Capcom's Monster Hunter series is a monster of itself in Japan. With release of Monster Hunter 2ndG in Japan (basically an expansion of the 2nd PSP title) the game sold more PSP's and the game sold 1.5 million copies last year in March with a BIG number for a PSP game let alone any game. It has become a phenomenon to the Japanese culture.
Now with the
game fully translated and in stores in the US and across Europe, Capcom is trying very hard to get obtain the same influence through advertisements and demos. The first two PSP Monster Hunters were direct ports of the PS2 versions that came out years ago but with some added content. The games sold slightly decent in America but that Monster fever did not exist, which hunt the game in itself.
Monster Hunter Unite (and the ones before it) premise is simple. Hunt monsters, carve them, build weapons/ armor and repeat. The formula is extremely addictive and works best with other people. One pull into the game is that experience points and levels do not exist in this game. Rather than tedious quests that you find in typical MMO's that mean nothing to you; you get quests that have concrete purpose which is to go out in the field and kill monster's so you can carve them. It makes the game feel more engaging and no quest really feels like a waste of time (unless you have a high caliber armor and weapon and you are hunting little raptors that once gave you trouble.(at that point it just feels satisfying to kill them))
Monster Hunter Unite is an adhoc multilayer game before a single player game which is good because this game relies on teamwork. The most satisfying thing is hunting a giant monster with 3 other friends and take it down together before it takes you out. This is probably the strongest point about this game. Everyone plays a part. You have to rely on each other for help and coordinate with each other to take out monsters. It is extremely satisfying when you complete a hard mission and go to carve your prey.
The graphics in this game are absolutely stunning. The environment feels real and never gets old to look at, the character models, weapons and armor are simply astounding in their design, and lastly the monsters are distinct, diverse and simply awesome to look at as you run away from them.
If your new to Monster Hunter, choosing the weapon(s) that is right for you is no easy task. Every type of weapon in the game is diverse and all have their strengths and weaknesses. For example, my Long Sword trades defense for a long reach, power, and a special power up boost when I fill up a bar. Where the Lance trades speed, and wide attacks for a powerful defensive position, piercing damage and a charge move. The player can also change what type of weapon to wield (between missions) which is useful for certain monsters where a particular weapon would be useless or would bring disadvantages to the user. Armor also plays a role in the type of weapon you weild, if you want to use a melee weapon then you buy “Blademaster” armor. If you want to use a \projectile weapons you can only use “Gunner” armor. The differnce between Blademaster and Gunner armor is that Blademaster obviously has more defense but it's elemental stat buffs tend to be weaker and vise versa for Gunner armor.
Now on the negatives. MH biggest problem is it's learning curve. It is easier for one to get in the game with another person, but if your new and by yourself climbing the learning curve is not easy. While this is mainly because people don't go THROUGH the entire TUTORIAL which is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!! Because the game doesn't push you to complete it all if your new, it can leave players with the “what am I suppose to do? How do I do this?” feeling which can instantly turn off a person from a game. Next is the controls. While to a veteran like myself, they are fine to new players it's a learning curve of itself, While the camera is simple to fix to get behind you sometimes you need to have different angles which is difficult if your on the move because to manually move the camera around you need to use the D-pad. While it is manageable to say the least it can also turn off a new player. Lastly the biggest problem. The singleplayer. While the multiplayer is near flawless, the singleplayer suffers because the game is built for multiplayer and going on a Kut-Ku quest for the first time by yourself is damn scary and difficult. In this PSP version they have added a Cat ally to help you fight but, its still not a replacement for a living human to communicate with. While it too is manageable it is by no means the “way to play.”
My final thoughts is that if your a veteran to the series you will love it, if your new you will either love the game or hate it. My recommendation for new players is to try to find other people to play with. If that fails I feel that its still worth a buy because as long as you climb the curve you will be fine and it becomes loads of fun.
