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[HUNT ON] Monster Hunter Freedom 2 - Keep on Huntin'
Airan
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
It’s out! The best selling PSP game in Japan (over 1.8 million copies according to Wikipedia) has finally come to the States. I don’t actually own a PSP but I’ve been hunting down the original PS2 game (recently found it!) since I first saw videos of Monster Hunter Frontier – the PC online version of the game currently undergoing open beta (Japan residents only).
From Wikipedia:
Monster Hunter Freedom 2 is a PlayStation Portable video game and sequel to Monster Hunter Freedom, largely based on its PlayStation 2 predecessor Monster Hunter 2, which was never released outside of Japan.
Monster Hunter Freedom 2 is not a port of Monster Hunter 2 but instead a portable update of the Monster Hunter series. New features have been added while others were removed to make the game appropriate for its portable platform. It is currently slated for release in the USA in August. Its Japanese counterpart is called Monster Hunter Portable 2nd.
Release date in the EU: NOW. Alternatively you can also get the US version HERE. I'm not entirely sure of the cross compatibility between region versions if you wish to play online via XLink, but I'm placing a safe bet that the US and EU are incompatible, but I have yet to confirm.
Release date in AUS: Was September 12 2007, but it would appear to be OUT NOW for you Australian folk! Or maybe some stores broke the release date, either way's good
Official US website
Monster Hunter places you as a Hunter, who goes out to hunt monsters (hurr). They range from wild boars and dinosaurs to dragons and huge crabs. Think Phantasy Star Online, but instead of making runs through dungeons you accept quests from the village elder and then head out to the hunting areas. Quest types range from hunting a specific target, killing a set number of targets and foraging items and delivering them, all of which have a set time limit. You can also co-operate with 3 other players, helping each other to bring down tougher monsters.
Feature list, courtesy of The_Spaniard:
* Over 8 Exciting Maps to Explore - Jungle, Desert, Swamp, Snowy Mountain, Volcano, Tower, and Town, Forest and Hills.
* Hours of Gameplay - More than 100 single player quests, 235 multiplayer quests, 6 treasure hunting quests, and over 30 downloadable quests!
* More than 70 Types of Monsters, 700 weapons, and 1400 pieces of armor to create.
* Exciting Mini Games – Collect items, harvest plants and complete other small tasks to obtain all kinds of useful items!
Weapons!
Well you're not going to beat a dinosaur senseless without something sharp.
In the original game you had 6 weapon type choices:
Sword and Shield – The all-rounder, good combo ability, and you get defence in form of a shield.
Lance – This weapon is for those who want to charge head on to a monster but also have some defence (you can attack while guarding). With the lance, you poke the monster till it dies. You cannot roll-dodge with lances, only sidestep.
Great Sword – nicknamed the “Noob weapon” by online veterans, the Great Sword is huge. HUEG. As a result it’s also slow as fuck. Incredibly damaging (2nd best atk rating) but the recovery speed will leave you wide open. Use with caution.
Bowguns – Bowguns are separated into 2 types, light and heavy. Lights have a variety of support ammunition to fire off – stun bullets, dung bullets, sleep bullets etc. Heavies are cannons of doom but take a long time to setup and reload. Bowguns need ammo to function, so make sure you stock up before heading out!
Dual Swords – or twin daggers. You can charge up the weapons using Stamina to perform damaging combos. Good recovery times, but you cannot block with them.
Hammer – The best attack rating, and probably the most underrated weapon in MH, Hammers hit like trucks, and you can also charge up before unleashing a spin attack – useful when surrounded by raptors. You cannot block with this weapon type.
In the sequel you also have (screenshots in link):
Tachi – a slimmer Great Sword, weaker but faster (also, they’re reaaally long), you can charge up the Tachi by hitting monsters long enough to fill up the Charge bar which appears when using the Tachi.
GunLance – Like Squall’s GunBlade, but in Lance form. You can charge at a monster, stick the Lance into their bodies, and pull the trigger. :^:
Bow – This weapon has infinite ammo, unlike the Guns. You can hold down the attack button to charge up the attack (your character will flash) up to 3 times, increasing the damage modifier every time.
Hunting Horn – This is a ‘support hammer’ type weapon. You can swing it around like a Hammer, but its main feature is that you can play tunes on it, which, depending on what notes you played, can offer different support effects, from Health Boosts, Infinite Stamina, DEF Ups and Status negations.
