Monday, May 24, 2010

Monster Hunter Tri Review




Written by PF
And the Monster Hunter series comes to the Wii for the first time! As the third console game in the series, is the third time always the charm? Here's our review.


Monster Hunter Tri is the first of the series to hit the Wii. This doesn't seem different from many of the action/adventure games Nintendo already has, like the Zelda series. But this game is different and better (at least, better than Twilight Princess)! This game is a definite contender for game of the year. Here's why:

I'll start with something simple. The overall story. Welcome to Moga Village, a small sea-side town off the map. Everything here is quaint. The villagers have everything they need thanks to the many monsters around. But one monster isn't very helpful. A ravage sea monster by the name of the Lagiacrus is tormenting the village by causing massive tremors and quakes. The village chief and his son find no way to stop this, so you step up to the task. But before you can do anything to stop it, you need training. You sign up with "The Guild" and take up quests to train yourself for the eventual fight against the Lagiacrus. Sounds a lot like a specific Pokemon series...

Yup. That's him, alright. And you can't fight him with friends UNTIL you've beaten the game.

The gameplay is very straightforward... if you're using a Classic Controller. The Wii Remote/Nunchuk style involves a lot of stick-waggling from what I've heard. The buttons are confusing and time consuming. Take my advice and us the Classic Controller like me. If you don't have one, it's a great excuse to pick up the sexy black Classic Controller Pro. Ramble's over.

The gameplay has your basic style of moves (Classic Controller controls described). A is attack, R is dash, Y is withdraw/draw your weapon, and with it drawn, R is block. It's all very easy. The controls are easy and memorable. The only way to get confused is if you're using a weapon called a Switch-Axe.

The graphics and scenery are FANTASTIC. This game has better graphics than any Wii game I've seen, and many 360 and PS3 games. The game looks incredibly polished and I've found myself staring at the world around me multiple times. I can't count the times I've just stared at monsters just moving around.


Ignore looking at the scenery and take down that frickin' dragon!

Music. There's little of it, but it's nice. You often just get little jingles as you start a quest and similar ones as you finish it. You get a full theme if you're fighting a large monster, like a Great Baggi or Royal Ludroth. I'll explain those later. But the music sounds great, and the jingles are even better. Starting a quest in the Moga Woods is always a great choice now.

Let's go into the game itself. Customization is a big part of this game, and that means picking your weapons, armor, and such. Let's start with weapons. There are six types to choose from. Sword, Great Sword, Bowgun, Hammer, Longsword, and Switch-Axe. The sword comes packed with a shield and is he basic. all-around weapon. The great sword is strong, but very slow and can't pull off many combos. The bowgun is for attacking enemies form a distance and putting status conditions on them. Hammers are strong and fast, but don't have many combos and are plain fugly. The longsword is a MUCH faster greatsword, but it can't block attacks. And the switch-axe is a combination of the hammer and greatsword. All of the weapons are good for fighting different monsters. I'm personally torn between a Bowgun and Switch-Axe.

The armor is no different. Depending on which weapon you use (bowgun or anything else) will allow you to wear different sets of armor. Each carnivorous monster you defeat in battle will allow the local blacksmith to forge you different sets of armor to wear, each stronger and better equiped than the last. As long as you have the right resources taken from slaying these monsters, you can make anything. You can go for the high stats or just make yourself look cool. Anything works.


And you don't have to stick with a set. You can mix and match different pieces.

The only complaint I have with the game is, when you start playing, not a lot makes sense. The controls and terms are very confusing and don't offer any description. The instruction booklet is no help either. That, and if you need to find specific items for armor or weapons, be prepared to look for A LONG TIME. You aren't told where to find anything, so prepare for using GameFAQs walkthroughs a lot.

I really have no other complaints with this game. It's fantastic, and I encourage any Wii owners to get this. If you say "But Galaxy 2 is out too!" then fine. I won't stop you from playing a 2007 game. But I still have to suggest this to every Wii owner out there.

Score: 9.0 out of 10

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