The Clackamas print., January 31, 2018, Page 7, Image 7

A R TS
AND
C U LTU R E
7
Monster hunting perfected
STORY BY IAN VAN ORDEN
NEWS AND OPINION EDITOR
♦
H ave you ever had th e urge to trudge
through jungle environments, a giant
§ l w eap on strap p ed to your b ack ,
>1111™ h u n tin g stran ge and w ondrous
dinosaurs-like monsters more than
twice your size? This is the premise
presented by M onster Hunter: World,
the newest entry in the long running
Japanese Monster Hunter series.
Joined by your trusty cat com panion, or Palico, you’re a
hunter who travels to the new world, joining the Research
Com m ission to study and hunt the m onsters found in the
region’s untamed wilds. The Com m ission specif ically studies
world m ap without a specif ic goal. Instead, you hunt the larger
monsters you have already taken down during the various
hunts, explore the gam e’s large, open world and gather the
various materials that can be found throughout the world.
The core gam eplay focuses around a variety o f weapons
used to h unt the gam e’s various monsters. Currently there
are 14 different weapons available in the gam e, w hich are
accessible from the first missions. Each weapon type offers a
number o f variants, each balanced to take on different types
o f monsters.
The game also features a robust upgrade system for your
weapons and armor. Using parts from the monsters you hunt,
as well as different materials that can be scavenged from the
open world, players are able to upgrade their gear in a number
o f ways, creating specialized versions o f their weapons better
point in his or her hunt.
. .
Expeditions are also only accessible in single player, though
there is a workaround. Optional missions, found on the job
board, where you register for any o f the gam e’s hunts, do
allow for multiplayer. Once an optional hunt is completed,
thè party will be given an option to return to camp, or return
to the m ain hub. Returning to camp will allow the party to
continue on an expedition in the same region.
There is one additional workaround to this lim itation,
involving the gam e’s SOS system . This system , w hich is
designed to allow the player to call for help from other players
who are searching for SOS signals, can be exploited to allow
access to another player’s expedition.
G raphically, M H :W is absolutely gorgeous. From the
environm ental design, w hich features several d ifferen t
archetypes, to the design o f the monsters them selves, the
suited to figh t specific kinds o f m onsters.
The g a m e ’ s m on sters are varied and in terestin g, all attention to detail found in W orld is incredible. Each new
presenting a unique challenge. Some are huge and intimidating, area offers new wonders to see, new areas to explore, and all
Speh as the Deviljho, aT-Rexlike monster, and some are more o f them are incredible to view. W hereas the previous several
ridiculous looking, though no less dangerous, such as the Kulu- iterations of the Monster Hunter series werereleased as hand­
the wave of monsters migrating to the new world, attempting
to discover the reason for their migration.
A s per the nam e, the m ajority of your tim e in the game
w ill be spent hu n tin g the various m onsters found in the
new world. The two major activities found w ithin the gam e,
hu n ts and expeditions, b oth task you w ith en terin g the
w orld map, tracking and h u n tin g the various xnonsters
w hile also gathering the regions various plantlife to craft Ya-K u. Each type o f m onster requires different strategies to held titles, lim iting the graphical possibilities, it’s obvious
that the development team wanted to take advantage o f the
into consum ables used to h eal or b u ff yourself during fights. take down depending on their capabilities.
A s w ith the previous entries in the series, M H :W also increase in power offered by the return to hom e consoles.
Hunts are the gam e’s formal m issions. Split into several
Overall, M H:W is an interesting experience. Those that are
varieties, including assignm ents, the gam e’s story missions, features a robust multiplayer offering. Allowing for drop-in,
optional, and event, accepting any o f these will send you drop-out multiplayer, m eaning it is possible to join orleave familiar with the senes w ill recognize m any of the gam e’s i B g
straight to the world m ap w ith the objective o f hunting a
specific monster w ithin a set tim e limit.
Expeditions, on the other hand, are more free form. Instead
o f h avin ga set objective, expeditions allow ÿou to enter the
Clackamas Print
in-progress m issions, the gam e allows for friends to join in elem en ts, as the core gam ep lay rem aihs m o stly intact.
on each other’s hunts, though there are some limitations. Sporting solid gam eplay and impressive graphics, M H:W is
During m any assignm ents, for example, you are not able to an excellent choice for any who find the premise intriguing
join some hunts until the m ain player has reached a certain in the least.
theclackam asprint.net
January S I, 2018