Monster Hunter Freedom

"An awesome game, with a lot to do."

Intro:

After months of playing nothing but SOCOM (it was my only PSP game I had at the time) I was starting to get bored. So I started looking for a new game to buy and, well, I couldn't find anything I was really interested in, except for Monster Hunter Freedom. I wanted my next PSP game to be Crises Core: Final Fantasy VII, but that was too far ahead and I really needed something new so I settled for Monster Hunter, and what an awesome game it is. I bought this a week after it was released and im glad I chose this one. The graphics are the best on the PSP to date and has hours of gameplay. This game will keep you entertained for a long time. And I mean a loooong time.

Graphics:

WOW! These are the best graphics I've ever seen on a handheld. When I popped the game in the PSP and started playing, I was so amazed at how beautiful the environment looks. And lets not forget the monsters, too. I had no idea the PSP can produce graphics like these, and I thought SOCOM looked really good. The environments to the creatures have an impressive display of realism. The tall grass, caves, woods, deserts, fog and water are rendered almost perfectly. The backgrounds contain animation that bring the environments to life and the creatures couldn't look better on the PSP. Animation is another of Monster Hunter's strong points. All of the wyverns and smaller creatures act realistic and the character motions are fluid. Great little touches like birds flying through the sky and the flickering candles in the tavern only add to the graphical beauty of Monster Hunter.

Gameplay:

Monster Hunter is kind of like an action RPG but is also a sort of a hack-and-slash game. There really isn't a story except that you live in a village and you want to become the best monster hunter ever. In the game you just go on quests and hunt monsters or gather items, but it's more complicated than that. The early quests are very simple. The first quest has you simply hunting large herbivores in order to get the meat from their bones. Once you've completed this quest, you'll have the ability to take on several others that teach you the basics of overall gameplay, from fighting a monster to cooking up a meal. Though these missions seem rather easy, they are important to the development of your character as well as the player wishing to build up their skills. Without these basic skills, you won't last long against some of the larger, dangerous creatures that roam the world. Once you've overcome these obstacles, you'll be able to take on quests according to your rank and these quests vary by type. There are five unique styles of quests that you can do, such as Capture quests, Hunting quest, Special Quest, Event quests, and Gathering quests. Once you get far in the game you'll be fighting a giant dragon, and I tell ya, it's amazing. The quests are easy in the beginning but just wait till you past them, you'll be amazed. The controls can be hard for beginners, but with practice, you'll get used to them. The only problem is the camera, which gets annoying sometimes. Your character comes in two types. A Blade wielder or a Gunner. The Blade employs the use of swords, axes, hammers and lances and is more resistance based. The Gunner is more defensive and uses guns to make your kills. There are different items and accessories that you can purchase for you hunter, although some are class-based or will require a certain number of skill points to use. The weapons can also be upgraded to make them stronger, and gives them a different look, which is awesome. Generic items include binoculars, flash bangs, pit traps, rations, paint balls and potions. The developers spent a long time adapting the single-player mode to make up for the lack of online. The four-player co-op mode is played with the ad-hock wireless system. Having players equipped with different weapons, both Blade and Gunner style, you will be able to hunt effectively as a team by ambushing the creatures, flanking them or forcing them down paths loaded with traps. There's also a lot of items in the game, weapons and armor to be found as you play. There's also a restaurant called the Felyne Kitchen. At a certain point in the game, you will be able to hire cats to cook for you in your kitchen. The cats cook meals that can bring up your stats. Another great feature is the farm which allows you to grow, explore and mine resources for use in upcoming missions. This keeps you from having to harvest in the wild. The farm is part of your personal inventory, as it's located on your land.

Sound:

The sound effects are also impressive, with a number of different screams & roars for each monster being offered. This is important as these sounds can be audible clues which you can follow to avoid being a monster's prey. I found it best to play the game with headphones on, but you can do fine without them as long as you pay attention. The soundtrack is quite good as well, for what little there is of it. Overall, the sound isn't the highest point, but it's passable and does a good job in terms of letting you know where something is when you need to know. The game also broadcasts in Dolby Pro Logic II with the headphones on, of coarse.

Conclusion:

So far, Monster Hunter Freedom is my favorite game for the PSP. I can't believe how much time I've spent playing this game, and yet, haven't gotten anywhere close to beating all the quests. This game will keep you occupied for a long time. Even Playstaion Magazine says that the game will be over a hundred hours of gameplay. Even if you don't get far in a couple of hours and start getting frustrated, be patient, this is truly a wonderful game once you get far into it. Monster Hunter is an awesome game that I'll be playing for along time to come.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/30/06