It's been quite some time since the console RPG genre saw a truly unique addition to its static landscape. The impact of seminal games such as Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda and Square's Final Fantasy series have helped shape how the genre has developed on consoles. Unfortunately, the shadow cast by such high-profile titles and their commercial popularity has often resulted in new entries to the genre sticking close to the standard RPG formula. While the approach has yielded some strong titles, the lack of risk taking has kept fresh surprises few and far between. Fortunately, Bandai's upcoming RPG for the PlayStation 2, .hack (pronounced "dot hack") infection part 1, looks as though it will offer a welcome surprise, thanks to its fresh approach to storytelling and game design. We had a chance to check out a preview build of the game to see how this unique title is shaping up.

Hello, trouble.

For those unfamiliar with the game's background, .hack infection part 1 on the PlayStation 2 is one part of a larger multimedia narrative that's made up of .hack anime and manga. Each of the parts tells a different facet of an overarching story that is set in the near future and revolves around a computer virus and an online game called The World. At its core, the .hack concept focuses on this game within a game, which is structured similarly to massively multiplayer PC games like EverQuest or Asheron's Call. The World is having a harmful effect on those who play it because of a computer virus that has infected the game's virtual world. The PlayStation 2 game puts you in the role of a player who begins to search for clues when events in The World affect one of your friends outside of the game. Your quest for information forms the main thrust of the game, which is intended to be the first entry in a four-story saga that will span a series of games that are currently scheduled to ship three to four months apart. Although it may sound as though the complex story will require you to be familiar with the anime and manga, don't worry too much. Each of the different parts is said to be strong enough to stand on its own.

As a result of the rich story, .hack's gameplay is broken up into two levels: the "real" world and the game within a game, The World. The real world component of the game is a simple representation of a typical computer desktop, complete with six icons: mailer, news, accessory, audio, data, and The World. The mailer icon takes you to your e-mail inbox, which holds e-mail from characters you meet and exchange addresses with, as well as cryptic messages from mysterious characters you encounter. The news icon takes you to the in-game equivalent of an Internet news page that features a random sampling of news. Accessory actually lets you change the wallpaper on your desktop screen, while audio lets you do the same with your sound scheme. The data option lets you save your progress. Finally, The World icon is essentially a shortcut to The World game. Selecting it will start the program and take you to a title screen, complete with copyright info that is reminiscent of a PC MMORPG. You'll find three options here: log in, board, or quit. Logging in will put you in the game's virtual world and let you play the game. The board option lets you read a forum dedicated to the game, letting you interact with other "players." This feature is basically a re-creation of a standard Internet message board. The board also serves as a slick way to pass along vital information to you about gameplay and story elements. If you select the quit option, you'll be kicked back to the desktop interface.

This is your virtual self, Kite.

When you've logged into The World, you'll find that the gameplay makes a sharp departure from the menu-driven system of the game's real world, as the game will switch to a traditional third-person perspective. When playing in The World, you'll find that the game draws liberally from console and PC RPGs to create a very distinctive experience for a console game. You'll be able to do pretty much everything you'd expect to do, such as explore various worlds, battle enemies, level up, buy better weapons and armor, gather a party, and interact with other characters in the guise of your online persona, Kite. However, the game's story and its solid helping of plot twists and mystery keep you from getting too comfortable. While there will obviously be scripted points in the game that drive the main story, .hack's design does an impressive job of ensuring that you don't feel constrained. For example, there are various servers in the game that house different areas to explore, and you'll access those areas by using a gate system that warps you to them. The system works via a keyword system that requires you to enter three words in order to access different areas. While you'll start with a default list of words, and you'll gain more and learn about specific plot-related areas by checking e-mail or visiting the forums. However, once you learn how the keyword system works, you can actually cobble together your own combinations and explore on your own. Granted, your exploration may be seriously hampered if you accidentally warp into an area crawling with high-level enemies, but it's still nice to see that bit of freedom included.