Guess what: I don't know nothin' about no Monster Hunter. The name of that series holds no weight with me, except when a bunch of "git gud" gamers spammed the forums because we put a player new to the series on Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate's review [GN score 6.5 out of 10]. I stand behind Chapel Collins review; I just want you to know that the only thing I know about these games is its vocal fan base.
But anyway. With Monster Hunter: World coming to a big boy console (as opposed to a handheld device), I'm actually interested in seeing where this one goes. Here's a 22-minute gameplay video, starting right off with you, big dino bone sword and all, hopping off a pterodactyle into a mission-giving camp.
I'm not going to lie: The bright, jovial voice of your mission giver kind of grates against my joy-killing western sensibilities, but I haven't turned off the video yet. The giant iguana that swallows another dinosaur whole in about five seconds is nuts. The "stealth" seems a bit arbitrary in execution, but okay; he crouches in some grasses that do nothing for stealth, and at one point he's directly stomped on by a monster though that does nothing either. The "scout flies," I think they're called, are cool as they flit about the monster tracks. The action music sounds like John Williams scoring a buddy cop soundtrack, but that's better than out-and-out J-pop, in my humble opinion. And with a sword as big as this dude's, I'm actually thinking it makes sense that you're locked into lengthy sword-swinging animations, a la Dark Souls. Kind of a bummer when even the devs are having a hard time landing sword swings, though. But the hit-and-run-and-ambush-with-environmental-traps combat is cool. Weird that the damage indicator seems focused around your mini map? But having the map around in the first place seems crucial in this very samey-looking jungle environment. Also good that the biggest monsters around the map can get territorial, forgetting about you for a moment, and start chomping each other. Luring your prey with a sparkly mantle is a neat tactic. And ow, oh my gosh, this monster has lost an enormous chunk of its tail. Man! And it goes limping away, painfully. And dude, when you go back to camp and outfit your little cat buddy with some new armor, I almost couldn't awww hard enough.
It's worth a watch, if you've been curious about this series. The level design is very stiff, if you look at it one way (ramp up here, stair step up there). But when he breaks out that fully automatic crossbow, I couldn't help but cheer him on. That's a hard-won fight, I'll give him that.
Monster Hunter: World is coming to PlayStation 4 in early 2018, with a PC version to be announced at a later date.
Step inside Monster Hunter: World in the brand new Ancient Forest gameplay video!
We’ve just released a brand new gameplay video for Monster Hunter: World. The video takes a deeper look at how one of the upcoming title’s quests unfolds as players set off on their journey to defeat the giant new monster, Anjanath, in the lush and leafy paradise of the Ancient Forest. Step into the gameplay adventure here now!
Monster Hunter: World sees players take on the role of a hunter that completes various quests to hunt and slay monsters within a lively living and breathing eco-system full of predators…. and prey. In the video you can see some of the creatures you can expect to come across within the New World, the newly discovered continent where Monster Hunter: World is set, including the Great Jagras which has the ability to swallow its prey whole and one of the Monster Hunter series favorites, Rathalos.
Players are able to utilize survival tools such as the slinger and Scoutfly to aid them in their hunt. By using these skills to their advantage hunters can lure monsters into traps and even pit them against each other in an epic fierce battle. Can our hunter successfully survive the fight and slay the Anjanath? He’ll need to select his weapon choice carefully from 14 different weapon classes and think strategically about how to take the giant foe down. Don’t forget to pack the camouflaging ghillie suit!
The brand new gameplay video is available to download now from http://press.capcom.com or check it out on our official Monster Hunter YouTube channel.
Monster Hunter: World comes to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in Early 2018. A PC release will follow at a later date.