You also have armour, with a DEF rating as well as resistance ratings for the 4 ‘elements’ : Lightning, Water, Fire and Dragon.
Items also play a huge part in your success in Monster Hunter, there are the standard potions and stamina increasing items, but you also have things like barrel bombs, flashbangs and food traps to make your hunting life easier. Example of trap usage in the original MH. Uses poisoned and sleeping meat to slowly kill a large dragon solo before blowing him up.
You can buy weapons, armour and items from the village shops, or you can kill monsters for their hides, bones and meat, as well as forage for components in places like bushes, trees or long grass. Combine these components to create items for free! Weapon and armour components need to be used in a shop though.
GameTrailers review
IGN review
ONLINE MULTIPLAYER
Fucking EU and its lack of PS2 network adaptors :x
Anyway, the US version does not have official online play (it only supports local wireless) but with the help of XLink Kai you can play online!
Essentially XLink Kai tricks your PSP to thinking it’s connected to other players in Local Wireless (Ad-hoc) mode, but the program sends the data online to other players. XLink also supports Xbox, PS2 and Gamecube!
The official XLink Kai boards, as well as the US Capcom boards, have tons of information on how to set up XLink Kai. Apparently the easiest way is to use Datel’s WiFi MAX USB dongle but you can use a couple of wireless routers, various wifi laptop cards and other dongles as well. A list of compatible hardware is in this thread.
Buy Datel WiFi Max Dongle here: United States | United Kingdom
List of PA'ers who can play MHF2 online via XLink
Forum Name - Xlink Name
DuoRCN - ???
Varega - VaregaDiablo
Harakhti - Harakhti
Lehman - CLehman
Airan - Airan
Renzo - The1Renzo
Osiris5217da - Osiris5217da
MastaBeta - Masta_Beta
Videos:
Guide on how to set up XLink with Datel’s WIFI MAX
XLink gameplay on the original Monster Hunter Freedom
GameTrailers E3 2k7 trailer
Gameplay 1
Gameplay 2
Despite not owning a PSP (though I’m mightily tempted to pick up a Slim because of this game at Christmas) I’m still drumming up interest in the series in hopes of one day Capcom might just release Frontier to the US
So does anyone have this game, and could give their impressions of it?
Airan on
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I also did the Xlink Kai route for multiplayer, and it was not bad. Little confusing to set up, but worked pretty well. Especially when you get into the deeper levels of the game.
The game has a few 9 and 8 reviews which is cool but also a couple of 7 and 6 reviews, but mainly those are from less reputable sources. Isn't it kinda funny when bad reviews for fairly decent games tend to not just be off the mark but also factually wrong in so many respects?
PSM3 Magazine UK - 65
Fun online, but a weak single-player..
Uhh yeah game doesn't have online, Einstein only ad-hoc.
oh and check it out, here is the ENTIRE Game Informer review, I'm not even joking here. The only joke here is Game Informer.
Game Informer - 7/10
For a handheld, the production values in Monster Hunter Freedom 2 seem pretty high. I like the art style in particular, and the game is even laugh-out-loud funny on occasion. Problem is, a couple of hours in you realize that impressive graphics and great atmosphere are all this game really has to show. Missions are fairly repetitive and directionless, and the load times are a little too long. MHF is, at times, so slow it might put you to sleep if you’re not careful. I just wish this game’s world were wrapped around some truly awesome gameplay. As it stands, it’s like a promising Christmas present that turns out to be one of grandma’s sweaters.
-BEN REEVES
A paragraph? A fucking paragraph? Who gets away with writing single paragraph reviews on what should be a fairly big title for a system?
That review was 3 god damned lines on my monitor.
Anyway I read the positive reviews, I read a few of the negative ones and the game seems cool enough to really warrant a purchase if you're into that kind of thing. I'll let you guys know after tonight if I like the game or not.
Oh and Airan you might want to update the op with a feature list on the game, here let me help.
* Over 8 Exciting Maps to Explore - Jungle, Desert, Swamp, Snowy Mountain, Volcano, Tower, and Town, Forest and Hills.
* Hours of Gameplay - More than 100 single player quests, 235 multiplayer quests, 6 treasure hunting quests, and over 30 downloadable quests!
* More than 70 Types of Monsters, 700 weapons, and 1400 pieces of armor to create.
