Monster Hunter Freedom Unite Review
- Posted June 23rd, 2009 at 04:10 EDT by Steven Williamson
- 10,000 views
- 24 Comments
Review Score
- PSU Review Score
- 9.0
- Avg. user review score:
- 8.7
Summary
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is an insanely addictive action RPG.
We like
- The depth of the combat
- The varied bestiary
- Joining friends on four-player quests
We dislike
- The glaring omission of online multiplayer
- The frequent load times
See PSU's review on Metacritic & GameRankings
It’s not difficult to see why the Monster Hunter series has become the leading PSP franchise in Japan. Offering gamers the chance to hook up together on quests to hunt ferocious monsters and search for hidden treasures across an appealing fantasy game world, this action RPG possesses many of same addictive qualities that have made other role playing games, such as the Final Fantasy titles, so popular. High praise has been lauded on the latest game in the series, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, after it became the top selling game in the Land of The Rising Sun last year, besting the likes of Pokémon Platinum and Wii Fit. In the U.S. and Europe, though, Monster Hunter faces a very different type of audience. Will it appeal to the taste of Western players?
Monster Hunter Freedom’s combat mechanics will test even the most hardened of gamers. The third game in the series, Freedom Unite once again places you in the role of an up-and-coming hunter who must complete various hunting, slaying and gathering missions to achieve glory. Setting off from your base camp of Pokke Village, you pick up quests from the Guild Hall and embark on treacherous missions across stunning environments, including snow-capped mountains and harsh desert terrain.
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Freedom Unite is all about learning your craft and learning it well. If you begin a quest without preparation, you’ll be obliterated by the tough monsters lurking around every corner. Whether you’re heading out on a level-one quest to pick mountain herbs or braving the cold desert nights on the hunt for the land shark, there’s a lot to learn if you plan to come back alive and earn your reward. Combat in Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is difficult to grasp at first, but once studied and practiced, it is intensely satisfying.
The lack of a lock-on targeting function means that you have no assistance in battle and ensures that combat is challenging. Freedom Unite tests your patience by pitting you against some formidable and clever opposition while asking that you spend a lot of time learning the ins and outs of the deep combat system. You have to learn each of the monsters' strengths and weaknesses and those of your weapons. Learning monster "tells," monitoring monster attack patterns and knowing when to strike is also part of the hunt. Other variables add even more strategic layers to the combat. The environment, for example, plays a part in battle (your energy gets sapped when it's cold), and every weapon and item you choose to bring along all factor into the equation. Make the wrong decisions and you’ll head back to Pokke Village empty-handed.
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Speaking of Pokke Village, there’s plenty to do there as well. You’re given a plot of land where you can mine, fish, catch bugs, gather mushrooms, and plant seeds to raise different crops. When you finish each quest, your farm becomes an essential visiting place that grows in stature the more you nurture it. These resources can then be used for cooking, which increase abilities, or to combine and forge new items that may come in handy during battle. Though you're constantly repeating the same actions to mine ore or catch Rumblefish, you're earning money from the land, which subsequently allows you to develop your character into a stronger hunter.
Gathering and collecting items in the game world is extremely important to your progression. Not all items must be hunted, gathered, or farmed; many objects can be combined to make more powerful objects or potions. There’s a great deal of fun to be had out of finding new ingredients and then combining them. You can, for example, mix a fire herb with a nitroshroom to make gunpowder. Though there’s a large element of trial and error, there’s great reward for your efforts as you find and create powerful items that aid you on the battlefield.
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Part of the appeal of the Monster Hunter series in Japan is the ad-hoc multiplayer functionality, which allows up to four players to meet up and embark on quests together. In the U.S. and Europe, however, that feature isn’t such a strong selling point -- there just isn’t the same social PSP-playing culture in these two territories as there is ... (continued on next page)
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Comments
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aegil01
- 5:02am BST - June 23rd, 2009
- 4
I played Monster Hunter portable 2nd G which is the Japanese version of this game and I have to say they have come a long way from the first Monster Hunter for the PS2. They have added many different monsters, new areas, new weapon types which all just added more strategies to the game. I'm glad to see this game got a high rating because most sites give it a bad rating because of the slow beginning. The beauty of this game is revealed in the multiplayer aspect. This game can get very addicting. As I am writing this, I am playing the computer version, Monster Hunter Frontier.
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Staticneuron |
Staticneuron- 5:22am BST - June 23rd, 2009
- 7
The main question is about the install. Does the install help load times? Did you guys try to install the game?
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Aramil_Caelan
- 6:32am BST - June 23rd, 2009
- 9
Monster Hunter is fun, but the mechanics are somewhat awkward, its very repetitive and it is VERY hard
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Fijiandoce |
Fijiandoce- 8:13am BST - June 23rd, 2009
- 11
i likes this game. controls 'different', but its acceptable. pretty addictive too. i missed my stop on the train playing the demo :P pick this up for the GO- when it releases.
sweet!! no more First comments :) that right there should be added as news lol
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Staticneuron |
Staticneuron- 12:36pm BST - June 23rd, 2009
- 16
@PSN_frov
Thanks!
I like the game the only thing that saves it from perfect score for me is lack of story. But it is a very fleshed out world and gameplay experience.
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iplayonlysony
- 2:52pm BST - June 23rd, 2009
- 18
This was a nice review. I just don't think this is my type of game. I like playing in short spurts myself.
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DivineWyrm |
DivineWyrm666- 5:58pm BST - June 23rd, 2009
- 22
playing the europian version right now, effin epic =]
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InfinityDevil |
InfinityDevil- 10:06pm BST - June 23rd, 2009
- 23
My big problem with MHF was that after a certain point you could NOT advance without friends to play with locally. The quest lines would reach a point where you could not finish any missions because the monsters were too big and too hard to tackle alone, period.
My guess is that this is the same way, only more complex with weather etc, so I doubt I'd pick this one up.
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kenshinaki
- 10:40pm BST - September 9th, 2009
- 24
i think this game is good but i do agree with the online part it sucks that you have to have people near you unless you got the usb adaptor x-link kai
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