Monster Hunter Freedom 2 - 9/10
The game's trademark is a brutal learning curve, which scares away prospective newcomers and is worn as a badge of honor by loyal fans. The bad news for those new to the world of Monster Hunter or those who were scared away by a previous title is that Capcom has stayed true to this series' hardcore roots.
Monster Hunter Freedom 2's set up is that of a fairly standard action RPG: you fight monsters from a 3rd-person perspective in lavishly detailed 3D environments ranging from jungles to snowy mountain tops. There has been impressive attention to detail paid to the monster and character models, and the fluid attack animations are likewise stunning.
The not-so-standard elements here are the controls: namely the archaic combat and camera controls. The camera remains fixed unless you reset it behind your character with the L button or rotate it with the D-Pad, frequently leaving you in situations where you are blind sided by the game's many formidable monsters as you fiddle with the camera. Initially, attacks with the game's eleven weapon types are considered equally clunky, generally consisting of canned combos that have you flailing wildly in one direction as your AI prey circles to an exposed flank to, well, take a chunk out of your exposed flank.
How could this happen? The company that brought us Resident Evil 4 and Street Fighter couldn't give us a better camera or fighting system? The truth is, Capcom is intentionally limiting our camera control and attack combos. What you will come to realize, as millions of Japanese gamers have, is that if you put the time in to learn the intricacies of combat in Monster Hunter you will be richly rewarded.
Each weapon style has its own strengths and weaknesses and once you master one weapon, the Giadrome that was making a quick snack out of you before becomes your next meal. It's a sweet accomplishment to turn combat you initially found impossibly awkward into graceful and satisfying battles, though it will take you many hours of frustration to get to that point.
Once you get a grip on how to kill and not be killed, the flood gates will open for you. Monster Hunter Freedom 2 has more content than you will ever know what to do with. There are no experience levels in Monster Hunter, and your primary means of advancement are through improving your gear by crafting materials obtained from downed foes, the environment, mining, farming, or fishing.
Quests typically have little to no back-story behind them, but serve their purpose as backdrops for your real motivation: the highly addictive process of getting better gear and killing bigger and meaner monsters. Reportedly Monster Hunter Freedom 2 has fifty percent more content than the previous game, which is an impressive stat to ponder if you consider that even most die-hard Monster Hunter fans never exhausted the first game's content. Add in exclusive quests for the 4-player Ad-Hoc multiplayer and downloadable content already available online, and you may never have to play another game again.
I'm not going to say it's a shame that Monster Hunter hasn't caught on here in the Australia. The learning curve is still absurd and the beginning of the game gives you practically no clue as to how great it will be. The game enjoys great success in Japan, so there's very little reason to expect Capcom will change their formula just so audiences here can be spoon-fed Monster Hunter goodness.
I don't fault any gamer who doesn't want to put in the time to learn this game; you are never going to find a gripping narrative and accessible controls in a Monster Hunter game. However if you're looking for a long-term relationship with your handheld action RPG, and can suffer through a couple of rough patches, you will find yourself in the loving embrace of all the addictive content Monster Hunter Freedom 2 has to offer.
Graphics-9/10
Excellent graphics, fluid animations.
Sound -9/10
The sound is very good. They sound so real and yet, still manage to suck you in to the Monster Hunter fantasy.
Gameplay-9/10
It takes a while to get used to the game's controls, but once mastered, you'll never look back. It's fun just running around killing monsters, but the real goal is to keep upgrading your warrior.
Multiplayer-10/10
Just like MHF1, multiplayer in ad hoc mode is phenomenal. Ganging up with your friends in ad hoc mode to take down monsters is extremely fun.
Value -9/10
The game gets this score because of it's EXTREME REPLAYABILITY.
I know of people who have spent over 800+ hours on MHF1 and still aren't even close to finishing it. Beats your average, FPS or action game by a long shot. Also, MHF2 contains %50 more content and the ability to be able to download additional content off the website!
Overall -9.9/10
I was never an RPG kind of person, and I also hate fantasy games, yet this managed to suck me in from Action, Adventure and various FPS games. I would have to say that this game is the BEST EVER ON PSP. Even if you don't like these kind of games, try it out. You'll be amazed.
15 Sep 2007
3
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Comments
abuu91
says:
Eherm. You deserve a ban for this. You, boostn7, have not only spammed the reviews area, but have stolen this review from www.gamepro.com/
The time of the ban will be judged by me and the others here.
19 Sep 2007 - 21:58
Somewhat pink - Kiama, NSW
boostn7
says:
because the editor personally, in my opinion, is one of the snottiest bastards in the world. I met him at E3 last year in the states.
16 Sep 2007 - 20:56
Brisbane
Daveproc
says:
Why does gamespot always give the monster hunter games bad scores.
15 Sep 2007 - 21:56
corryong
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