PSU vs Monster Hunter vs PSO (let's keep it informative)

[Jife_Jifremok]

I've decided to make this topic to compare PSO, Monster Hunter and what we know of PSU. I am doing this in the hopes that some PSO/PSU fans will check out the game Monster Hunter, and hopefully some MH fans will see what's to like about PSU. Being a heavily biased Monster Hunter fan myself and not liking PSO, but very much looking forward to PSU, I felt that this would be a good idea, especially if it convinces MH fans to give PSU a shot.

What I want is factual information and detailed opinions about the core mechanics of each game's combat system, things to be done outside combat, the online system, various gameplay-related details. For the most part, I'd like to see the opinions nice and detailed.

I'm not the best at explaining things, so I'll leave a lot of this stuff to yall. I'll just leave an example of the sort of post I have in mind if posting information on all three games. (If you're only posting on one game, go right ahead. The more info the better!)

Race and Class
PSO: Three races: Human, Newman and Cast. Three classes, Human, Newman and Force. When selecting your class, you also select your race and gender simultaneously. For a newcomer to the game, the names like HUmar, HUcaseal, etc may be a little tricky. Once you've chosen your race/class/gender, you're stuck with them. Each race/class/gender affects your starting stats and how stats progress as you gain levels.

PSU: The Beast class has been added to PSO's existing three. It seems that you can now choose class, race and gender separately, though fans of PSO still call them things like RAcast, FOnewearl, etc. You can change your class during the game for a monetary fee. Each race and class affects your stats and the stats you gain by leveling up. It's worth noting that class-given stats are separate from race-given stats and will change if you change your class.

Monster Hunter: Only humans are allowed, male and female. Technically there are two classes: Blademaster and Gunner. The Blademaster class is divided into several subcategories described by the weapon currently equipped: Sword-n-Shield, Great Sword, Lance, Hammer, and Dual Swords. You change your class (or subclass) freely in town by simply changing your weapon. Class has no effect on your stats, but restricts the equipment you can wear.

[Ibuka]

Hm.. Hard to say... Monster Hunter has it's good things that's better then PSO.. But PSO has somethings that's better then Monster Hunter... For one Monster Hunters searching other players on your list and meeting someone on there sucks... If someone you know is in a quest you can't find them untill they leave the quest. And theres no simple mail or mailing system in the game so if your friend is in another area theres no way you can get hold of him/her unless that person searches there list and see if your on. 40 players to an area is annoying and really annoying since you can't mail your friend to come out and meet in another area....

But Monster Hunter Combat system is alot better then PSO and the Bosses are harder untill it seems like MH was ment more for experts then a normal person that can just pick up and play it.
The LV/HR max is 20 pretty much if you play it as much as PSO shouldn't take you that long to hit HR20 like 3 weeks or a month or maybe even less if you know what your doing

I'm a fan of both PSO and MH.. But unless Capcom releases Monster Hunter 2 in the U.S/E.U PSU is gonna be way better game since it's seems 100 times better then PSO is.
But that's just what i think though



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ibuka on 2006-08-07 02:19 ]</font>

[Tycho]

Well, I wrote a bit in here (http://psupedia.org/index.php?title=Differences) if it helps. It's aimed at people that know about PSO though, but it least it might help figuring out some of the differences.

[Sinue_v2]

PSU is going to be a much better game than MH2 if for nothing else than the fact that MH2 doesn't truely bring anything new to the table. It's an expansion of Monster Hunter with a few tweaks. That's basically it, whereas PSU is a whole new game and a complete overhaul of PSO's gameplay style. A more accurate compairison would be MH2 vs. PSO Ep II.

As for the whole MH vs. PSO debate in and of itself - I'd rather largely stay out of it due to the fact that I've argued it to death on GFaqs. However, I will say that I didn't care for the game since it seemed to me to give players all of the tedium of MMORPGs (such as the farming and grinding) with all the limitations of an instanced diablo-esqe game. The learning curve was far too high for it's own good, and (IMO) the controls were counter-intuitive. Expecially the camera. There's nothing wrong with a game being challenging, but if you have to spend a few hours mastering your ability to play game just so that you can get started mastering the game itself - there's something wrong.

