.hack is a fully simulated online RPG. Players use a desktop to receive emails, check out message boards, and log into the The World to buy/trade items and dungeon crawl. The advantage of having .hack offline is that there's a much bigger story wrapped around the online universe. Certain people that have played in "The World" have fallen into a sudden coma. Kite, the main character, has a friend who has met the same fate, and uncovering the secrets behind "The World" kicks off the second part of the series.

At the start you'll meet Blackrose, a spunky online player with an attitude. Depending on the mission you'll team up with other online players. Some missions will remedy small situations, while others will provide deeper plot points. The characters have an apparent sense of valor and vulnerability thanks to some fantastic voice work (Japanese). Kite himself is unsure whether his actions are appropriate, while Blackrose admits that while she may act tough online, her controller is all sweaty with fear.

.hack is separated into online towns, fields, and dungeons. The towns provide a medium for players to trade items and stock up on new weapons, armor, scrolls (super moves), and save data. Fields are areas that contain dungeons. They're bookmarked to a list as Kite discovers them through emails and message boards. After warping through a Chaos Gate located at each town, players are sent to that server where some searching needs to be done before discovering the dungeon entrance.

Battle Mode turns on when enemies when Kite and crew run into enemies. From here Kite can command his team to attack, use skills, heal, strengthen, weaken, and use magic. There are different party formations that Kite can be used to have the party attack the closest enemy, attack one enemy, or have the party follow your lead. The battles themselves are a mixed bag. Many times your party members will have themselves in a bad position and take in more damage than they should. The action can come to a stand still when you have to access numerous menus to use scrolls, use items, or change party commands. An easier interface or quick access buttons would have worked well to refine the battle experience. You'll come across the stop and go action quite often since the standard hand-to-hand combat is one attack in repetition.

Most of your time won't be spent in battles, but in dungeon crawling. The dungeon mazes are straight forward and not too frustrating. You'll find treasure chests that contain new scrolls and items, or eggs that you can feed to Grunties (Pokemon-type breeding characters). The dungeons can get repetitive in their look and feel, but the intriguing storyline is reason enough to travel through it.

.hack Mutation has a very solid engine. The characters have a lot of style to go with their substance. Each is very colorful and is a faithful representation of their drawings. The towns all have a different flavor, from modern cities to dust-filled villages. The music and sound get the job done – not spectacular but hardly boring.

The DVD anime included with Mutation, .hack/Liminality is an awesome look at real life outside of "The World". The original half hour short follows Yuki Aihara through an emergency evacuation of the city. Subtle references are made to "The World" and how some of its players have fallen into a coma, and how the mysterious entities behind the online title could be responsible for the city's sudden technological emergency. The short isn't meant to divulge more plot details of the game, but it does a great job of adding more depth to the .hack world.

.hack Mutation is an RPG that will stand out on premise alone. Its storyline and approach to an offline MMORPG is clever and close to what a real online RPG can feel like. The mysterious World is shrouded in darkness and intrigue. The battles should be more fluid and dungeons could be more unique, but ultimately the story and its characters carry .hack a notch above the standard RPG.