Note: Two player reviews are a new feature to GameTopius, where-in we focus more specifically on the multi player or co-operative elements of a game. We especially strive to provide two different points of view on both multi- and single-player aspects of a title.
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is the latest entry in Capcom's cult-hit Monster Hunter franchise. While explosively popular in Japan, the game has yet to garner a strong mainstream following in the West. However, recently sales have spiked dramatically, garnering an impressive 3.5million copies sold worldwide. As of this writing Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is dominating the charts at popular website Gamefaqs, a sign that this might be the big break the franchise has needed. Not strictly an action game, nor your typical role-playing game, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is quite complex and challenging, especially for a handheld game.
Graphics:
Adelle: MH has a pretty polished look and creates a nice environment. It blends together both fantasy elements and a more realistic look well. Characters don't look entirely realistic but they don't look like cartoons either. Monster Hunter utilizes a wide variety of colors, in contrast to some other action/adventure games that tend to stick to darker color palettes. The 3D models look especially sharp and well rendered for a handheld game. There are some exceptions like vines and some ground textures when out in the world that could have used a little more polish.
Dan: I agree that the game looks very lush and unique. It has a very impressive visual style that is all it's own. While the graphics themselves haven't improved noticeably from previous outings on the PSP system, the Monster Hunter franchise is already one of the better looking titles on the Playstation Portable so there isn't much to complain about. I also think that the variety of environments and diverse cast of monsters to hunt really pleasing to look at. While you will end up visiting the same areas repeatedly and seeing some of the same faces a few times, they still catch the eye every time.
Adelle: Even though you do see the same environments over and over, the variety of tasks your given in each level change the way you interact with it, presenting a new facet for the same locations. Over-all, while I can't compare it to a specific game since it is such a unique experience, it does sit graphically among late-era Playstation 2 releases.
Sound:
Dan: Monster Hunter Freedom Unite supports Dolby Digital II surround sound, and if you can take advantage of that with a nice set of headphones you'll be treated to one of the richest audio-sets I've personally experienced in a handheld title. I can't recall ever hearing surround sound in a handheld game, and while it might be superfluous to players experiencing Monster Hunter on the go, it's a welcome touch for gamers who'll spend time with the title in their homes. Even without higher quality audio setups, the game performs quite well with the PSP's built-in speakers, and even has an audio setting specifically balanced to boost their output.
Adelle: Monster Hunter offers a wide variety of good sound effects which help to draw you into the game. The sounds are realistic and add to the overall experience without being distracting. The music is also catchy and you will find yourself humming along. The music is quiet enough and provides the right amount of background so its always supporting the area and not distracting from it. Some areas have their own themes and these are enjoyable time and again.
Dan: Indeed. I'm considering wrangling the Felyne Chef music into some sort of ring-tone format. There are lots of great, little environmental touches like the hissing of steam vents and the rumble of magma flows in the volcano area, or the eerie howl of wind that picks up as you near the mouth of a cave. One wyvern in particular, "Chameleos", has the ability to turn completely invisible and you have to rely on audio cues a lot to know where it's going to move or how it will attack. Most monsters, in fact, have unique audio cues to hint at what moves they might throw at you next, and a few have some pretty awesome battle music to go along with them. While the game lacks voice-acting, characters have a variety of cheers, grunts, and other expressions to prevent them from being completely silent. As the game portrays the player's character as a sort-of brute in an iron-age meets fantasy monsters setting it's oddly fitting that they remain speechless. It's unlikely that a person capable of chowing down a monster-sized fillet in seconds or hefting a sword almost thrice their height would have anything poetic to say anyway.
Gameplay:
Adelle: I find the gameplay to be REALLY difficult, mostly because I have trouble getting a hold of the controls. I find the camera control completely unforgiving, if we had dual analog sticks it could work but trying to use the d-pad and the analog stick at the same time is almost impossible. I often find myself taking a swing at a monster and completely missing because the camera is no longer facing the same direction, or I couldn't tell exactly how far away something was. You'll often get blindsided by monsters who'll leap to a side, only to charge in at you from off camera while you struggle to see where it went. These "cheap hits" are frustrating and totally the fault of unwieldy controls. The gameplay changes dramatically depending on which weapon you use, and some of them are just too difficult for me like the heavier, slower weapons. The diversity of enemies is a big plus, each monster takes a different strategy to defeat. Each one has different attack patterns that you have to learn to look out for, unique moves, as well as weaknesses to weapon types or elements. Once you learn the patterns you have a distinct advantage over the monster, but learning the patterns takes quite a while and a lot of dedication. In some ways Monster Hunter is similar to Punch Out, each monster has a certain pattern of attacks and different "tells" that let you know what they're going to launch next. All the gear has a unique look, almost nothing is repeated during upgrades and each monster you defeat unlocks a whole slew of new weapons and armor sets, although getting all the pieces to build those sets can be...tricky.
