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Monster Hunter Freedom
Fans of this popular
series can kick back and be happy in the knowledge that this is one fun
game brought to you now on a handheld device. Monster Hunter is one of
those truly niche games in that its purpose is very straight forward and
not confusing you with all sorts of messed up plot turns and what not.
Here is the storyline in a nutshell. Find a monster,
hunt it down and kill it. There you go, like I said there is not a great
deal more to it. However, it’s the way that you can get rid of them that
makes the game so much fun. Making the best of what was enjoyed on the
console versions of this game has been brought over to the smaller
format without a great deal of stripping down at all. This has
presented itself with pros and cons.
Some modes of the game are just too long, missions
that might be tolerable on a television for 20 plus minutes don’t work
that well on a hand held and this is something that you will have to
battle through on the PSP. For me, a handheld really should be about
almost constant action or at least something a bit more worthwhile to
keep my attention than trudging around for a shockingly long time
looking for a fight.
This is one of the few things that hampered any of my
enjoyment. For the most part you are gonna to have a lot of fun with the
title. It’s just the speed with which you make your way through the
gameworld that can get a bit tedious. Once you are actually fighting
beasts, the action hots up and is a stack of fun. There are a number of
side activities you can undertake that should make this lengthy title
even longer should you choose.
Graphically, this is a solid title on the PSP and the
attention to detail on both your character and the monsters that you
hunt is great. The scope of the monsters look good on the smaller screen
of the PSP and the environments work well. What we have here is a very
detailed world that you will inhabit for potentially over 100 hours of
gameplay, especially if you undertake all the side distractions that are
available.
The control system has been tweaked for gameplay and
for the most part handles really well. The actions of the two analogue
sticks have been mapped to the single thumbstick and transferred through
to the other buttons. There will be a small learning curve for those who
are used to games on the larger console, however it won’t take long to
get used to it all.
Freedom also features a multiplayer co-op mode that
will let you make your way through a fair bit of the game with a few
mates. The title plays well like this and I really liked the feeling of
sharing the adventure.
This is one for those who want a lot of bang for
their buck and Monster Hunter Freedom has it in spades. Tight gameplay,
heaps of stuff to do, along with a fun multiplayer aspect means that you
should be cruising with this game for a long time to come. Be sure you
are into fighting monsters though before laying down the clams as that
is just what you will be doing.
Give it a shot! |
