Monster Hunter: World Review
I have been playing Monster Hunter: World by Capcom for three weeks now, and I enjoy it. The biggest change that I like is that once you get onto a map, there are no loading-times between areas. This is not an open-world game, although you could be forgiven for assuming so, with the word World in the title. So what did Capcom intend with the word World in the title if they weren't trying to make the game open-world? Perhaps they were declaring that this game was going to appeal to the entire world, and not just Japan.
The second biggest addition that I like are the Scoutflies, which are very helpful, from finding gatherable materials, to tracking monsters. No longer do you need to use Paintballs on monsters.
I would argue that Capcom has made this game more accessible without making it easier. The changes they have made, like being able to move while drinking a potion or eating a ration, make the game better and more logical. They do make the game easier, but it's a logical choice. You should be able to move while drinking something. It's more realistic and believable, and doesn't feel like difficulty that was brought on by the lack of programming-knowledge or hardware-restrictions.
Although Capcom has made the game more accessible and teaches you its fundamental elements very well, there are many things that are left unexplained, and will require guesswork or internet-research. I'm not too mad about this. It's kind of like what they do with their fighting-games. In Street Fighter V, they don't teach you every single possible combo a character has, but a few key ones, with which you can come up with your own.
So what is Monster Hunter: World? It is not simply a methodical action-game like From Software's Soulsborne-games. You can shoot guns, bows, and magic in those other games, but those games do not have nearly the variety of weapons that exists in Monster Hunter: World. Whatever you do in a Soulsborne-game, your bread-and-butter weapon will be a close-ranged weapon. With Monster Hunter: World, I chose the bow, and I do not need to use melee-attacks at all.
There is crafting in Monster Hunter: World, but it is different from Minecraft because you can not acquire everything from the environment. There are things that you have to buy, or are provided for you on quests, others that drop from or are carved from monsters, and some that are rewards for completing quests.
One of the great things about Monster Hunter in general is that you can repeat quests to get the reward you want, which brings me to the random aspect of the series. Like Diablo II, some items do not drop all the time, and so you will have to repeatedly do quests or capture monsters to acquire them. I kind of like this aspect of doing things over and over again, or "grinding." It simultaneously treats the player like a worker, and empowers him or her at the same time. You do need to do things multiple times to achieve a goal, but it's up to you to do it. Like an RPG, you can set your eyes on a cool-looking armor-set and go for the materials. Once you have all the materials, craft the armor, wear it, and look very cool, it's very satisfying.
A lot of games are one-trick ponies, but Monster Hunter: World is not. It is not just a crafting-game or a monster-hunting game, because there are elements of farming. There is a basic farming-system where you can grow farmable things from plants to bugs.
It is not an MMORPG because your party is a maximum of four, and the game can be played offline. It is more like Phantasy Star Online, but with a lot more depth.
Unlike traditional RPGs, you don't level-up your character, but your equipment. Does that disqualify it as an RPG? Maybe, but who cares? It's fun. Monster Hunter: World also makes grinding feel a lot more fun than simply holding a button down for hours, because it's an action-game - you have to actually use skill to play it.
All these systems make Monster Hunter: World feel very deep and dense. It is a game that can probably be played forever. I have played over 70 hours of this game, and I have not scratched its surface, nor have I seen the ending-credits.
Monster Hunter: World gets a five... out of five.
The second biggest addition that I like are the Scoutflies, which are very helpful, from finding gatherable materials, to tracking monsters. No longer do you need to use Paintballs on monsters.
I would argue that Capcom has made this game more accessible without making it easier. The changes they have made, like being able to move while drinking a potion or eating a ration, make the game better and more logical. They do make the game easier, but it's a logical choice. You should be able to move while drinking something. It's more realistic and believable, and doesn't feel like difficulty that was brought on by the lack of programming-knowledge or hardware-restrictions.
Although Capcom has made the game more accessible and teaches you its fundamental elements very well, there are many things that are left unexplained, and will require guesswork or internet-research. I'm not too mad about this. It's kind of like what they do with their fighting-games. In Street Fighter V, they don't teach you every single possible combo a character has, but a few key ones, with which you can come up with your own.
So what is Monster Hunter: World? It is not simply a methodical action-game like From Software's Soulsborne-games. You can shoot guns, bows, and magic in those other games, but those games do not have nearly the variety of weapons that exists in Monster Hunter: World. Whatever you do in a Soulsborne-game, your bread-and-butter weapon will be a close-ranged weapon. With Monster Hunter: World, I chose the bow, and I do not need to use melee-attacks at all.
There is crafting in Monster Hunter: World, but it is different from Minecraft because you can not acquire everything from the environment. There are things that you have to buy, or are provided for you on quests, others that drop from or are carved from monsters, and some that are rewards for completing quests.
One of the great things about Monster Hunter in general is that you can repeat quests to get the reward you want, which brings me to the random aspect of the series. Like Diablo II, some items do not drop all the time, and so you will have to repeatedly do quests or capture monsters to acquire them. I kind of like this aspect of doing things over and over again, or "grinding." It simultaneously treats the player like a worker, and empowers him or her at the same time. You do need to do things multiple times to achieve a goal, but it's up to you to do it. Like an RPG, you can set your eyes on a cool-looking armor-set and go for the materials. Once you have all the materials, craft the armor, wear it, and look very cool, it's very satisfying.
A lot of games are one-trick ponies, but Monster Hunter: World is not. It is not just a crafting-game or a monster-hunting game, because there are elements of farming. There is a basic farming-system where you can grow farmable things from plants to bugs.
It is not an MMORPG because your party is a maximum of four, and the game can be played offline. It is more like Phantasy Star Online, but with a lot more depth.
Unlike traditional RPGs, you don't level-up your character, but your equipment. Does that disqualify it as an RPG? Maybe, but who cares? It's fun. Monster Hunter: World also makes grinding feel a lot more fun than simply holding a button down for hours, because it's an action-game - you have to actually use skill to play it.
All these systems make Monster Hunter: World feel very deep and dense. It is a game that can probably be played forever. I have played over 70 hours of this game, and I have not scratched its surface, nor have I seen the ending-credits.
Monster Hunter: World gets a five... out of five.
Comments
Post a Comment