.hack Pc

[Danielle Just]

hack (pronounced "Dot Hack") is a Japanese multimedia franchise that encompasses two projects: Project .hack and .hack Conglomerate. They were primarily created and developed by CyberConnect2, and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The series features an alternative history setting in the rise of the new millennium regarding the technological rise of a new version of the internet following a major global computer network disaster in the year 2005, and the mysterious events regarding the wildly popular fictional massively multiplayer online role-playing game The World. The series mainly comprises anime and video game titles which have been subsequently adapted into manga, novels, and other related media.

.hack Conglomerate is the current project of .hack by CyberConnect2 and various other companies and successor to Project .hack. The companies include Victor Entertainment, Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, Bandai, TV Tokyo, Bee Train, and Kadokawa Shoten. It encompasses a series of three PlayStation 2 games called .hack//G.U., an anime series called .hack//Roots, prose, and manga. .hack Conglomerate focuses on times and installments after the original The World MMORPG.

The games are part of a multimedia franchise called Project .hack, which explores the mysterious origins of The World. Set after the events of the anime series, .hack//Sign, the games focus on a player character named Kite and his quest to discover why some users have become comatose in the real world as a result of playing The World. The search evolves into a deeper investigation of the game and its effects on the stability of the Internet.

.hack simulates an MMORPG; players assume the role of a participant in a fictional game called The World. The player controls the on-screen player character Kite from a third-person perspective but first-person mode is available. The player manually controls the viewing perspective using the game controller. Within the fictional game, players explore monster-infested fields and dungeons, and "Root Towns" that are free of combat. They can also log off from The World and return to a computer desktop interface which includes in-game e-mail, news, message boards, and desktop and background music customization options.[4] The player may save the game to a memory card both from the desktop and within The World at a Save Shop. A Data Flag appears on the save file after the player completes the game, allowing the transfer of all aspects of the player character and party members to the next game in the series.[5]

Root Towns are non-combat areas of The World where the player may restock items, buy equipment, or chat and trade with other players of The World.[6] In many towns, the player may also raise a sentient, pig-like creature called a Grunty, which can be ridden in fields and in later games raced for prizes. A blue portal called the Chaos Gate is used to travel between towns (called "servers") and to access the fields and dungeons where battles occur. A three-word password system controls the characteristics of each area; attributes such as the prevalence of monsters or items change depending on the properties of each word in the password phrase.[4] Certain plot-related areas have restricted access, but the player character has an ability called "Gate Hacking" which allows him to access these areas using "Virus Cores" obtained through Data Drain.[6]

The .hack games are set in an alternate history Earth, in the year 2010. After a computer virus called "Pluto's Kiss" crashes nearly every computer in the world, access to the Internet is closed to the general public to address security concerns.[10] After two years without the Internet and online games, a MMORPG called The World is released.[11] It becomes the most popular online game of all time with over 20 million unique players.[12][13] Shortly before the events portrayed in the .hack games, a number of users become comatose as a result of playing The World.[14] However, the developers blame their condition on cyberterrorism.[15]

The World was developed by a German programmer named Harald Hoerwick; its backstory is based on the Epitaph of Twilight, an epic poem by Emma Wielant. Her death inspired Hoerwick to create the game. Elements of the poem are coded into the game's programming.[16] The hidden purpose of Hoerwick's game is to develop the ultimate artificial intelligence (AI), which is capable of making decisions for itself.[17] To this end, Hoerwick inserted functions into the system which monitor and extract behavioral data from millions of the game's players to aid in the AI's learning process. After Hoerwick's death, these pieces of code became black boxes to the current developers, who cannot fathom their purpose, yet are critical to the proper functioning of the game.[18]

The main protagonist of .hack is Kite, a new player of The World whose friend Orca becomes comatose under mysterious circumstances.[4] Kite is joined by nearly twenty other players in his quest to solve the mystery of the coma victims. The players who have the greatest impact on the success of Kite's mission are BlackRose, a fellow newbie to The World whose brother is also in a coma; Balmung, a legendary player who seeks to eliminate sources of corruption in the game he loves; and Wiseman, an information broker who becomes a key strategist for Kite's team. Helba, a professional hacker, and Lios, a reluctant system administrator, also aid in Kite's efforts to rescue the coma victims. Two non-human characters play important roles in the story: Aura seeks to complete her growth into the ultimate AI, while Morganna, an AI who rebels against her task of nurturing Aura, acts as the unseen primary antagonist.

