moved onto Mutation.

Otherwise, I recommend that if you can get your hands on this game, play it. It's worth the time.