Monster Hunter

Big game hunters of the world unite! Monster Hunter gives you the chance to fight just about any fantasy beast you can imagine.

Imagine Jurassic Park as an exotic hunting ground instead of a glorified zoo and you start to have the first inkling as to what Monster Hunter is all about. Now cross in the colorful worlds seen in the Phantasy Star Online series and the spirit of adventure found in the Diablo games. Top with a dash of role-playing elements along with a side serving of online play and you have the recipe for a winning game.

Set for release in Japan this March and in the U.S. this fall, the aptly named Monster Hunter grants players the chance to explore a fantasy world and live life as a big game hunter tracking down exotic beasts far and wide.

The game starts when you create a character and venture forth to the local tavern. After securing a mission it is time to adventure out into the big bad world and start making a living capturing and killing monsters.

Control is handled via two analog sticks, with the left stick moving the player and the right stick being used for attack commands. Surprisingly natural, the system allows for intricate moves to be made with a minimal amount of button pressing.

While most missions will involve tracking down a monster, the ways in which you can do so are nearly endless. You can set a trap for the beast, attack it with powerful weapons head on or distract it and then launch a sneak attack from behind. Whatever your play style, the game should be able to account for it.

Upgrading weapons and armor is handled at shops within the game world, but not everything can be bought. Some items can only be made after all the required components have been collected. By snagging animal parts from dead creatures, such as monster claws, scales and horns, you can craft unique items for use in the game.

Weapons themselves run the gamut from basic to complex. Whether you prefer to play with an oversized joust that makes Cloud's sword in Final Fantasy 7 look like a kitchen knife, or high explosives that could blow just about anything to kingdom come, the choice is here. You can even acquire artillery -- useful when taking on incredibly large targets.

The environments found within the game are vivid and colorful, with a high level of color saturation. The result is a world that appears lush, vast and just a bit mysterious, not unlike a rainforest jungle on this little rock we like to call Earth. Combat areas have been designed to feature varied terrain which means plenty of opportunity for sneak attacks.

Like minded monsters in the game will usually not attack each other, but this doesn't mean that it is exclusively you versus the AI. From what we saw in the demo, different species of monsters have no trouble attacking one another and battling it out. The result can be quite chaotic, but nonetheless interesting.

Those with a PS2 Network Adapter will be able to take Monster Hunter online for some four-player hunting action. The online scenarios revolve allow players to compete to see who can complete a mission the fastest, or cooperative in order to capture a massive beastie. For example, the goal of a scenario might be to retrieve a dragon egg. Sure you could fight the thing head on, but why take the risk? With multiple players, one or two can serve as a distraction while the others retrieve the prize.

In addition to playing with others, the online component will also offer access to specific quests that are only available online. Players who manage to complete these highlighted scenarios will be rewarded with special items.

With open-ended gameplay, expansive environments and featured online play, Monster Hunter is an appealing title that should please fans of both adventure games and classic dungeon crawls. About the only question mark right now is the depth, but given enough environments and creatures to hunt there is little chance of boredom setting in too quickly.

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