.hack франшизасы: «The World» ойыны мен оның құпиялары

Video game series
hack (/d//ɒ//t// //h//æ//k///) is a series of single player action role playing video games developed for the PlayStation 2 console by CyberConnect2 and published by Bandai. The four games, hack//Infection, hack//Mutation, hack//Outbreak, and hack//Quarantine, all feature a "game within a game", a fictional massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) called The World which does not require the player to connect to the Internet. Players may transfer their characters and data between games in the series. Each game comes with an extra DVD containing an episode of hack//Liminality, the accompanying original video animation (OVA) series which details fictional events that occur concurrently with the games. The games are part of a multimedia franchise called Project hack, which explores the mysterious origins of The World. Set after the events of the anime series, hack//Sign, the games focus on a player character named Kite and his quest to discover why some users have become comatose in the real world as a result of playing The World. The search evolves into a deeper investigation of the game and its effects on the stability of the Internet. Critics gave the series mixed reviews. It was praised for its unique setting and its commitment to preserve the suspension of disbelief, as well as the character designs. However, it was criticized for uneven pacing and a lack of improvement between games in the series. The commercial success of the franchise led to the production of hack//frägment—a Japan only remake of the series with online capabilities—and hack//G. U., another video game trilogy which was released for the PlayStation 2 between 2006 and 2007. A remastered collection of the latter was released for the PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows in 2017, titled hack//G. U. Last Recode. The collection was later released on the Nintendo Switch on March 11, 2022.

. hack simulates an MMORPG; players assume the role of a participant in a fictional game called The World. The player controls the on screen player character Kite from a third person perspective but first person mode is available. The player manually controls the viewing perspective using the game controller. Within the fictional game, players explore monster infested fields and dungeons, and "Root Towns" that are free of combat. They can also log off from The World and return to a computer desktop interface which includes in game e mail, news, message boards, and desktop and background music customization options. The player may save the game to a memory card both from the desktop and within The World at a Save Shop. A Data Flag appears on the save file after the player completes the game, allowing the transfer of all aspects of the player character and party members to the next game in the series. The series is typical of action role playing games, in which players attack enemies in real time. Many boss monsters are known as "Data Bugs"—enemies with corrupted data which gives them infinite health. Data Drain is used to repair the damaged monsters' data and render them vulnerable

Root Towns are non combat areas of The World where the player may restock items, buy equipment, or chat and trade with other players of The World. After two years without the Internet and online games, a MMORPG called The World is released. It becomes the most popular online game of all time with over 20 million unique players. Shortly before the events portrayed in the hack games, a number of users become comatose as a result of playing The World. However, the developers blame their condition on cyberterrorism. The World was developed by a German programmer named Harald Hoerwick; its backstory is based on the Epitaph of Twilight, an epic poem by Emma Wielant. Her death inspired Hoerwick to create the game. Elements of the poem are coded into the game's programming. The hidden purpose of Hoerwick's game is to develop the ultimate artificial intelligence (AI), which is capable of making decisions for itself. To this end, Hoerwick inserted functions into the system which monitor and extract behavioral data from millions of the game's players to aid in the AI's learning process. After Hoerwick's death, these pieces of code became black boxes to the current developers, who cannot fathom their purpose, yet are critical to the proper functioning of the game.

