Infection

.hack//Infection Cover Art

.hack//Infection Logo

.hack//Infection (Japanese: .hack//感染拡大Vol.1, Hepburn: .hack//Kansen Kakudai, lit. "Infection Expansion" or "Spread of Infection") is the first entry in the set of games released for PlayStation 2. The collection of games are sometimes referred to as a Tetralogy by official sources, or a Quadrilogy by fans. Fans also use the abbreviation "IMOQ," taking the first letter in each consecutive game's western title in order (Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine). Infection and the other games take place within the fictitious MMORPG called 「The World」. Each game came packaged with a bonus DVD of the OVA .hack//Liminality, which shows offline events occurring concurrent to the events in-game. The games are set in the "first season" of the .hack series, taking place after SIGN and ZERO. Several other media retell the events of the games, including .hack//Another Birth, .hack//XXXX, New Novelization [.hack] and .hack//Link. The games are followed by Legend of the Twilight manga.

Synopsis

 You're in their WORLD now!
 Who is Aura? What is the Book of Twilight? Why did your friend, Orca, fall into a mysterious coma? As the outlaw player, Kite, you're on a mission of truth. Take a journey into a virtual world where anything is possible, and nothing is as it appears. Fight your way through contaminated levels of cyberspace as you take on and eliminate enemies, and unlock codes that will allow you to gate travel to even more environments - all in a desperate attempt to discover who or what's behind The World.
 Embark on an epic journey to unlock the truth lurking behind THE WORLD.

 そしてカイトは手に入れた。
 データを改竄してしまうイリーガルな能力。
 仲間とチャットしながらダンジョンを冒険し、リアルではメールやBBSで攻略情報の交換が楽しめる。そんな楽しいネットワークゲーム「The World」を始めたはずだった……。しかし友達が、ユーザーたちが、ゲーム世界が、何か見えない大きな意思に引きずられ、壊れてゆく！そして僕もいつのまにか……。

Plot

The main story follows protagonist Kite, who was invited to play the game 「The World」 by his friend Yasuhiko, who is known as Orca in the game. After a chance encounter with a monster chasing after mysterious girl in white, Orca is attacked and Kite narrowly avoids the same fate. Kite's computer crashes after the incident, leaving the player bewildered by the turn of events. Kite's player then discovers that Yasuhiko was rendered comatose after the incident. Kite's player decides to continue playing 「The World」 in the hopes of finding answers as to why his friend is now hospitalized. Kite turns to the BBS to see if any other players may know about the bizarre incident, but his message is quickly removed. He also receives mysterious e-mails, some which aim to help while others contain thinly veiled threats. While in The World, Kite meets and teams up with BlackRose, a newbie who has her own reasons for pursuing the truth. Before Kite can learn more of her circumstances, they are attacked by a Data Bug. Balmung appears to warn them to stay away from the monster before witnessing Kite use Data Drain for the first time. Balmung mistakenly believes that Kite is behind the corruption of data and threatens him before leaving. A mysterious woman who has been seen watching over Kite mocks Balmung for his assumptions, informing him that Kite was a friend of his partner, Orca.

Liminality

Main articles: In the Case of Mai Minase

Setting

Main articles: Infection Setting

The World

Servers

 Δ Server, Aqua Capital Mac Anu
 ϴ Server, Highland City Dun Loireag

NPCs and Monsters

Main articles: Infection Monsters

Items

Main articles: Infection Items

Characters

Main articles: Infection Characters

Production

Staff

Main articles: IMOQ Credits

Merchandise

Release

.hack//感染拡大 Vol.1 (SLPS-25121), .hack//감염확대  Vol.1 (SLKA-25080)

Region PAL: Serial numbers: SLES-52237 Release date: March 26, 2004 Region NTSC-J/C/K: Serial numbers: SLPS-25121 SLKA-25080 SCPS-55029 Release date: June 20, 2002 October 22, 2003 (Korea)

June 20th, 2002 (JP) February 11th, 2003 (US) March 26th, 2004 (EU)

Rating: Teen Memory: 685 kb Genre: Action/Rpg

Demo

Region NTSC-U: SLUS-29042 (Regular Demo) SLUS-28023 (Trade Demo)

Trivia

Name

.hack//感染拡大 Vol.1 .hack//Infection .hack//감염확대 Vol.1