Also, and this is purely a taste thing, but I couldn't stand Monster Hunter's artistic direction. I tried to give the game a fair shake up to HR10 online - tried to look past the design and focus on the gameplay - but if a game is ugly in design there's no way for it to absorb you into it's world. I also had this problem with EverQuest and EverQuest Online Adventures, though to a much lesser digree. (Those games flat out sucked reguardless)

[Saner]

Monster Hunter is a good try, but MH and Monster Hunter 2 won't be better than PSU, even with no fee. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif

[Fleece]

Your posting a "What is better Monster Hunter or PSO" on a PSO forum full of PSO fans........just me or is that stupid.

[Ibuka]

Well theres still hope for Monster Hunter 3 when ever that's gonna come out for PS3... But untill then PSU seems like it's gonna be the pick out of all of them and what ever it's monthly fee is gonna be, then PSU is still gonna be worth it's online fee.

Monster Hunter 2 you won't kept your character from Monster Hunter 1 and if you look at MH2 it still does seem like Monster Hunter 1... Capcom gonna really have to step there game up if with Monster Hunter 3 if Monster Hunter 2 is just basically Monster Hunter 1



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ibuka on 2006-08-07 10:15 ]</font>

[PandaMasterX4]

On 2006-08-07 09:38, Fleece wrote:
Your posting a "What is better Monster Hunter or PSO" on a PSO forum full of PSO fans........just me or is that stupid.



Not exactly. He posted your opinions of all 3 games and not in a comparison but what gaves have better aspects than the others. He's trying to convince PSO players to try out MH and and sure he posted this on a MH forum trying to convince MH players to play PSO.

He's also trying to gather knowledge about PSU and see what the improvements are in the comparison to PSO and MH.

[Dhylec]

Your posting a "What is better Monster Hunter or PSO" on a PSO forum full of PSO fans........just me or is that stupid.
Heh, by default, members posting here are interested in the game, so it's up to the readers to distinguish a very bias view from a neutral view. ;]




<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Dhylec on 2006-08-07 10:54 ]</font>

[Numnuttz]

Ive played MH before and I wasnt to impressed. Yes the bosses do seem harder and theres more things to worry about than PSO but i still prefer PSO than MH. To me MH doesnt hold a long lasting appeal like PSO does. Im able to get bored of MH real quick which makes me think the game isnt worth much. But thats just me.

[MAGNUShunter]

MH was a blast but PSU will rule it on any platform.
Compared to PSU? Almost, but not quite.

[Jife_Jifremok]

On 2006-08-07 10:21, PandaMasterX4 wrote:


On 2006-08-07 09:38, Fleece wrote:
Your posting a "What is better Monster Hunter or PSO" on a PSO forum full of PSO fans........just me or is that stupid.

Not exactly. He posted your opinions of all 3 games and not in a comparison but what gaves have better aspects than the others. He's trying to convince PSO players to try out MH and and sure he posted this on a MH forum trying to convince MH players to play PSO.

He's also trying to gather knowledge about PSU and see what the improvements are in the comparison to PSO and MH.

You're almost right. I simply haven't posted anything like this on a MH forum yet. I'm gonna let that wait till I can more easily compare the three games. When I make my move to get MH players (especially those who hated PSO) to try PSU, my point will be about apples and oranges: PSO is a moldy old orange, MH is a nice apple pie that's been cooling on the windowsill for a while (getting cold but it's still quite edible), and PSU is like freshly-squeezed orange juice after an orange shortage. (or a fresh orange pie that hasn't even cooled on the windowsill yet)

Now to post more on the comparison for what I know, and hoping for more detail from PSU beta testers.
Quest Design
PSO: Many quests from the Hunters Guild make you do lots of running from point A to point B to point C. Sometimes you are assigned an NPC partner that you must escort during the journey. Sometimes you have a time limit. It's like running through a smaller version of a dungeon, without a boss at the end. The rewards aren't even worth the trouble most of the time. Without a quest, you just go to the dungeon, kill enemies to unlock doors so you can proceed, and fight the boss. So that's basically a "Kill the boss" quest. Apparently the Hunters Guild doesn't care about those. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

PSU: It seems you must always go on a quest to start fighting things, like in MH. Not sure if you need to kill all the enemies in a "room" before proceeding to the next like in PSO. (Can someone who knows elaborate on this?) Reward seems to depend upon your performance, though I don't know what affects your reward other than getting killed.

