Monster Hunter Tri (Wii, 2010)

Monster Hunter Tri has exceeded my expectations the moment I began playing. Even from the moment I watched the opening scene when I put the game in I was impressed. New and old hunters alike will definitely enjoy the giant monsters you have to battle in this new installment of the Monster Hunter franchise.

Graphics: I was a Monster Hunter fan from the first one on the PS2. They didn't have the most impressive graphics with other games that greatly surpassed those, but the definitely did it right for the Wii. This game rivals the graphics of Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess among other titles. Breathtaking scenery, well detailed areas, monsters and characters, and lastly the underwater features. You really have to give credit to this game for pushing the Wii's graphics capabilities to it's limits. Although if you decide to play this on a large television, you might see some choppiness on the screen, although that happens with most Wii games.
Graphics: 5/5

Music/Sound: The music score in Monster Hunter Tri fits right in with it's style. While you're in the village it plays cheery tribal like music and when in battle it has it's epic fighting score. As I played I was glad to find out that they kept the original BBQ music score when you're cooking, it was catchy and fun to listen to. They don't have many voice overs for the game other than the occasional "Hey!" or "Hello!" when talking to shop owners. Usually they just have different voice sounds as I like to call it, something similar to Okami, so I'll assume that some Japanese games are like this most of the time. Nonetheless, it's fine with me, most people just skip the chat dialog anyways. Music/Sound: 5/5

Controls: Alright, I can't lie, using the Wiimote and Nunchuck for this game is abysmal. Sure it's a little more interactive, but trying to get the right move at the right time is difficult, especially when you have to twist or flick the Wiimote in a specific way. Get a Classic Controller Pro, end of story. The controls are much simpler, you have two different configurations for it (New style where you attack using the buttons or classic style where you attack using the right joystick). I use the classic style because that's the way it was played in the first. Sure changing camera angles is a pain with the D-Pad, but I've been used to it for the whole year I played the first Monster Hunter. If you're a new hunter I suggest using the new style controls, my friend enjoys it that way. Although if you're an old hunter, you'll want to use the classic controls. It just feels right.
Miimote score: 2/5 Classic score: 5/5

Gameplay: Here is the bread and butter of this franchise. Your objective; hunt down some of the biggest monsters you've ever seen, and trust me, they're huge. They're are almost all new large monster species in this game although they've kept the Rathalos, Rathian, and Diablos. The newest one (on the front case) is the Lagiacrus (La-gi-a-cris). An electrical underwater leviathan. Among hunting monsters you have to collect items and monster parts to create and make armor and weapons. They've fixed the hitboxes (areas where monsters can hit you) which is really, really nice. There are specific online and offline monsters so you really should play both modes. I have to make this short, I'm running out of space.
Gameplay: 5/5

Replay Value: Endless. I recently got this game and I have 50+ hours logged in this already and I'm still on my first character.
Replay value:5/5

This game is all about killing monsters, grabbing and carving pieces out of them, and forging bigger and better Armour and Weapons. Considering that the Wii is a few steps behind both the Xbox360 and the PS3, it is extremely nice for a game of such good quality was released on it.

Gameplay: The game play is straight forward in the sense that the purpose is to defeat monsters. There are also minor elements such as mining, fishing, harvesting, farming, and boating which give the many needed items for building your character. Upgrading your character depends fully on how much you want to gather items from resources and monster. The thing is, you -have- spend a good amount of time just to continue forward. Many gamers hate grinding for items, so gameplay looses there. The monsters are more Dinosaur than dragons or mythic beasts, so that falls short for me; When I think fantasty gaming, I think dragons. 9/10

Music: Music is phenomenal. The sound is great orchestral music, which fits the setting and the game very well. There could be more variation between zones and the music. 9/10

Visual: Monster Hunter Tri is phenomenal for a Wii game in the aspect of graphics. The monsters are large and well-textured, the scenery is lush and full, and the cinematics are likewise great. 9/10

Control: The game has a few issues with wandering cameras and sharp-locking views. Sometimes while attacking, you loose your direction and continue attacking in the wrong direction. This could stem from teh fact there is no auto-locking on monsters in this game so your attacks follow ahead from where you are looking. So if the monsters are moving everywhere, you'll be chasing monsters down just to hit. It might be hard, but it really fits the game. 9/10

Overall: A great game for most people used to eastern-styled games with heavy grinding and control-learning along with many combat-orientated choices, but the game passes my likes. If someone does not like the elements in the game, I obviously do not suggest it.

Overall:: 9.5/10

5 years ago I played Monster Hunter Freedom for the PSP. It was one of the very few titles I played on that system that I actually enjoyed. When I heard Monster Hunter was coming for the Wii,I was excited and somehow knew the new direction this series would go in. There's more imagination and a generally better story. I was quite impressed watching the opening cut-scene and looking at the imagery and impressive graphics. I quickly understood the game is one of the most epic Wii titles and it appears that Capcom put alot of work into it. I noticed right away that Monster Hunter 3 had many RPG elements such as creating your own character and being able to carry many items and collect items. Even the bosses and various monsters take a certain amount of strategy mostly due to the controls. This may become frustrating but not to the point to where you want to quit playing. It's frustrating in a addicting way. The world in this game is huge and consists of swamps, plains, oceans, mountains and deserts. It's the most epic journey to grace the Wii since Twilight Princess and the best game for the Wii since New Super Mario Bros. last year. If you own a Wii and want every "must have," game in your library, this should, without a doubt be a induction.

Yes, this game is fun.

It is interactive, and you can personalize your avatar enough to make something that feels like your own.

The nunchuk controller is required, but it is badly programmed in the setup phase, requiring use of the arrow keys on the main Wiimote instead of simply using the joystick on the nunchuk.

TOTALLY ANNOYING is the amount of text that must be read on the screen. It's too small, too much, and the default font is terrible.

WORSE, and much more annoying, is that some of the characters' text is WRITTEN WITH ACCENTS and WRITTEN WITH COLLOQUIALISMS.

This game likely would be very difficult to understand if you learned English as a second language. I would not recommend this game for global consumption because of the silliness of the designers' decision to write character text in some "style". Very annoying. Should at least have offered an option to turn that off and have plain text.

Everything about this game is top notch but the graphics are really what makes this game as incredible as it is. If you are looking for a game with a great story line, this is not it. The action on this game is incredible. The monsters look so life like, you cannot help but wonder sometimes if they are not at least based on animals that once walked the earth. The armor and weapons give the game some flexability that helps ease the aggrivation of facing some of the boss monsters. Example, you are getting your tail handed to you by a Barroth, maybe using a sword and shild will fit you better than a Lance or a Hammer. The armor in this game not only looks cool, but can hurt or help you depending on the elemental strenghts and weaknesses it carries. Online and offline mode are great for this game. I recommend getting a little ways into the offline mode before stepping online, because the online quests get a little more difficult faster than the offline quests do. Overall this is worth the $ and will be a great purchase for you or as a gift.