In .hack//Infection, Kite's friend Orca invites him to play The World. In the first dungeon they visit, they encounter a girl in white, Aura, being chased by a humanoid monster. Aura tries to entrust Orca with an item called "the Book of Twilight", but the monster attacks him, crashing The World's servers. Kite's player discovers that Yasuhiko, Orca's player, has fallen comatose after the attack, and resolves to discover the cause.[19] Kite meets BlackRose, who takes him to a cathedral where they are attacked by a headless swordsman. The legendary player Balmung appears and defeats it, but the monster revives itself as a Data Bug.[8] The Book of Twilight then activates, altering Kite's character data and giving him the Twilight Bracelet. He uses its Data Drain to correct the swordsman's code, allowing Balmung to kill it. Balmung accuses Kite of causing the viral infection spreading through the game, and leaves.[20] Kite and BlackRose decide to cooperate to help the coma victims. After investigating a number of leads, Kite and BlackRose track down Skeith, the creature that put Orca into a coma. They defeat Skeith. The remnants of Skeith attracts a much larger enemy named Cubia, which defeats Kite and his party. Helba then drives Cubia away.[21]

In .hack//Mutation, Kite and BlackRose encounter system administrator Lios, who declares Kite's bracelet to be an illegal hack.[22] He tries to delete Kite's character data, but fails due to Kite's data being encrypted by the Book of Twilight. Helba intervenes, and convinces Lios to observe Kite for the time being.[23] Lios directs them to an area where they find Innis, a monster with powers similar to Skeith's. Upon defeating Innis, Kite receives an e-mail from Aura, who reveals that she is an AI. They travel to an area to meet her; but Cubia attacks them, and they repel the monster with difficulty.[24] Short on leads, they contact Wiseman, who is intrigued by Kite's bracelet. He suggests that Skeith and Innis are based on the "Cursed Wave", an antagonistic force featured in the poem Epitaph of Twilight, upon which The World is based. Wiseman helps grant them access to Net Slum, a place known as a paradise for hackers and wandering AIs. Upon arrival, another Cursed Wave monster called Magus attacks them. They defeat it and return to the Root Town, where they discover that the computer virus has spread to The World's main servers and into the real world.[25][26]

In .hack//Outbreak, Balmung realizes that he cannot end the situation on his own, and joins Kite's quest.[27] BlackRose tells Kite that her brother became comatose under similar circumstances as Orca, which renews both characters' determination.[28] Wiseman formulates a plan to combat the Cursed Wave, enlisting Helba's assistance. Their teamwork destroys the Wave monster Fidchell, but the aftermath causes networks in the real world to malfunction.[29] Aura contacts Kite again, but their meeting is cut short by Cubia's reappearance. Lios, observing Cubia's power, agrees to join Kite, Helba, and the others to combat the Cursed Wave.[30] In the resulting operation, the team pools their resources to defeat another Wave monster called Gorre, with no repercussions in the real world.[31]

.hack//Quarantine sees the current server becoming increasingly unstable. To fix the problem, Helba replaces it with a copy of the Net Slum.[32] At the bottom of a dungeon, Kite encounters Mia, a member of his party. He discovers that Mia is actually another Cursed Wave monster named Macha, whom he reluctantly defeats.[33] Meanwhile, Cubia grows stronger, and Kite's team barely fends off its latest attack. In contrast, Operation Orca is a success as they destroy Tarvos, the next Wave monster. Kite seeks the advice of Harald Hoerwick, the creator of the game who survives beyond death through his AI incarnations. Aura appears and hints that Cubia is the "shadow" of Kite's Twilight Bracelet.[34] Cubia ambushes them and destroys the AI Harald. In their final battle, Kite recalls Aura's hint and has BlackRose destroy the bracelet, causing Cubia to fade away. Without the bracelet, the final Wave member, Corbenik, ambushes the party in Net Slum Root Town. With the aid of the spirits of the coma victims, Kite penetrates Corbenik's barrier. Aura sacrifices herself to end the battle, restoring the network to normal and reviving all the coma victims.[35]

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