Played .hack over the weekend. Short game, almost finished (lost last battle against what I believed to be the final big boss; couldn't even get a hit in
)...
Game is fairly good, with some minor complaints. OK, so I absolutely love it.
Nice presentation and game mechanics. Story is moved thru a combination of 'emails', 'message board postings' and the standard cutscenes. Almost like playing a MMORPG; all those logging in and out of the game...
Plus the data-hacking ability is fascinating. They devise it in such a way; you'll need to 'harvest' 'virus cores' fr monsters before you can hack into certain 'protected' dungeons (where the points for the next level of the story are). Cool concept.
Sometimes you get equipment instead. Sometimes you get negative effects, if you overhack too much ('cause you're 'infected').
I won't spoil the story, but IMO, it's quite a refreshing take on the usual fantasy angle...
Major complaints - too short. Supposedly only a 20-hr game... Though parts 2-4 are coming in-between 3-4 months.
And the battles are in real-time, though you can pause anytime to use a skill, or an item. You have no control over the other members in your party either though you can order them around. Sometimes it is very confusing, during the heat of a battle. Plus you need to adjust your camera angle frequently to be able to lock on monsters, before attacking.
I can't wait for episode 2.
Also the inventing game seems cool. 
