Welcome to World Zero - Reviews for the hardcore gamer

The setting is an abstract, pseudo-prehistoric period. Not only does primitive man live among “dinosaurs”, but they have the technology and intelligence to craft exceedingly complex weaponry (including massive firearms) and overly intricate armor. I use the term “dinosaur” loosely, as some of the creatures are better described as stylized creatures based on dinosaurs. The remaining monsters are entirely fictional, ranging from massive dragons to a race of comical, tribal cats that walk upright. It’s this combination of fantasy and historical reference that places Monster Hunter in a completely unique and refreshing setting. It really bears no resemblance to the conventional primitive era nor the classic fantasy archetype. Instead, it’s this wonderfully creative and highly stylized amalgam that is simply a joy to experience. The team at Capcom really took great pride in making every aspect of this game’s world unique, and for lack of a better word, cool.

To be straightforward, the combat system in Monster Hunter is probably the best implemented control scheme of this generation, with the sole exception of GunValkyrie. The complete neglection of such a mechanic in modern gaming up until this point is absolutely baffling (sans the brief segment in Metal Gear Solid 2 that is in no way as deep); all of your attacks are mapped to the right analog stick. Depending on your weapon of choice, pressing the stick upward may slash forward, while moving the stick to the right may cause your character to perform a horizontal attack. By timing the attacks and movements correctly, you can pull off some characteristic Capcom combos. In the case of the heavier weapons, you must work with the momentum of your massive weapon to chain attacks. For instance, if you begin a combo with an overhead chop, the blade of your colossal weapon will stick into the ground and must be removed. This simultaneously negates any combo possibilities and leaves you open to attack. Before your sword makes contact with the ground, you need to work against the weapon’s momentum and pull the right stick in an opposing direction at the precise time. This, of ocurse, sends the blade sailing in the opposite direction, and once again, you must counter the momentum of that swing with yet another opposing direction if you wish to maintain your combo, and so on. This mechanic is a challenging and time-consuming method to master. Beginners will wield the weapon very clumsily and will display many windows of opportunity for their opponents to take advantage of. However, masters swing the blade with such grace and precision that it in itself is just shy of an art form.

What makes Monster Hunter work so well is the implementation of a great action-derivative, real-time combat system integrated into a fully realized Role Playing Game world. Many games in the past have been incorrectly categorized as Action RPGs for one reason or another (Note: Real time combat does not necessarily equal Action RPG). However, Monster Hunter is a true hybrid of the action and RPG genres meshed into one seamless game. There is a very deep and very rewarding item crafting system implemented here that requires you to carve up corpses of fallen monsters, mine ore, or gather plant life in order to assemble the materials necessary in crafting pieces of armor or forging new weapons. Other materials may also be collected via fishing, cooking raw flesh on a portable spit, or catching insects in a net, all of which happen in real time and are completely interactive. You can over/under-cook meat, lose your finishing bait to a hungry catch, or snap your bug net grabbing a rare insect husk. There are hundreds of items in the game, all of which, from the smallest berry to the largest dragon wing, have a specific use, be it to craft weapons or armor, to combine with another material to make a more useful item, or to simply ingest.

While retaining numerous RPG necessities, Monster Hunter does away with many others. Character classes are determined only by the weapon you wield at that given moment. There are no mages or healers here (in fact, there is no magic of any kind), but rather only warriors who live for the hunt. You do not level up. Instead, your skills increase in real life as you get better at the game. Cliché as that sounds, it’s quite true. The ability that I (and thus my character) had at the outset of the game was incomparable to what I am capable of now, in true Capcom fashion. The game has a huge learning curve. Mastering a specific weapon is fairly less complicated than mastering a Street Fighter character, but comparable none-the-less. What stat increases and in-game abilities you do acquire come only from equipping armor and brandishing weapons. And the good stuff only comes from carving up the tough foes, which will require exceptional skill to bring down, bringing not only the Action/RPG concept full circle, but the actual game mechanics as well.

