.hack//Link's Main CharacterThe popular .hack anime series has had a fair run in the gaming industry with .hack//G.U., the trilogy of games on the Playstation 2. Just when it was thought to be done with gaming all together, .hack sprung back with the announcement of .hack//Link for the Playstation Portable. 

I recently snagged the Japanese demo for the game and spent some quality time with it. How does it fair?

You play as a character, who's name I do not know because I sadly can not read Japanese, traveling through The World (an online game within the game) with various characters from the numerous .hack anime shows. You'll travel through three different scenarios in the demo, each with their own unique design.

There's a forest level, a snow level, and a volcano level. Each time before entering a level, you'll choose a character to partner up with. There's two available in the demo, Tsukasa from .hack//Sign and Haseo from .hack//Roots.

The level design, graphically, is impressive for the PSP, with some great character and monster designs (especially the beautiful, deadly bosses) and an overall appealing look to each level.

However, the level design in terms of playability and exploration is fairly linear and mediocre. You'll pop into one section of the level, beat monsters, unlock the next section, move on, repeat. This process is both constant and dull in the demo, and It doesn't look as if it can be expanded on much in the full game.

The gameplay in .hack//Link is, to say the least, as repetitive as the exploration. For the most part you'll find yourself button mashing as your character on-screen mashes up the monsters. You'll bash the monsters until their shields deplete and then you'll bash them some more until they're dead.

There is some variation in the battle system with a unique "partner attack" type move in which, once you break your enemies' shields, you have the option to enter into a timing type attack with whoever you entered the level with. You'll get a couple attempts to get a "Great!" or "Good!" rating by timing your button pressing. The better your timing, the more damage it does. However, even when I didn't do so great I still found myself killing whatever monster I was fighting despite my "Great!" or "Good!" ratings.

The demo also gives your character two attacks that take up SP. This is the area that looks as if it could expand the gameplay the most. It makes sense that the full game will come packed with a variety of SP moves, which could add some much needed variety to the gameplay.

There's a tutorial level apart from the three levels in the demo -- but not much else. Everything else is locked out for the full game. Unfortunately all the locked content is in Japanese, so I have no clue what the rest of the content may be.

Unimpressive in gameplay and level design, .hack//Link has a lot to improve upon. However, the mythology of the anime and possibility of other game features could save the game in its full release. 

.hack//Link is scheduled for a March 24, 2010 Japanese release. No stateside release has been announced as of yet.