That is, of course, what you're wondering about - how does the damn thing play? Those who slogged through the original four games undoubtedly have memories of deep dungeons and endless button mashing. From all indications and multiple hours of gameplay, that's also the foundation of .hack//G.U., too. While plenty of nips and tucks have been made to the formula, there's no fundamental shift away from what you've come to expect.
You begin every journey in The World - once you've cleaned up on your emails and video news - in a Root Town. Each server has one; as with the original games, Mac Anu is the heart of the early adventure. The story of the game-within-a-game, The World R:2, has progressed 100 years since the original The World as seen in the first four .hack installments. Mac Anu is much bigger this time around. New features include the ability to join guilds and take quests.
Whether or not you're on a quest, the dungeons aren't too much different from the last game. Both the aboveground fields and the underground dungeons are now collections of randomly stapled-together boxes. Some are filled with treasure chests - trapped ones, which shudder menacingly, require speedy button presses to defuse. There are also strange creatures called chim-chims that you kick to capture their essence, which you can use to unlock doors. Of course, there are also plenty of enemies to battle.