As complex as the inter workings get from either an Action or RPG standpoint, the ante is upped ten fold when three additional players are added to the mix via online play. A successful team is one that compliments each other. A team of four Great Sword users is a disaster waiting to happen, but a single Great Sword user complimented by a Lancer and a Gunner or two will mow down hordes of monsters in record time. Teamwork is more imperative in Monster Hunter than any other online game I have ever played. Without it, you’re as good as dead. Situations get as complex as one Hunter playing bait, leading a massive dragon into a skillfully laid net trap. Once the monster has been netted, the other three hunters emerge from various hiding spots to unleash a bevy of chain combos on the temporarily caged beast. Best of all, the hunts involving the massive “boss” monsters are events within themselves, most of which can take nearly an hour to combat. You’ll run the gamut of stalking the beast and setting up traps unnoticed, to charging in headfirst, to running away from it like mad, all within one mission. The tides of war turn very abruptly in Monster Hunter.

Speaking of running away from a charging beast, no game does it better than Monster Hunter. These colossal beasts are intimidating, even to a Hunter wielding a two hundred pound blade and covered in spiked plate mail made from the husks of giant man-eating insects. When said beast is stampeding your way, even a decked out Hunter will run like a little girl. Literally. Your running animation actually changes to one of pure comic dread when being chased by one of these bad boys. In fact, little comical bits like this are abundant in Monster Hunter. It’s just one of the many aspects that gives the game such personality. The fact that your character looks like the king of all bad asses one minute, then falls flat on his face in pure desperation the next just makes it even more effective. You can get drunk in the tavern waiting for your friends to join a quest, stumble around in a drunken stupor, bang your mug on the table and eventually pass out. You can order food at the inn, brought to you on a tray by one of the aforementioned bipedal cats (which are comic relief in and of themselves); your character will then sit down to the food politely, pause, then immediately shovel it down with both hands at blinding speed. Best of all is the joy of cooking meat. To see your avatar of pure destruction pull a four foot long portable spit out of his pocket then sit down on an exaggeratedly minuscule chair, hunched over, rotating the meat to perfection is one thing, but the abnormally jovial intermission-style music that plays while doing so is just pure gold.

It’s been a long time since a game has been released that was this addicting, this demanding, and this entertaining. Many of the things that go overlooked by most developers are actually the spotlight of Monster Hunter. The game provides you with all the great customizability and addictive item hunting of Diablo, yet still provides you with exceptional gameplay, even after that unattainable suit of armor and legendary weapon are finally yours. If I may be so bold as to suggest that even if the RPG aspect was somehow omitted from the game, Monster Hunter would still be an excellent action game. How many RPGs can you say that about? Monster Hunter simply provides gamers with both the concept and the content that we have been desperately needing for years.

Rating	The rating scale in detail
8.9	+ While the character models do the job, the animation is phenomenal. The creatures look excellent and animate exactly like one would imagine them to. ++ The environment is absolutely stunning. Quite possibly the best I’ve seen on the system.
8.5	+ Classical overtures and epic themes abound. It doesn’t disappoint. + Sound effects are fitting and the voices were done well, although there isn’t much speech in the game. ++ The cooking theme deserves a second mention.
9.7	++ Monster Hunter combines a deep RPG world with unprecedented action gameplay. There’s never been anything before quite like it. ++ Without the RPG elements and the deep crafting system, the action aspect of the game could easily hold it’s own. + Great Sword players will be granted the most enjoyable combat system to come around in ages. The lighter weapons are still innovative, but not as challenging or rewarding.
9.3	++ Some of the most imaginative and aesthetically pleasing weaponry and armor I have seen in an RPG. ++ Little nuances, humor, and attention to the overlooked makes Monster Hunter stand above all else. - The game’s presentation is lacking and the menus are very bland.
9.9	++ It’s like PSO all over again. This game will steal your soul. It’s not uncommon to rack up several hundred hours of monster hunting as there is easily enough game here to warrant playtime that abundant.
9.5	Unusual, imaginative, and exceedingly enjoyable. A modern classic.