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blackwar12's Monster Hunter Freedom (PSP)
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| [February 8, 2008 09:56:26 PM]
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Gamelog #2
GAMEPLAY
After playing Monster Hunter Freedom some more, I was still very much compelled by it. The challenges that the game provides ramps up constantly, which makes for an extremely challenging and difficult gameplay. New tactics and strategies are always necessary in order to overcome challenges later presented in the game.
Monster Hunter Freedom is also not merely a challenging hack-and-slash game. Some missions promote a different style of play : retrieving items and capturing creatures. Players have to be able to effectively know when a creature is sufficiently wounded, a state that will give a player the highest chance of successfully capturing a creature. Not only that, but players will also have to be able to effectively track down fleeing creatures, as most creatures will flee in order to regenerate their health when they are near death. Quests that require players to retrieve items force the player to not be physically touched by any creature in fear of dropping the items that the player is carrying. This forces players to learn about other creatures’ attack sequence ( in order to allow them to effectively avoid attacks directed at them), what paths to take while carrying the item ( to ensure the lowest chance of them dropping the item), and to make consumable or equipment combinations that helps them move faster.
I particularly like the extra layering of challenge that the game presents. Not only do you have to be an effective fighter, but you have to be a good hunter, tracker, gatherer, and strategist. Ultimately, the game requires the player to be good at almost everything in the game in order to continually progress in the game.
DESIGN
The game has a reward structure that I did not particularly like. The rewards in the game come in the form of gold, which is obtained after successfully completing a mission, and in the form of animal body parts.
You're almost always short on something, especially in regards to gold. If you needed gold to buy or upgrade something expensive, then chances are you have to repeatedly perform a quest that gives you a lot of gold in a short amount of time. I changed my primary weapons a number of times, and as a result, I was forced to do this if I wanted a new weapon that is up to par. Repeating the same quest over and over for gold was particularly boring and mind-numbing, and I would have preferred an abundance of gold, or some other option to allow you to trade or switch primary weapons.
Gathering animal body parts was something else that I did not particularly enjoy. Animal body parts are almost always needed when creating or upgrading your weapon or armor. Like gold, you’re often short on animal body parts. When I wanted to upgrade my weapon to a stronger one, I was always short on some form of animal body part. This means that I had to repeat a certain quest with the highest chances of rewarding me with a particular body part over and over again. The animal body parts that you obtain are random, with some constraints, which ultimately means that sometimes you’re not lucky and have to keep doing a particular quest many times until you have exactly what is needed to upgrade or create a new weapon or armor.
This entry has been edited 4 times. It was last edited on Feb 8th, 2008 at 22:53:04.
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| [February 8, 2008 08:39:26 PM]
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Gamelog entry #1
Summary
Monster Hunter Freedom is a game based on a three-dimensional world that incorporates RPG, action, adventure, and hack-and-slash elements where the player takes control of the character from a third person perspective. The goal of the game is to complete quests given by a number of NPCs in order to unlock higher level quests along with a number of hunting ranks.
Gameplay
The game was quite fun and interesting. As a hunter, you have to defeat a multitude of enemies, almost all of them extremely bigger and stronger than you physically. As a result, the game requires extreme planning, positioning, strategy, knowledge of your opponent, and ultimately skill to beat your opponents. This creates a rather dynamic combat system in the game, which is extremely pleasurable after playing a number of hack-and-slash games with almost nothing but mind-numbing, repetitive actions during combat as you progress through the game.
Although the mechanics of the game creates an interesting and dynamic gameplay, it also means that the game was rather difficult; in essence, the game has an extremely steep learning curve. I was required to defeat a strong ( when compared to my character during the early state of the game) monster named Yian Kut ku in order to advance to the next level of quests available, and it took me a number of tries until I was able to accomplish the task. In the process of defeating the monster, I had to perform numerous actions in order to beat it, such as attacking at the monster’s most vital points, strategic retreats, avoiding tail sweep attacks, the use of baits and traps, knowing when the monster’s going to perform a dangerous attack, and making sure that I stand at positions that will prevent the creature from directly attacking me.
The game didn't have much in regards to tutorials and help, which is in line with the game's intense learning curve. Aside from five minor quests that teach you the very basics of the game, such as cooking, skinning, gathering, and defeating the easiest monsters, you have to find out everything yourself. Tactics against a particularly strong monster are in essence “created” by the player, and it is rather hard to simply copy another player’s technique. It is also up to the player to properly utilize tools available in the game, such as traps. Not only does the player have to gather or buy materials before they are able to create traps and pitfalls, but the player must properly use the traps in combat in order to successfully trap a monster. Some monsters predictably charge at you in a particular fashion, allowing you to trap them if you successfully drop your trap between you and the monster before they charge at you. However, if you try the same tactic on another creature (dropping the trap between the player and the monster), then there’s a chance that the tactic can fail; the monster might not predictably charge, or the monster might decide to fly and land at another location before resuming his attacks.
This entry has been edited 4 times. It was last edited on Feb 8th, 2008 at 21:56:41.
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blackwar12's Monster Hunter Freedom (PSP)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Friday 8 February, 2008
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