MH: You must always get a quest from the Guild (hunters guild, PSO knockoff!) to leave the town. Each quest has a time limit of 50 mins (a few have less time). Some have you fight specific amounts of small-fry enemies, and some have you kill bosses. When fighting small fry, a boss may appear but you fight it only if you choose to do so. When fighting bosses, you can head straight for the boss, andyou are allowed to ignore small fry but they could get irritating if they're in the same place as the boss. Instead of PSO's escort missions, there are carry missions: You become the helpless escortee (like MOME!) as you struggle to get from point A to point B, unable to run fast or fight back becasue of a heavy freaking stone or egg that you're holding. Online, you can have other people guard you or do the carrying instead so you can just defend them. Your reward depends on your performance: You die, you lose a third of the monetary reward. Three deaths fail the quest. You can get items depending on what monsters or monster parts you break during boss fights.

Small Fry
PSO: There are quite a few different enemy designs, most with predictable head-on AI (or with some horrible flaws like them plants in the jungle) that makes them easy to extinguish. There are some that are designed to make different moves and try to throw you off, like the cloaking Sinue. Some are just downright aggressive (Indi Belra!) and in groups their weaknesses are not easy to exploit.(note: I can only say this as a solo player who hasn't reached level 100. May vary for online groups with higher levels.)

PSU: There seems to be an impressive number of unique enemies. I can't say anything about their behavior without actually playing the game, though. I would imagine an improved AI.

MH: Not many small-fry enemies, as the game is focused more on boss-type battles. There are docile, herbivorous enemies who will not attack, moderately aggressive but unpredictably STUPID raptors, predictable but annoying bulls and erratic, irritating insects. That's it. Large enemy groups are not a problem to deal with if you are good enough to beat small groups.

[Rion772]

It's hard to even compare the two games (MH and PSO). I played MH, I've gotten every boss beaten under my characters Shinobi helm. Monster Hunter is more strategy based, the action and fights are live and using strategy is imperative. Some bosses require lances and guns only, some you can have one man/woman on different body parts (like the head, wings, tail and chest.) PSO is more... You run up and attack or sit back and shoot, there's not nearly as much strategy. You use the bosses weaknesses while keeping your teamates alive and there's no penalty for deaths. Whereas in MH you need to keep everyone alive or they need to go wait in the next room because 3 KO's in your team means the quest is failed. Honestly, I'd have to say PSO/PSU is much better. I'm certainly not saying MH is bad, I have some of the best weapons in the game and have found the hardest to find items (plates and 'blos hearts (found 2 of this offline, hehe)) But it isn't nearly as fun, there really isn't nearly as much to do, you go out on quests, killing for money and parts of armor. Beating the game itself offline is incredibly easy, unlike PSO where to, technically beat the game you need to beat it on all modes in both episode 1 and 2. Monster Hunter is more of a "beat it in 10 hours and keep going on for armor" type of game. I can garuntee I could beat the game in 10-15 hours without using my main character, I could use my worst character and do it easily.

I got bored of MH after I got my Eternal Annihilator (it's not as hard as you think to make... Maybe I just had luck on my side when I was carving, hehe.) I quit PSO last summer, I just started sunday, I got my FO from 52 to 65 (got 65 last night in Ult. Caves.)

Jife, if Roarcfin (I won't mention the last part of his name) tell me.

