Although the series has really never lived up to its potential, I've always generally liked .hack - or at least the underlying premise behind it. For whatever the reason, the idea of an MMORPG being a major threat to its player's real world lives interests me. .hack//G.U. Vol. 3// Redemption is the final game in the G.U. series. Similar to the second volume, the series makes a few minor changes but keeps everything generally the same. Normally this is a good thing, but when it comes to Redemption, it results in a bland, boring game.

Redemption does nothing to move the series forward visually. The World still looks like it always has. The old locations look familiar while the newer ones offer something new to look at that still looks like it belongs. The color palette is kept dark to help push the game's feel while the main character, Haseo, has also seen some redesign to also show his place in the story and growing strength. Unfortunately, reused visuals outnumber the new ones.

Sound is a mix of good and really bad. Background music is good and fits the game world perfectly. Unfortunately, the voice acting hasn't improved and makes the already too long and convoluted story sequences more difficult to sit through.

.hack// G.U. Vol. 3// Redemption begins exactly where the last left off. A virus continues to spread throughout The World and is starting to affect even more people in the real world. Haseo failed to defeat Ovan in the final battle, and now must redeem himself while dealing with a new thread and trying to figure out the truth behind the virus. For those just jumping into the series, a short summary is included. However, it does very little to really catch you up on things. If you skipped out on the first two, there is little chance that you'll know exactly what's going on. Even after playing through the first two, I was still confused with the third. Many of the events seem tacked on and drawn out. The entire story probably could have been contined to two volumes and be just as good if not a tighter, more enjoyable narrative.

As far as gameplay goes, Redemption changes very little from the past two versions. The game is a dungeon crawler with real-time battle elements. What was refreshing in the first game feels bland now. Although Haseo does earn the ability to use dual guns via a Job Extension, the ability really doesn't change much other than doubling his damage output. Haseo also gains the ability to scan for new dungeons as well as hack areas in order to locate hidden dungeons.

Two new dungeon types have also been added, as well as a few new characters. Neither does anything for the overall gameplay. The dungeons simply give you new ways to fight the same endless stream of enemies you've been fighting all along, with new characters just padding out the story a little more.

.hack//G.U. Vol. 3// Redemption isn't any harder or easier than the previous two games. Much of the difficulty is still based on how much you grind for experience. If you take the time to go through dungeons that don't have much to do with the main plotline, then you should typically be okay when it comes to the bigger battles. If you don't - then, you might still succeed but by a much smaller margin. Bringing a character over from the last game does make the game easier, especially since the game looks like it is trying to find some balance between new and returning players. Unlike the second volume, which felt much harder with my carried-over player, I was able to blow through much of the game easily.

Even though Haseo has new abilities, these don't really add anything substantial. Combat is really just about who can do the most damage the quickest. Enemies are a little more powerful, but so is Haseo, especially when using his double damage-boosting ability. There is very little strategy to each encounter, which makes them tiring and longer than necessary.

Party-based combat also returns. You are typically joined by two other characters that make up your main party. Though you don't have complete control over their actions, you can give them orders - which are more like suggestions since they sometimes won't respond. Generally, the A.I. does a good job of keeping itself alive and making some sort of contribution to the effort. Best of all, it knows when to simply stay out of the way since you'll probably be more powerful than both combined.

The first game, Rebirth, showed loads of potential for the .hack series. Unfortunately, the follow-ups never capitalized on the series' potential, leading it to fall into the same trap as the first .hack trilogy. Gameplay is worn-down and dragged out for longer than it should have been. At times, it almost feels like the series was designated as a trilogy before the story was written. There's little doubt that fans who played through the first two games will probably want to see the series through to the end. Otherwise, .hack//G.U. Vol. 3// Redemption is something to skip.