.hack//INFECTION (Part 1) (PlayStation 2, 2003)

.hack//Infection (Part 1), as the name suggests, is part of a four part game series about a guy who starts playing a popular online game with his friend only to be attacked and have that same friend end up in a coma. He then begins his journey searching for answers and a way to help is comatose friend.

Essentially you're playing a game about someone playing a game. The story is quite interesting, especially if sci-fi/cyberpunk is your thing, although the only downside is that you'll be getting only the first quarter of the story here. Want the rest? Time to buy Parts 2, 3, and 4.

The gameplay comes down to dungeon crawling with actionRPG style combat, going into town, buying items, then heading back to the dungeons. Every now and then you're forced to log out of the game and go to your deskop (remember, this is a game inside a game) to check the message boards for tips and new locations or check your email. This might seem annoying at first but interacting with your party members through email was actually quite enjoyable and fleshed them out, while the message board was very useful in that it provided essential information.

Overall, I loved this game as well as the subsequent .hack games, and is a must buy for RPG fans who can get over the older looking graphics and want a great story and fun gameplay.