[Jife_Jifremok]

On 2006-08-07 02:47, Tycho wrote:
Well, I wrote a bit in here (http://psupedia.org/index.php?title=Differences) if it helps. It's aimed at people that know about PSO though, but it least it might help figuring out some of the differences.

Very nice. This could especially help with the PSO-haters that actually played PSO. Thanks.



On 2006-08-08 09:34, Rion772 wrote:
It's hard to even compare the two games (MH and PSO). I played MH, I've gotten every boss beaten under my characters Shinobi helm. Monster Hunter is more strategy based, the action and fights are live and using strategy is imperative. Some bosses require lances and guns only, some you can have one man/woman on different body parts (like the head, wings, tail and chest.) PSO is more... You run up and attack or sit back and shoot, there's not nearly as much strategy. You use the bosses weaknesses while keeping your teamates alive and there's no penalty for deaths. Whereas in MH you need to keep everyone alive or they need to go wait in the next room because 3 KO's in your team means the quest is failed. Honestly, I'd have to say PSO/PSU is much better. I'm certainly not saying MH is bad, I have some of the best weapons in the game and have found the hardest to find items (plates and 'blos hearts (found 2 of this offline, hehe)) But it isn't nearly as fun, there really isn't nearly as much to do, you go out on quests, killing for money and parts of armor. Beating the game itself offline is incredibly easy, unlike PSO where to, technically beat the game you need to beat it on all modes in both episode 1 and 2. Monster Hunter is more of a "beat it in 10 hours and keep going on for armor" type of game. I can garuntee I could beat the game in 10-15 hours without using my main character, I could use my worst character and do it easily.


Yeah, they're different enough that it's plausible to argue that they're too different. But they happen to be similar enough that they can still be compared. For one thing, MH's running around carving rare parts for the most showoffy equipment is pretty similar to red box hunting in PSO, but with improved chances of carving rare parts and a higher amount of them needed. Plenty of times I carved stupid crap like scales and tails when I wanted marrow or plates, just like seeing a red box in PSO and finding out it's yet another GAE BOLG or VJAYA. (I was a Bluefull.)
PSU's improved controls scheme looks to be taken from MH (camera control, first-person aiming), while retaining the parts of PSO's scheme that weren't broken (buttons to attack and switch weapons). While fully manual camera control and first-person aiming have been around in games long before MH, none that I've seen really felt like MH or PSO in nature.

Yeah, not sure how clear I sounded but that's a part of why I feel the games are so similar despite being apples and oranges. PSU's similarities to MH make it easy to get MH and PSO/PSU fans to try each others game, and their differences make sure that fans of both have two very different experiences. PSU's improvements, some of which bring it closer to MH (mainly the control) without even detracting from the good PSO elements, should make it even easier for MH fans to try PSU.



On 2006-08-08 09:34, Rion772 wrote:
I got bored of MH after I got my Eternal Annihilator (it's not as hard as you think to make... Maybe I just had luck on my side when I was carving, hehe.) I quit PSO last summer, I just started sunday, I got my FO from 52 to 65 (got 65 last night in Ult. Caves.)

Yeah, you were definately lucky when you carved. I logged over 300 hours of MH, slew many a rath and still didn't have nearly enough rath plates. As for PSO, I got my HUmar level 93 in Ultimate Seabed (was like below 75 in Ult. Forest). Fought Olga Flow, beat the first form after a really long battle (IMO felt extremely dragged out), then got one-hit-killed by the second form and gave up. Haven't played since, especially after remembering how long it took to beat Hard Flow at around or below level 70. (plus, I can't even dodge its shockwave-that-may-have-gaps-in-it-as-it-goes-farther attack because the camera makes me move weird when I face Flow while running away)



On 2006-08-08 09:34, Rion772 wrote:
Jife, if Roarcfin (I won't mention the last part of his name) tell me.

I have no idea who that is, so I can't help you. Probably because I haven't logged onto MH online in many a month, and probably never will again. I'll be on MH2(jp) offline-only instead. I'll tell you if I see him there. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Jife_Jifremok on 2006-08-10 01:52 ]</font>