"For those that are loading their saved progression, it’s pretty much carry on regardless."

For those that are loading their saved progression, it’s pretty much carry on regardless. The whole chapter devotes itself to the final outcome, and as you’d expect doesn’t seek to alter the format of what has gone before. There’s not a lot more to add to this other than rehashing everything you know already. Given that the series has anime elements, a devoted website, character toys and more Japanese consumables than you could squeeze into a vending machine, Dot Hack is an experience rather than a casual game to play with friends, yet because it is in finite playable disc form it doesn’t have the all consuming effect that online gaming character creation can assert.

Bandai have to be given credit for at least initiating some originality in an increasingly tired and repetitive Playstation 2 market, however RPGs have consistently been the genre that have provided the maximum creativity and thinking outside the established formulae and MMORPGs are now well established and familiar to the majority of gamers. Against this background, I just don’t think it’s worth the time, effort and above all expense of the Dot Hack series.