Monster Hunter Freedom

"The Gratification of a Win"

Capcom brings a portable Monster Hunter to the States, rekindling and reviving the life in many Monster Hunter fans. This portable title, greatly improving on it's other US counterpart (though is very similar to other Japanese MH titles), has a couple flaws, though more than makes up for them with its hundreds of hours of game play.

Graphics:
Sony didn't screw up when they made the PSP as powerful as it is graphically. MHF is very comparable to its older PS2 brother as far as graphics. Another thing worth considering on a portable system is how the features tax the battery. I've found that it doesn't suck the life out of the battery like I had expected. You're looking at 5 hours or so of straight gaming without a charge, but with the graphics as nice as they are, it's a good compromise. Though you'll be running through the same areas over and over again, it's part of the game play. The wyverns (boss monsters if you will) are detailed well, and on many you can actually see the damage your doing over time.

Sound:
Sound? On a portable? Of course. Though repetitive, the music and effects are appropriate. Sound is fairly important in this title, as many of the wyverns lead their attacks with certain sounds, not to mention you'll always know what level of danger you're in by the tunes. Bottom line here is, repetition will get you down, but the sounds are important enough to listen to.

Game play:
This is where this game really shines. The game is action based with rpg elements. You won't find yourself in turn-based combat. It's a very active title. While your character, created by yourself, never levels up, the focus of the game is on the equipment. The ever prevalent quest in rpgs is the search for better stuff. In MHF, that's the whole point. You start off, basically, naked but quickly start amassing armor and weapons by using the pieces you salvage off things you kill to create them. Once your confidence is high enough and your gear is tough enough, you'll start choosing to take on wyverns to get even better equipment. The game is mission based, meaning you choose exactly what you want to do and receive rewards around that. With a high emphasis on developing skill, opposed to just logging time like in most games of multiplayer nature these days, you'll learn what you are fighting and create the best tactic. Possibly the most stand out feature of this game is the gratification you get from defeating a tough enemy. With battles that can go on for 45-50minutes, you'll find yourself gasping for air at the end of many bouts. Unfortunately, a large focus of the game is farming, or repeatedly killing monsters. This is a blessing and a curse. The better equipment needs more parts and rare pieces, thus forcing you to kill more of the same thing.

Extras:
MHF introduces, right off the bat, a gallery. Here can watch all the videos you've unlocked throughout play, though they are short, uneventful, and for the most part, sparse. Still, a decent feature.
Within the games village, there's a kitchen where you can cook meals to temporarily increase stats. There's also a Training Center, where you can fight wyverns you've previously killed with predetermined equipment. Here you earn objects to create other armors. The Kotoko Farm, within the village, relieves a lot of gathering woes. It allows players to collect rare and common items alike.

Multiplay:
The real heart-breaker here is no infrastructure, or online mode. A WiFi mode exists, so you can play with people around you. Now, however, people have created a method to take the game online, so there's that too.

Vs. PS2 Monster Hunter:
MHF adds a great deal to the original on PS2. Considering that it's modeled after MHG, from Japan, MHF allows players to collect many additional weapons and armor. Also, the training center is new. A welcomed addition of more difficult versions of the same wyverns is here, as well as more missions, including G missions. Another wyvern as also been added, along with the Kotoko Farm.

Bottom line:
If your looking for a game to throw a ton of hours into then your set. Also, if you have friends around you that play, that's a huge plus. Playing alone, however, is fun, just slower. The alternate means to go online is gonna cost you extra bread. MHF will keep you busy for awhile and has hundreds of weapons and armor to collect. It has a little bit of a learning curve, but once you conquer that, you'll be enjoying everything the game has to offer.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/25/06