The main protagonist of hack is Kite, a new player of The World whose friend Orca becomes comatose under mysterious circumstances. Kite meets BlackRose, who takes him to a cathedral where they are attacked by a headless swordsman. The legendary player Balmung appears and defeats it, but the monster revives itself as a Data Bug. The Book of Twilight then activates, altering Kite's character data and giving him the Twilight Bracelet. He uses its Data Drain to correct the swordsman's code, allowing Balmung to kill it. Balmung accuses Kite of causing the viral infection spreading through the game, and leaves. Kite and BlackRose decide to cooperate to help the coma victims. After investigating a number of leads, Kite and BlackRose track down Skeith, the creature that put Orca into a coma. They defeat Skeith. The remnants of Skeith attracts a much larger enemy named Cubia, which defeats Kite and his party. Helba then drives Cubia away. In hack//Mutation, Kite and BlackRose encounter system administrator Lios, who declares Kite's bracelet to be an illegal hack. He tries to delete Kite's character data, but fails due to Kite's data being encrypted by the Book of Twilight. Helba intervenes, and convinces Lios to observe Kite for the time being. Lios directs them to an area where they find Innis, a monster with powers similar to Skeith's. Upon defeating Innis, Kite receives an e mail from Aura, who reveals that she is an AI. They travel to an area to meet her; but Cubia attacks them, and they repel the monster with difficulty. Short on leads, they contact Wiseman, who is intrigued by Kite's bracelet. He suggests that Skeith and Innis are based on the "Cursed Wave", an antagonistic force featured in the poem Epitaph of Twilight, upon which The World is based. Wiseman helps grant them access to Net Slum, a place known as a paradise for hackers and wandering AIs. Upon arrival, another Cursed Wave monster called Magus attacks them. They defeat it and return to the Root Town, where they discover that the computer virus has spread to The World main servers and into the real world. In hack//Outbreak, Balmung realizes that he cannot end the situation on his own, and joins Kite's quest. BlackRose tells Kite that her brother became comatose under similar circumstances as Orca, which renews both characters' determination. Wiseman formulates a plan to combat the Cursed Wave, enlisting Helba's assistance. Their teamwork destroys the Wave monster Fidchell, but the aftermath causes networks in the real world to malfunction. Aura contacts Kite again, but their meeting is cut short by Cubia's reappearance. Lios, observing Cubia's power, agrees to join Kite, Helba, and the others to combat the Cursed Wave. In the resulting operation, the team pools their resources to defeat another Wave monster called Gorre, with no repercussions in the real world. hack//Quarantine sees the current server becoming increasingly unstable. To fix the problem, Helba replaces it with a copy of the Net Slum. At the bottom of a dungeon, Kite encounters Mia, a member of his party. He discovers that Mia is actually another Cursed Wave monster named Macha, whom he reluctantly defeats. Meanwhile, Cubia grows stronger, and Kite's team barely fends off its latest attack. In contrast, Operation Orca is a success as they destroy Tarvos, the next Wave monster. Kite seeks the advice of Harald Hoerwick, the creator of the game who survives beyond death through his AI incarnations. Aura appears and hints that Cubia is the "shadow" of Kite's Twilight Bracelet. Cubia ambushes them and destroys the AI Harald. In their final battle, Kite recalls Aura's hint and has BlackRose destroy the bracelet, causing Cubia to fade away. Without the bracelet, the final Wave member, Corbenik, ambushes the party in Net Slum Root Town. With the aid of the spirits of the coma victims, Kite penetrates Corbenik's barrier. Aura sacrifices herself to end the battle, restoring the network to normal and reviving all the coma victims.

The games' soundtrack, titled hack//Game Music Perfect Collection, was released as a double album in Japan on April 23, 2003. It features 68 compositions by Chikayo Fukuda, Seizo Nakata, and Norikatsu Fukuda. A special edition of this soundtrack includes a third disc featuring sound effects and clips used in the games. Patrick Gann of RPGFan wrote that the second disc, which contains music for cutscenes and special events, was stronger than the first disc's generic town and battle themes. He called the soundtrack "techno meets opera", singled out the volume intro tracks for particular praise. However, he concluded that "the melodious piano and oboe themes were still brawny enough to convince us that we needed to buy the soundtrack sometime in the near future". Famitsu Weekly gave hack//frägment a cumulative score of 29 out of 40 over four reviews, much like its reviews of the main series. The game was never released outside of Japan because it was only intended for a Japanese audience. The user interface and control scheme are otherwise mostly unchanged. The game includes an expanded communication interface that allows players to chat, send e mail, post to an in game Bulletin Board System, and receive server news updates. It is possible to establish ad hoc chat rooms separate from the public access ones. Guilds are permanent, exclusive chat rooms for members, and can also be used to set up a storefront to sell items to online players. Players may also install a companion program on their PC called "Area Server", which allows them to create fields and dungeons for players to visit online. Once the boss monster has been defeated, the area corruption is cleared. Since the game's official online service was closed in 2007, a private server has been created by fans of the game, along with a fan translation into English.