.Hack//G.U

[edit] The Terror of Death
The story follows Haseo, at first depicted as a PKK (Player Killer Killer) known as the "Terror of Death", a former member of the disbanded Twilight Brigade guild.

He is seen seeking out a PK (Player Killer) known as Tri-Edge, whose victims supposedly are unable to return to The World after he PKs them. Haseo's friend, Shino, was attacked six months prior to the events of the game by Tri-Edge, and the player herself, Shino Nanao, was left in a coma.

Haseo encounters Azure Kite (believing him to be Tri-Edge and blaming him for what happened to Shino) but is hopelessly outmatched. Azure Kite easily defeats Haseo and Data Drains him, reducing his level from 133 to 1 and leaving him without any items, weapons, or member addresses. His desktop is completely erased and reformatted leaving Haseo in confusion. After his meeting with members of G.U., his inner power as an epitaph user, calls out his own avatar, Skeith, The Terror Of Death.

The gameplay in the .hack//G.U. games is similar in overall nature found in the .hack//Games series. The game is presented to the player as an operating system belonging to Haseo's real-life persona, with programs to be run such as "The World R:2", "Crimson VS", "Mail", and so forth. In this mode, the player can read the virtual in-game message boards and mail, reply to some of these, and also read about the fictitious events occurring within the game's real world as they coincide with the game's story.

The primary application that the player will use is "The World R:2", a virtual MMORPG game which plays similar to the original "The World" in the first series of games. Within "The World R:2" the player, as Haseo's in-game character, starts in one of several towns where they can buy and sell equipment or items, invite or remove members from their party, interact with non-player characters to trade, and so forth. G.U. adds Quests which can be taken on within a town, and Guilds which the player, as Haseo, will join as part of the story and offer a way to sell collected goods as well as to upgrade equipment (this process is called "alchemy"). While there are several different classes within G.U., the player remains as Haseo, an Adept Rogue, though through the series, Haseo's class will be improved to allow access to different weapons.

From the town, the player can then enter a field or a dungeon by combining three words at the town's "chaos gate". The three words determine various parameters for the field: the difficulty of the monsters; the type of environment; and the type of treasure that can be earned. Field words must be learned from other players, message boards, or given as rewards for completing a field successfully. Most fields are randomly generated based on these parameters, but several fields tied with the main or side plot will have fixed layouts. Within a field, regardless of the reason for the visit, the player will typically have a mission, such as defeating a "boss" character (a monster with higher hit points than the regular monsters on the field), or collecting all the keys to open a Beast Temple within the level. Monsters are shown wandering on the field allowing the player to avoid a fight, if possible, as well as treasure chests, boxes and containers, and special objects that can be interacted with to release "Chim-Chims", odd creatures that try to avoid the player but can be kicked to stop and collect them. Chim-Chims are used on several levels to open doors or activate warp points in order to progress in the level. Warp points can be used to return back to town.

Battle is done in active time. The player can use several weapons and skills to take down a foe. If a foe has taken a good deal of damage from their player's team, the foe will be lit with a purple aura. At this point, the player can initiate a "Rengeki" skill attack which does more damage and improves the team's morale. When the team's morale is maximized, the player can initiate an "awakening" move which gives the player an extremely strong attack or a special ability for a short time.

G.U. also adds the ability to fight other virtual players within the game. A special city, "Lumina Cloth", houses a tournament arena where the player can enter into matches. The storyline requires the player to complete specific fights, but the player can optionally engage in battles to improve their ranking in the tournament for additional bonuses. Player battles are similar to regular combat, except that a player can counter-attack during a foe's Rengeki if they strike at the right time. Once the leader of a team is down, the match is over.

As part of the plot in G.U., Haseo will face special avatar battles with AIDA creatures. In these battles, combat is more like a shooter game; the player can shoot the foe with bullets, swing a large scythe for direct damage, and dodge a foe's direct attack. Once the AIDA foe is drained of health, the player must then attempt to Data Drain the foe by hitting it with a charged bullet within a short time frame (typically 45 seconds). If this is not done, the foe will gain some health back and the player must try to defeat it again.

Starting in Volume 2, the player has access to the desktop application "Crimson VS", a card game based loosely on collectible card games and using art inspired by "The World" (both R:1 and R:2). Each "deck" consists of a General card and 3 Support cards. When two decks face off, each Support card fights, with at most one winning card from each. Any winning Support cards then grant effects to the General card. The General cards then fight until there is a winner. The player creates a deck and then submits it into automatic tourneys; winning these will grant the player more cards which can be used to improve their deck.