Monster Hunters Assemble
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite might not be an entirely new game, but that doesn't stop it from rocking.
Published: June 28, 2009
I don't know what it is lately with all these re-releases with basic upgrades, but there's been an awful lot of 'em hitting close together; Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires is grabbing all the basic assets of Dynasty Warriors 6 and adding Risk-like land grabs, and Guitar Hero: Smash Hits literally brings back songs from the previous games and throws the whole band at 'em. See, the thing about those those games -- and, indeed, this one -- is that they're a bit of a slap in the face to anyone who jumped in early. You already bought the majority of the content, but here it is again with some fancy new things!!!! to try to woo you back rather than offering a whole new experience.
The biggest problem is that this process will undoubtedly work. Dynasty Warriors games just sell; I don't know how they do, but they do. Guitar Hero anything will sell because it has that name, though not in the same numbers as before Activision started cranking the things out five-a-year. Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is Monster Hunter Freedom 2, but with some new monsters. There's more to it, of course, and if I were hard-pressed, I would probably argue that you'll get more raw game time out of this supposed "re-release" of the game than any of the other games I'm poo-pooing, but the practice still rubs me the wrong way.
Of course, the Monster Hunter series' popularity here in the states pales in comparison to what's happened to it in Japan. They could slap Monster Hunter: HA HA WE JUST TOOK ALL YOUR MONEY, STUPID! on the case in huge letters and it would still sell a million copies, such is the demand for the games. Here in the States, though, people didn't really gravitate toward the series, and it's fairly easy to see why: this is a multiplayer game, and one that all but requires that you be sitting next to those people for ease of communication and coordination.
And so, Capcom is giving the whole American push for Monster Hunter Portable a third shot. It's easily the most ambitious out there. They've created a monster compendium wiki, the cult-like status of the previous games has only grown, and the games all but dominate tunneling services like X-Link Kai in terms of what's being used to link up PSP owners via an Ad-Hoc connection. Capcom must be understandably frustrated with Sony, too. In Japan, the Ad Hoc Party app is a free way to essentially tether a PSP to a PS3 to enable it to play against other PSP/PS3 owners running the app.
There isn't a single PSP game better suited to launching this thing before the PSPgo hits (thus giving it some traction for those early adopters scooping up Gran Turismo) while giving Sony a more buddy-buddy relationship with PSP third-party developers than MHFU. This is a game that needs online play, and if it ain't happening with Infrastructure play, then Sony could make it happen with some basic localization. As it stands now, if you buy this game and you don't have three other friends around to play it with you all the time, you owe it to yourself to create a JP PSN account, grab the app and spend a bit of time familiarizing yourself with the process for finding other players. It's not quite the same as sharing the same room, but it's better than nothing.
Right, so enough bitching about what could or should have happened. Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is here, and it's a ridiculously deep experience. The single-player, such as it is, really only exists to provide a tutorial, a bit of grinding and now, thanks to having an AI companion you can hire and level up, a taste of what it's like to play with other people.
The biggest problem is that this process will undoubtedly work. Dynasty Warriors games just sell; I don't know how they do, but they do. Guitar Hero anything will sell because it has that name, though not in the same numbers as before Activision started cranking the things out five-a-year. Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is Monster Hunter Freedom 2, but with some new monsters. There's more to it, of course, and if I were hard-pressed, I would probably argue that you'll get more raw game time out of this supposed "re-release" of the game than any of the other games I'm poo-pooing, but the practice still rubs me the wrong way.
Of course, the Monster Hunter series' popularity here in the states pales in comparison to what's happened to it in Japan. They could slap Monster Hunter: HA HA WE JUST TOOK ALL YOUR MONEY, STUPID! on the case in huge letters and it would still sell a million copies, such is the demand for the games. Here in the States, though, people didn't really gravitate toward the series, and it's fairly easy to see why: this is a multiplayer game, and one that all but requires that you be sitting next to those people for ease of communication and coordination.
And so, Capcom is giving the whole American push for Monster Hunter Portable a third shot. It's easily the most ambitious out there. They've created a monster compendium wiki, the cult-like status of the previous games has only grown, and the games all but dominate tunneling services like X-Link Kai in terms of what's being used to link up PSP owners via an Ad-Hoc connection. Capcom must be understandably frustrated with Sony, too. In Japan, the Ad Hoc Party app is a free way to essentially tether a PSP to a PS3 to enable it to play against other PSP/PS3 owners running the app.
There isn't a single PSP game better suited to launching this thing before the PSPgo hits (thus giving it some traction for those early adopters scooping up Gran Turismo) while giving Sony a more buddy-buddy relationship with PSP third-party developers than MHFU. This is a game that needs online play, and if it ain't happening with Infrastructure play, then Sony could make it happen with some basic localization. As it stands now, if you buy this game and you don't have three other friends around to play it with you all the time, you owe it to yourself to create a JP PSN account, grab the app and spend a bit of time familiarizing yourself with the process for finding other players. It's not quite the same as sharing the same room, but it's better than nothing.
Right, so enough bitching about what could or should have happened. Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is here, and it's a ridiculously deep experience. The single-player, such as it is, really only exists to provide a tutorial, a bit of grinding and now, thanks to having an AI companion you can hire and level up, a taste of what it's like to play with other people.
