Monster Hunter: World
Monster Hunter World is a beauty and starts 2018 with a bang. I have never played any games of the series before but was excited after playing the demo. MHW is a very technical game ans has a steep learning curve but once you get the hang of crafting it all comes together. Hunting has never been so much fun.
Monster Hunter World places you in an island full of exotic and unique monsters. Your job is too investigate the locales, gather intel, and of course hunt the wildlife. The story and characters are well though out. Hunting is the focus of the game so do not expect a novel like RPG. What the creators did is make each hunt and quest worth doing. There is RNG in the game but you are rewarded with many valuable items after each hunt. The great part about all this is how the developers created a system of missions that can be taken or pushed aside as you go through the main quest. Hunting monsters nets you loot but capturing one the first time lets you place that species in an arena to test your skills and to specifically only hunt that creature. This system is tons of fun.
You are also given the freedom to choose from over a dozen weapon types. You can test out what works best for you for style or situational. As you progress through the game you collect items that can upgrade your weapons. There is a weapons tree that branches out and gives you different options of weapons based on how you want to synthesis them. Want a blunt weapon with fire elemental damage well go hunt the monster with fire shells. Its a simple way of obtaining items necessary for synthesizing and thus is the magic of going on expeditions.
The world is alive. You are given so much to do in the tiny island. Besides the hunt you can collect necessary items to craft by collecting bugs, mining minerals, harvesting plants just to name a few. The hub area consists of different sections to help improve the gaming experience. There is a section to harvest items, a smith and weapons shop, a bounty research team, a cuisine area and a multiplayer hub where you can even arm wrestle other fellow hunters just to name a few. You will also run across a cute pig that has shown up in the series and get to find items to
Monster Hunter World is a multiplayer game but can also be played solo or offline. This option is so great for those that sometimes just want to go exploring by themselves. With regards to getting into a game there are different types of game boards. You can create your own play session, go to other peoples' sessions or also create a clan and play together. The great thing is that you can place whatever restrictions you want with who you want to team up with or have no restrictions at all and play with whoever you want.
Solo or not your main character is accompanied by a cute companion that is called a Palico. It is basically a very cool cat that fights along side you, harvests items and even heals items for you. As you progress through the game you can provide your Palico with better weapons and armor like yourself. One note though, it helps until two to three more people join your multiplayer session. If you only team up with one person both of you will fight with your Palicos since the max number of hunters on a team is set to four.
The world is so beautiful and each locale is a sight to see. The animations of the creatures are fantastic even jaw dropping, especially the first time you see monsters fight each other for being in each others' territory. The music really hits a high and frantic melody when fighting the big monsters. All is quiet and then the music gears up when battle commences. The music is really great and exhilarating. The final boss theme is an instant classic. The character voice acting is good and not entirely corny. I will definitely pick up the official soundtrack.
Monster Hunter World will go down as an instant classic and will definitely be in the running for several awards in 2018. A breathtaking world awaits that hosts uniquely beautiful and terrifying monsters. Playing it solo is a great challenge but teaming up with friends or unknown warriors give it a unique feeling of comradery when a giant monster is taken down. The RNG is fair and not pointless as other recent games. The game is just fun and the smart system of item collecting will have many people hunting to get the armor or weapons they want. Capcom hit it big with Resident Evil 7 in 2017. They started 2018 hitting a home run with Monster Hunter World. May you continue exploring the new world!
Score: 10
Pros:
Beautiful world to explore.
Great looking beasts.
Great character customization.
Grinding and hunting has a point.
Very nice monster themes.
Cons:
After rank 60 can get repetitive.
2018 Game Awards
TBD