I've only played the game for about 2 hours so I don't know how much I can offer, but here it goes.
My past experience with the Monster Hunter series is limited to the PSP game on a 1.5 hour flight. I thought the game was interesting but it was hindered by the PSP uncomfortable control scheme. It wasnt working for me.
So I jumped into MHT excitedly, waiting to see what all the excitment was about. It's a slow start, but that's because there are a lot of systems to understand. It's essentially a single-player MMO full of fetch quests--at least so far it is.
This game sort of reminds me of a mashup of the harvesting/crafting system in Rune Factory series and the harshed conditions of Demon's Souls. What I mean by the latter refference is that there is this intentionally crude way of doing things in the game world and there is little hand holding. It's not as severe as DS, but it's sort of in the same vein in a lighthearted fashion. It's a welcome (and sort of refreshing) change of pace for me. I like this part of the game because it feels old-school at heart.
no auto-saves that I'm aware of--just a bedroom with a save point. I've no died yet to test out the load system.
I've been playing Monster Hunter Tri with the new Classic Controller Pro (CCP, and it's because I'm a freak'n PRO gamer-dude ok guys?!) and it mostly works well. It's a REALLY light controller. Easily lighter than the original DualShock or X360 controller. Its comfort factor, for me, sits somewhere between the PS3 and X360 controller with the X360 being the most comfortable. I havent even tried playing with the nunchuck and Wii remote yet. There is a point in the game that, even though I'm using the CCP, it required me to pick up the Wii remote and use it. Strange and cumbersome that.
The default controls mostly work well but there are some odd design choices that were made in regards to the item selection and use process. You have to hold down the left shoulder button to access the item list and then cycle through it using the "A" and "Y" button on the CCP (this is the equivolent of using the X and B buttons on the X360 controller or the Square and Circle buttons on the PS3). Once you know what you want to use you have to hit the L shoulder button again and then press the Y button. It's just a weird and extremely inefficient system.
The combat doesnt have a lock on feature (IE: Z-targeting) so it feels a bit old school. I havent decided if I like this yet. It's not a bother really, but there are times where I would continue swinging my weapon past a creature because the animations hadnt completed yet. If I had a lock-on feature then that could have easily been avoided.
The graphics are nothing special and are surpisingly less impressive than RE4 on the Gamecube. However, I would like to add that they're not ugly either. I think they're mostly fitting for the expereince and lend themself to sort of enhance the grime of the experience.
All this being said, it is a fun game. If you're the type that enjoys the hunting and gathering aspect of MMOs or other RPGs to upgrade and craft more weapons and armor then you'll probably like it.
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