Dan: Monster Hunter is tough, there's no two-ways about it. Especially in the beginning, the game just throws you into the thick of things with completely worthless gear and little to no bearing on what you should be doing. It's a lot like a massively multi player game in that sense, there isn't much for story and such. The real joy of the game is becoming invested in the different tiers of weapons, monster hunting strategies and the like. Like character builds or raid plans in MMO's, Monster Hunter's true fun is in the meta-game. Gameplay can be kind-of droll on the surface. You go hunt something down or gather a material in the field, come home, eat dinner with your cats, tend to your farm, maybe build a few things at the weapon smith, and then go off on another adventure. Like any role-playing game it has its grind, but it takes more effort than just selecting "attack" in battles over and over. The crushing difficulty combined with the sometimes chore-like repetition of slaying the same beasts (or worse yet, continually failing to slay the same beast) turn a lot of players off to the game. Monster Hunter, while a game that I personally love, is an uncomfortable challenge for a lot of the players in the broader audiences of the two genres it tries to fuse. It has a lot of grinding and repetition for action hack-and-slash gamers to stomach, while the steeply challenging fights and complicated control schemes will trip up a lot of traditional RPG fans. However if you can muscle through the beginning and acclimate to the controls and are up to the challenge you'll find the game INCREDIBLY deep, and highly rewarding for the committed player. Like I said; I LOVE it.
Overall:
Dan: My largest complaint with Monster Hunter is the lack of true "infrastructure" or online play. With a game this deep and time-consuming, having the opportunity to show off your accomplishments to other players makes the work of getting to the end-game that much more rewarding. Monster Hunter does support four-player ad-hoc gameplay, which is very helpful in and of itself for those harder monster fights later in the game. While crafty players will find that there are ways to play Monster Hunter Freedom Unite online with other players (via programs like Xlink Kai, or by getting a Japanese PSN account, a PS3, and Sony's "Ad Hoc Party" software) it's aggravating that it's not just a standard feature built into the game. While Monster Hunter does accommodate local multiplayer play, there's some particular weirdness that muddies it up. I'm talking about the phenomenon where-in the game doesn't place minor enemies in the same locations, nor do they spawn accordingly for all players. It's complicated to explain, but here's an example: If we both walk into a zone and see three Popo's (big, woolly mammoth-like beasts) there's no guarantee that they'll be standing in the same spots on both our systems. If I run up to one and start attacking, on my screen I may be hacking and slashing into the monster's side, while on your screen I could be standing in the middle of nowhere swinging away like an idiot while the mammoths mill about elsewhere. However, when I deal the final blow one of the beasts will just drop dead on your screen. It's very distracting and laughably stupid to see happen in the game. Furthermore, since monsters spawn upon entering an area, if I were to slay all the hostile monsters in an area, and you were to leave and return, you would see a fresh compliment of angry beasties while I'm completely oblivious (and impervious, thank god) to them. This is incredibly frustrating when fighting "boss" monsters (who thankfully do appear in the same locations across all players' games) who happen to have a respawning compliment of minion bodyguards, because they either keep changing areas or you're forced to leave and com
e back. Having to contend with an already fearsome boss while two giant warthogs are trying to barrel you over and another player is there seemingly stabbing at not
hing will make you want to spike your PSP into the floor like you just scored a touchdown at the Super Bowl. When the rest of the game is so obviously geared towards multiplayer, it's damning to have to work so hard to actually get it to work, and see that despite your efforts there's such an obvious inconsistency.
Adelle: I enjoy the customization that Monster Hunter offers and the multiplayer is enjoyable for a while. However I do not see this as a game I would pick up and play on my own. Its the type of game people who like to mico-manage would enjoy. There is an incredible amount of items to collect, armor to build, and strategies to design. While this is what makes Monster Hunter so popular with some, its also what turns others away. While this may not be my kind of game its one I would suggest you pick up and try for a bit. You may find that the customization and monster killing is something that appeals to you.
Darke
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This is really a fantastic new feature. You guys really play off each other well with your opinions. I really hope to see more of these. |
OneNerdyGirl
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We are going to do our best to make them a regular feature. While we may not showcase the newest games (although we will try) I think its something that is often overlooked when writing a review of a game that does offer 2 player or multi-player. Looking forward to writing the next one! |
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