Monster Hunter 3 (~Tri) Preview

Upon the series debut on PS2 back in 2004 the public reaction to the Monster Hunter series was, at best, mediocre. Someone, who is unquestionably very happy now, proposed porting Monster Hunter to Sony's portable wonder and here we are, with MH2G climbining to 3 million and counting! Now, let's take a sneak peek at how things fare for the next iteration of the franchise, Monster Hunter 3, developed from the ground up on Wii, through the free demo bundled with the system's own version of Monster Hunter G which was recently released. Before we start, let me make it clear that I don't speak Japanese, so don't ask for any story coverage.

The demo consists of two quests, hunt either a Kurubekko (little wyvern much like Kut-Ku) or an alpha carnivore, Dosjagi. You can choose between 5 weapons: Great Sword, Sword & Shield, Hammer, Light Crossbow and Heavy Crossbow. Make your selections and off you go! The first thing you'll notice is the spectacular graphics; no, that's no hyperbole. The lighting, the texture detail, anti-aliasing (yes, you read that right, no jaggies), HDR (High dynamic range rendering for us geeks) and other technologies make this one of the prettiest Wii games on the market, period. PSP Monster Hunter games looked phenomenal on the platform and pushed the hardware beyond what was thought possible, Capcom made no compromises this time either. The game also features a great musical score, which is much more epic in scope than previous iterations. Loading times between each areas take 1-2 seconds tops, nothing disturbing, but not very pleasant either.

The one of the two boss creatures featured in the demo, Dosjagi. A lot like a Velocidrome, actually.

For the purpose of this preview, we took on the Kurubekko. From the start, you can actually see the wyvern you're hunting on the map (although its not clear yet if this is a new feature in the game or the armor having a wyvern sensing effect). The creatures now inhabiting the MH3 world have vastly different and more iteresting behaviors; attack a Jagi (small carnivores like the Genprey) and others will come to help, eventually being aided by their alpha, Dosjagi. The Melynxes are much more aggresive and smarter. The Kurubekko uses a red ballon in its chest to imitate other monster's screams tricking them to come to its aid, like said Melynxes, Jagis or even a Dosjagi! For those unfamiliar with the Monster Hunter ways, you hunt creatures like herbivores, carnivores, giant crabs, apes and ultimately wyverns to complete quest and earn rewards. There's no leveling up or stats, just weapons and armor which you actually make and upgrade using items and parts you carve off the monsters you slay. At one point you desperately swing your great sword for one last blow to a Gypceros, the next you're proudly wearing its nails as part of your new, shiny greaves.

The environments are shown in much greater detail this time; huge, barren cliffs tower above you, crystal clear lakes inhabited by sharks and other sea creatures, caves, ruins and passages are hidden throughout the map. Really, you'll be amazed by the attention to detail Capcom has put into the game. You can dive into a lake at the top of the map, swim through it and reach an outherwise unreachable cave with tons of spots to mine minerals or steal some wyvern eggs. Many times I started the game to just explore and wander around, eventually reaching the demo's 20 minute time limit and failing the quest. While you're swimming, a blue bar appears at the left of the screen reflecting your character's time before he drowns. Full on combat can also take place underwater, and although it feels a bit ackward at first, it'll come to you after a while, especially if you're a MH veteran.

The underwater sections look absolutely phenomenal; go for the wyvern or the cave? Hmmmm...

You hold the remote in different angles to differentiate your attacks; holding it verically will make you swing vertically, while holding it flat will do a horizontall sweep. Switch to the classic controller and you can choose between to control methods : one exactly the same as the PS2 versions of MH (and it works just fine) and a second which resembles the PSP iterations, with combat mapped to the second analogue (each of the 4 directions initiates a different attack, i.e. left performs a side to side blow). While underwater, you swim to whatever direction you want with the analogue stick mapped to moving on the ground, while direction is handled by the camera angle, effectively meaning you have to move the camer where you want your character to move (move to camera upwards and your character surfaces). As with previous games in the series, you cannot lock on to enemies, nor strafe, but that will actually bother new players.

Capcom specifically talked about expanding the franchise to the West a while ago, and while the game seems phenomenal, whith incredible attention to detail, sky high production values and pouring tons of love into it. Nevertheless, nothing was done to make it more accessible to newcomers, or even casual players hoping to hunt some wyverns with their friends. The controls are largely the same, the camera is as stiffy as ever, and the game is tough as nails. That's really great for fans of Monster Hunter, as it stays true to the formula, and will surely attract the said fanbase, yet Capcom can't ignore the rest of the world and making this one of the biggest franchises around, especially with the Wii's expanded audience. Now of you'll excuse me, I have a Kurubekko to slay; for the 20th time.

Next up -> Arc Rise Fantasia Preview