I can't get far past episode 16.
I'll begin and I will warn you that I will make parallels to SIGN because it does try and pull of what SIGN did.
The Spoiler free:
.hack//ROOTS is the beginning of R:2's era. SIGN being part of the mass of media based on R:1. The story centers around Haseo and a guild known as the Twilight Brigade led by an enigmatic man called Ovan. Searching for The Key of the Twilight, the guild goes to random fields and deals with political issues between guilds.
Honestly, ROOTS has some good aspects to it. It tries to pull off what SIGN did. In particular, it tries to take a single perspective and stretch it as far as it can. However, it doesn't work as well because often the perspectives are not as interesting.
The pacing is a huge issue though. ROOTS is a jumble of episodes that either don't have a lot going on, have tons going on, or it may be balanced. However, it's a mixed bag that often is frustrating.
One of the high points though, is the characters. Granted, not all of them are really worth the time, but there are some good ones. For example, Phyllo's character is really great and probably the best expanded in ROOTs. However, Haseo's character never warms up to me as a good person or that interesting story.
The animation is similar to SIGN, but is a bit more polished. The music, however... Is Ali Project. I'm not a huge fan of them, but I do miss Yuki Kajiura, who does most of the .hack soundtracks.
Overall, ROOTS tries to pull off what made SIGN succeed. However, pacing issues and character points of view often annoy me. It is a decent show, but most of the time you're better off just playing the trilogy games or reading the original novels.
7/10
The Spoilers:
1. R:2 is better than R:1!
I happen to know this often comes with .hack fans. They try and say the one they started and like the best, is the best. Given ROOTS being not so connected and able to stand on it's own, it's not an issue.
2. You should watch the whole show!
Okay, that is a fair push. However, I... Unlike SIGN, ROOTS is so close to the games that you don't need to watch it unless you really want to. Episode 16 is a pretty big incident, including Shino and Haseo. After that, you really don't need to see more. I did try, but after that the pacing really screwed over the audience and confused me in particular.
3. You like SIGN too much.
I admit I love SIGN. However, that doesn't mean I need to compare it all the time to other shows. ROOTS simply tried to use the SIGN formula, and it failed to really grasp the formula enough to make a story worth 26 episodes or more.
4. Isn't this the one you said was LIKE SAO?
Actually, no. The only part of any of the franchise that is LIKE Sao enough to say it, is in the second or third GU game. There's an incident that traps all players for a short period of time, in an AIDA server. After that, the similarities end.