[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKX2_1kBekE[/youtube]
You've undoubtedly heard of Capcom's hit Japanese action role-playing game series Monster Hunter. It wouldn't be a stretch to say it's as popular in Japan as the Halo series is in the United States. While it has a decent cult following, the series isn't quite as successful worldwide as it is in the land of the rising sun. Regardless, Capcom continues to bring us Monster Hunter titles, the newest being Monster Hunter Freedom Unite for the Playstation Portable.
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is essentially the Director's Cut version of Monster Hunter Freedom 2. It features everything Monster Hunter Freedom 2 had and much more including new hunting environment, five new monsters, a boatload of new equipment and new gameplay features. All the original environments from the first Monster Hunter Freedom title have been included as well, making this the largest Monster Hunter title to date.
If you haven't played a Monster Hunter game before, here's the lowdown: You accept quests and hunt monsters. Using materials you carve off the monsters, you create new equipment. You use the new equipment to hunt larger monsters. Simple enough, right?
Some of the monsters you'll be hunting will be ridiculously big.Monster Hunter isn't well known for it's story, and this game doesn't really change the formula. You begin the game by creating your own character. After a brief cutscene, you're introduced to the snow-covered hilltop village of Pokke. You're told you were contacted by the previous village hunter to become his replacement, after which you're given basic equipment and housing. From now on you're free to do as you please.
Whether you're teaming up with up to three friends via Ad-Hoc mode in the Gathering Hall or working for the village elder protecting the village from various monsters (via the single player), the game is strictly about completing quests. The quests usually involve hunting a specific monster, however the game does have various item collecting quests or multiple monster hunting quests. All missions have a time limit, usually around fifty minutes to an hour. You'll almost always have more than enough time to complete your task. Exclusive to this Monster Hunter is the inclusion of a new partner AI system, the "Felyne" Comrade. Even if you're away from your buddies, you no longer have to quest alone with this furry companion at your side.
In the beginning you'll be hunting smaller prey such as velociraptors and boars, but you'll quickly be tackling larger creatures such as giant crustaceans and wyverns. This is done because, obviously, the larger the monster the harder it's going to be to defeat. It's also a training process of sorts, as the larger monsters behave similarly to their smaller brethren.
The longsword class offers a long reach but no guard.The wide variety of monsters to hunt is a definite positive. All of the monsters in the game are beautifully created and extremely well detailed, the animations very fluid and lifelike. While almost entirely fictitious the designers tried their best to make them somewhat realistic.
It doesn't matter if the monster is pretty if YOU'RE not pretty, right? There are thousands of different weapons and armor sets to choose from, all completely unique in visage. Weapons range from hammers, swords, and even guns with all of them having various strengths and weaknesses, and all of them used differently in play. I had a lot of fun trying out different weapons on the same mission, trying to find which weapon set matched my playing style.
This game takes you to the usual video game environments, spanning from a barren desert all the way to a tropical jungle. Each environment is usually divided into around 8-10 different areas, with the "target" monster migrating between each area. It's all fairly colorful, with some areas featuring an especially detailed distant background. You'll sometimes see an herbivorous dinosaurs grazing in a grass field, or a beautiful snow covered mountain range.
Roar!While the graphics are great for the PSP, they still seem a little rough around the edges. Your hair often looks sharper than any blade you may wield, and some pieces of armor don't look too good from a distance. You might find a new piece of armor that you thought would look good end up looking terrible from afar.
Load times of previous Monster Hunter titles were slow at best, but Monster Hunter Freedom Unite loads at a decent speed. Also included is the new Data Install option that allows you to install part of the game (Roughly 580MB of it) onto your Memory Stick Pro DUO to drastically reduce loading times. This can be partnered with "Background Loading," which will decrease loading times even further at the cost of draining more power from your PSP's battery. I used both of these options and noticed a considerable loading difference.
Giant Enemy Crustaceans?!Gameplay wise, it's easy to pick up but difficult to master. While there are stats involved, it's mainly all about the player's skill in evading attacks and counterattacking. The camera is controlled using the d-pad while the character is moved using the analog stick, meaning that you're either going to be constantly stopping to adjust the camera or you're going to be using the side of your index finger on the face of the PSP. There is a noticeable increase in difficulty by the first wyvern but If you stick with it, there isn't a more satisfying feeling than finally slaying a large monster and reaping the rewards. You'll often get the same feeling with every new monster you defeat. Capcom has released an online field guide called
Encyclopedia-Gigantica chock full of helpful monster slaying hints to help novice players who may be having a difficult time.
In the end, I'd say Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is very entertaining. It's fairly repetitive, but you'll often times find yourself going back hunting monsters just to get that one last material needed to craft a new piece of equipment, or just trying out a completely new weapon class. If you can appreciate a challenging game, then I wholeheartedly recommend this game to you.
9.0/10Title: Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
Platform: Playstation Portable
Developed by: Capcom
Published by: Capcom
Release Date: 6/22/2009
MSRP: $29.99
