"Far and away much better than the original, and that's not easy!"

Monster Hunter Portable Second (MHP2) - 10/10

Introduction:
The Monster Hunter series has since its inception had conflicting opinions about its greatness. The typical review sites give the game low scores, and rightly so if you consider how much they give to the game. If you only play the game for an hour or two, you might not think there is much more to the game other than collecting special mushrooms, and herbs, or slaying a Gianos or two. If you thought this though, you would be very much mistaken. The game is about as deep as they come.

The purpose of the aforementioned gathering quests are to do nothing more than train the player for where they can find resources for the ride to come. The ride spoken of is one of mass violence and bloodlust, driven by some very well designed monsters for which you are there to take down. It might not sound like much initially, and one can be sure it didn't for many, but one just has to look at the fan base. It's obviously hit a chord with many; why else would the game have had over 400,000 pre-orders in Japan?

Anticipation of greatness by fans doesn't always equate to that when the final game is delivered. Many a game has fallen short on that front; this isn't one of those games. This game is a delivery and a half. Capcom has created a world of lush and beautiful scenery, with a multitude of monsters to fight, and literally thousands of combinations of armor and weapons for you to select from to achieve your objective (this term is used loosely) to take down the biggest dragon and so to prove your might. MHdos on the PS2 (which I also wrote a review for) was a eye catching game. The graphics were flawless and the diversity in the game was impressive. It's difficult to believe that a handheld game could top it, but MHP2 has done exactly that. This game has very few shortcomings.

Review:
Depth: 10/10
This is as deep a game as anyone will find. There are hundreds of weapons to choose from, with new weapon additions on top of the already extensive list in MHdos. This is a great driving force for the player to play the game more, so as to get extra wyvern/dragon parts to make that piece of armor you want or to upgrade your armor that much more. While the selection of armor is great, the number of monsters to hunt is also impressive: New monsters included in this version are:

Babakongo, Dodobrango, Dos Fango (bullfango alpha male), Dos Gianos (white velociprey alpha male), Shen Gao Ren, Daimyo Zazami, Shogun Gizami, Fatalis White, Kushuradoaru (wind Dragon), Teo/Nana Teskatori (flame dragons), Rahjan (the bull looking guy), Oonatsuchi, Yamatsukami, Tigarex, as well others.

Basically, for anyone who hasn't played Dos there is a huge difference between the number of monsters in this and MHF/P. Training levels, guild quests, upgrading the poke farm, and many more things to do. This will all take a long time, and it will keep your interest very well. Capcom did very well here.

Gameplay: 10/10
The gameplay is the same as in MHP and MHdos. There isn't much difference, but the timing on attacks has been slightly altered. For those that are new to the series, the lack of lock-on will likely drive you crazy as you slash away and miss the monster…don't dismay though, there is a reason why you are missing. Capcom made that a part of the skill set that you have to acquire to get good at the game. This game is all about player skill, hence why it has captivated such a wide audience. It has never been about getting a weapon that can kill in a few hits, it is and likely always will be about taking any weapon, good or bad, and being able to attack the wyvern without getting hit until they keel-over. It is because of this that the series has excelled. Some are good at this, some are not.

There could obviously be tweaks here, such as allowing the wyvern to switch out of their attack mid-way. The monsters do become a tad predictable once you learn there attack patterns…EG. Plessioth will always do a hip check after a water spit if you attack either leg (why cant he switch to a tail whip mid way through a water spit? Let's say he fakes the spit to bait you in, and tail whips instead, it could have been more interesting). Though this is predictable, this flaw is probably more attributable to the lack of AI programming and the lack of capacity of the PSP rather than the game itself.

Graphics: 10/10

The graphics are brilliant for the PSP, but ‘PSP' must be stressed. Anyone that has played MH Dos knows how beautiful this game can look. Friends have commented on that fact on numerous occasions. With that said though, credit where it is due, Capcom made a masterstroke with their version on the PSP. The MH series looks far and away much better than any other game on the PSP, with the exception of Metal Gear. You wont find many complaints here, the monsters all look amazing, and the armor all looks fantastic. The ability to look at armor sets is also a nice addition, as you can get an idea of how you want to dress your character up without having to commit to a purchase unnecessarily.

Music: 9/10
There are individual themes for each of the monsters, and while they are decent, and get the player hyped up for the battle to come, there is nothing truly outstanding here. It's not bad, it's simply more of the same formula from the original MH. Every theme has an epic kind of Basil Poledouris kind of feel to it. Personally, the writer likes it, but its not for everyone.

Lastability: 10/10

This game has an impressive level of solo value, but when friends are added to the equation…the life of this game is phenomenal (could be upwards of 500hours). In MHF/P players putting more than 200hours+ into the game was a common factor. This is amazing when compared with the typical game which has no more life than a 10 to 20 hour play through. When one considers that this game is significantly deeper than MHP/F than this game will take quite a good portion of your life away from you.

Time will be spent collecting monster parts to make outfits/armor, and to get armor with the personalized skill-set that you want. A good portion of your time will also be spent learning the wyverns attack patterns. Many of which have been changed since the original MHP/F. For instance, you will see Rathian/Reoreia doing double backflips as well as various other combos. Cephaloses also spend less time in the ground than before. Learning these new factors will take time. Learning the new monsters patterns will also take a while to master. Finding out when is the right time to attack a Dodobrango without getting hit will take experience, and this adds to the life of the game. All in all, this game will spend a lot of time in your UMD drive, probably more than any other game.

Learning Curve: 10/10

If you like a challenge, this game is good. If you don't you could be looking at problems here. The difficulty level isn't too difficult if you have the patience to learn. A lot of non-Japanese players of the game will likely already have gained the experience from MHP/F and so this difficulty wont likely be a factor for them. Whatever difficulty there is though, the game does help the player to learn albeit slowly. Not many of the missions are so difficult that you can't do them on your first go. In the writer's first mission vs. Kut ku, it only took 5 minutes with an assassins dagger (in village elder). That said, players of MHP/F should already know how to fight kut-ku, so it should be fairly easy. People new to the series might have problems though, but with a bit of patience, they should be fine. The game isn't impossibly difficult to learn.

Overall – 10/10

It's difficult to mark this game down for anything. It's about as close to a perfect game in its genre as anyone is going to find. It's also difficult to ask for anymore out of the game. The writer has played and completed MHP, MHF, MHDOS, and can say without hesitation, this game tops all of them. For someone that has played the series, when you first play the game, it will likely shock you when you understand how much depth there is to this. All new areas, new monsters, new weapons, new attack patterns, and new armor (on top of the already existing ones, with the exception of areas). It very easily struck awe in the writer. With that said, it isn't for everyone. Some people like crash bandicoot style platform games, and FPS and games where everything is kind of fed to the player, and the game is easy to follow. In this game NOTHING is given to the player with the exception of the bare minimum tools needed to get the job done (e.g. bone kris). The player has to pursue everything. If you see that you need one item to make a weapon like the death prize, and you don't go out and get it, that item is not coming to you. This game will make you work, much more so than the original. The writer can easily recommend this to anyone who has played the series. The writer can also recommend this to anyone who hasn't, but please be advised…TRY THIS GAME BEFORE YOU BUY. You might love it, but the amount of freedom and lack of specific focus might be too much for some.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/23/07