* Exciting Mini Games – Collect items, harvest plants and complete other small tasks to obtain all kinds of useful items!
Also I didn't get my plush with pre-order, I'm going to give the store a few days to get them and if it doesn't come in I'm fucking calling corporate. I'm tired of almost never getting my pre-order bonii.
The game seems like it's going to require a lot of dedication to fully enjoy. I love the concept, and hope that the gameplay adds up.
One thing I keep reading is that the game loses something without multiplayer. I know that I'm probably never going to play ad-hoc in this game, but I doubt it'll lessen my enjoyment of the game.
The fandom of this game is really something special. The Japanese love it.
Does this mean you'll be hunting monsters in a town setting?!? That'd be more exciting than a plain ol' landscape I think
This is almost makeing me want to go get a PSP.
Pretty sure that's a hub area, but I wouldn't know for sure. All videos I've encountered haven't shown any buildings crumbling from Kut Ku seiges or whatever :P
Spreading the word about XLink seems harder than I thought. No one seems to read the comments in the GT review *shakes fist*
The issue with Xlink is that you usually need to buy another adapter to go online. If I could do it via my laptop, which I can't since XLink doesn't recognize this built in wireless card, I would. Instead, I had to buy the Dongle for it, and it was a great experience when I grouped with a bunch of people i know.
Seriously guys, if you have a PSP, you need to buy this game. I just upgraded my armor to Bone and I'm getting back in the swing of things. Dual Swords/Light gunner combo is win.
man i have like no money trying to buy all these PSP and DS games
Yeah, nobody seems to really be talking about XLink. I just learned about it myself (from this thread) and after reading up on it a bit, it seems like it'll work just fine.
Does XLink require special hardware? It doesn't run through all wifi routers?
Not special, just compatible. The OP has a thread link to the XLink forums listing known compatible WiFi routers, cards and dongles. Doesn't hurt to try with your hardware even if it's not listed. I seriously regret buying the official Nintendo USB dongle now. Unless I install some unofficial software to make it a SoftAP, it's now a useless stick.
Started out with the hunting horn to see how it compared to the hammers (which I was never very great with) and I can say it holds its own pretty nicely, at least in the early game. Also, bonus points for running around with the upper half of a genprey strapped to my back.
PSN: LucidStar_BC
Though I can just feel that it will pay off.. monstrously?
no you stop holding off and buy a pspslim right when it comes out
you want it
Oh I do [want it]. But I can't justify that purchase just yet... This game tempts me, however. I will succumb soon.
Have you seen the list for JUST Wii games coming out by December? Not to mention 360 and the DS. AND I have to buy stuff for my friends/family?
I can't do it just it. But I will.
dude
you're never going to be able to get every DS or 360 game or whatever
and you're going to miss out on stuff like FFT and MGS and multiple other awesome games
They'll still be there (hopefully at a cheaper price!) when I buy a PSP. Never you worry!
I've had Monster Hunter and the Broadband adapter collecting dust for a couple of years now for fear of having to solo it. And as bad as some reviews, especially the GI make the game out to be, it actually convinced me to buy it because my favorite games are always the odd ones they give 7s and 6s to- Breakdown, Phantom Dust and the like.
I guess I am just holding off because I've never done any MMORPG type crafting/forging/gathering type stuff before and I don't care to read hundreds of in-depth faqs and put 100s of hours in a grind to get the most out of the game. Anyone still play?
I couldn't agree more. It's aggrivating as hell. I'm just hoping that the rumors from a year ago that the series was going 360/PS3 for part 3 is true, because if they're bringing it to the 360, at least then I know it's not gonna be Japan only.
Prices for the WiFi MAX seem a little steep... times like these make me wish there was an American LewieP about :x
Gum is the icky. I refuse your heartfelt gift.
Don't like gum?.. What are you? Some kind of homo Mexican Jew lizard?
I may be. Is there a litmus test for it? Can I pee on a stick?
Points for the futurama quote.
Also: Bones.
I've made a forum post (an off topic one, no less) in the official forums asking about the lack of online.
I fully expect to be shot down by the locals however, what with the community there being more or less satisfied with XLink. One of the key points apparently is the difficulty of communication, something Xlink fixes with its chat feature.
So how does the single player work exactly? Am I right thinking there no multiplayer at all?