Monster hunter?

[pkemr4]

how good is monster hunter? been thinking about giving that game a try

[Zorafim]

The gameplay's fun. The grinding killed it for me though.

[strikerhunter]

how good is monster hunter? been thinking about giving that game a try

Better than PSO2 IMO.

Combat is actually challenging with the monsters, limited items to bring in quests makes think on what to bring, dying is actually punishing..........do I have to make a list?

Monster Hunter is by far one of the best game series in it's genre that I've played. (SS is close to it but SS is just missing some stuffs).

The most expensive games are "free to play".

Bingo, the idea is to get players to think they are spending less than subscription games when they aren't unless it has a freemium system.

[LonelyGaruga]

how good is monster hunter? been thinking about giving that game a try

Fairly exceptional, though the gameplay isn't suitable for everyone. The biggest draw in Japan is the portability of the portable games. Whereas PSO2 needs a good internet connection, you can take a portable MH game anywhere and find people. That's the most basic reason for MH and PSO2 to be completely incompatible as competitors, and why I said what I said.

As for the game itself...it's difficult to answer that without a proper definition of "good". It is certainly the most successful PSP franchise in Japan, with decent success elsewhere. Monster Hunter Tri was one of the best selling Wii games in its release year. Monster Hunter Frontier has been going on for nearly a decade with no visible end in sight. Outside of sales, I could go on and on about the games, being a fan of them, but that would be derailing the topic further than I'd like to. Try out the most recent installment you can find and see if you like it. If you don't, then chances are you won't like older ones. If you do, then you'll probably enjoy the rest of the franchise.

EDIT: Though, make sure to stick with it for a while. This is one of those games where the mid-endgame content is much, much more interesting than the beginning stuff.

[Outrider]

The gameplay's fun. The grinding killed it for me though.

BINGO

The core gameplay has its problems but if you enjoy it and have some good friends to play with it can be great. Just be aware that you're going to have to devote a ton of time to the game if you want to get anywhere in it. If you don't mind grinding the same boss for hours at a time to get the armor piece you need but actually just dying and losing two hours of your life, you'll probably love the game.

Essentially the game doesn't really care about your free time. (Like, at all.) Do you come home after a long day at work and want to play something for just an hour or two before you go to sleep? Do you want to play a game in which, even if you fail, you have some sense of progress so that you don't feel like you've wasted your precious little free time? Does it bother you that failure in Monster Hunter means you have gained absolutely nothing from that encounter - no money, no items, no sort of experience levels to aid in future encounters?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, I'd recommend skipping the game.

Basically, it's the perfect game for:

1.) People who are looking for a something, ANYTHING to fill their copious amounts of spare time (students, the unemployed, lonely people, retirees[?])
2.) Somebody who wants a meaty team multiplayer experience that isn't just rounds of shooting people
3.) People who hate dinosaurs (probably)

If, on the other hand, you fall into one of the following categories:

1.) Somebody who does not have much free time due to job, children, other fulfilling hobbies and activities
2.) Somebody who wants to play many different games instead of dedicating all their time to just one or two
3.) You are a dinosaur (probably)

then skip it. Skip it and don't look back. (Also, if you're a dinosaur I'm not sure you can actually turn your head enough to look back.)

Then again, considering we're on a PSO forum, I imagine you're probably more inclined to like it than not. If you have time to play PSU or PSO2 or whatever, you should probably consider sinking some of that time into Monster Hunter.

[gigawuts]

Good game. Starts slow. Focuses on learning patterns and mastering tactics. Go play.

[RenzokukenZ]

If you have PS+ and a PSP/Vita, Monster Hunter Freedom United will be free this week, so you can get a better and full opinion of the game.

Personally I like the games, but as stated earlier, its a bit of a grind. You can spend hours farming the same boss to craft a full armor set, only to find out minutes later that there's a new armor set with twice the defense values from a different boss. Arguably, the grind IS the game, so if that doesn't tickle your fancy, you can pass on it.

[gigawuts]

Yeah, the metagame lies entirely in the gear, and what combination of sets & skill gems you use. Skills completely matter and modify your tactics, and you'll want to change your sets for certain monsters with specific behaviors (earplugs for stuff that constantly screams, etc.)

I missed that sort of stuff in PSO2, so I was happy to get my fix in MH3U.

That said, the grind isn't for everybody. I felt the grind went hand in hand with what I wanted to do anyway - try out new tactics and experiment. Sometimes the RNG shafts you, but the very worst droprate in the game is 1% so that doesn't even come close to PSO2's. It gets tedious and boring when solo later in the game, which is what made me stop playing.

[o0Kais0o]

Haven't played the more recent games as I didn't feel like splashing out for new consoles. The PSP games were great fun, though I did find a point where I couldn't progress because I wasn't good enough to solo the latter parts of the games and had nobody else to play with because there was no online mode. So I guess I'll parrot others and say if you want a challenge then yes, play these games.