The World is Your Oyster: A MHW Review

So, I've come to the hard conclusion that I've feared admitting to myself.

I'd rather talk about games, movies, and anything not involving finance or investments. I enjoy my work in the financial industry, but when it really comes down to it, I just don't find it relaxing to talk about after nearly forty hours of it a week. I enjoy the subject to bits, but it's like having cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner when all you want is a slice of glorious pie. You try staring at a blank sheet for two hours and just feel boiling dread. So this is a Mea Culpa, but it's not the end of my writings. Maybe one day I'll be able to revisit the idea of writing a financial journal when writing one doesn't fill me with the feeling of work.

But on to that glorious, succulent, relaxing pie.

You hear that? That's the sound of my blood pressure skyrocketing and my art-on rising strong. I am a long time fan of Monster Hunter; ever since my mom had brought the very first home for the PS2. This glorious, beautiful, in-depth fantasy hunting simulator is my crack. Having played my favorite series all the way through every English release, it's understandable that I was in catatonic glee that it would finally release on PS4, Xbox One, and PC computers. Good gods. Next-gen Monster Hunter is NOT console exclusive AND on PC? Sign me the fuck up.

So what's my take on World? Two words; jaw-dropping. It's almost astounding how much has changed yet how much has stayed the same. We're going to have to tackle this piece by piece.

Graphics:
Good gods. This game. The environments. The monsters. The weapons and armor. Next-gen never looked so good to me. Certain zones had me looking just at the environment for hours, and for the first time I truely believed the giant monsters I was facing were terrors of the world. Just looking at the details will keep me coming back to the flourishing world around me.

Gameplay:
The combat is an interesting turn of events, as I expected it to be as rigid as World's predecessors. Instead, what I found was something that flowed just right, while still bearing that same rigidity. Many of the weapons now felt a lot more natural. I had never enjoyed playing a range weapon despite them bearing many of my favorite designs. World has definitely flipped that perspective, and I look forward to mastering them alongside my favorite melee weapons.

Along with the weaponry, comes gathering and crafting of items. You can finally use potions while moving (about goddamn time.), and said potions are now much easier to craft with the option of automatically crafting certain items as you gather their materials. It's an odd, welcome change for something this late in the series. Some of the recipes changed up, and crafting that shiny set of custom armor just became easier, as all pieces now have individual bonuses easily shown, and can be mixed and matched with others for a truly stand out experience.

Here's where I kind of have to draw a small, shallow line. I personally don't like the damage numbers as you hit a monster. To me, I would have liked it better if it had shown maybe a deeper wounding, or a differing sound and damage indicator. I can see how they are amazingly useful for both newer and returning players, and I may sound like a grump by pulling this little thread .

Does it make it any less of a game? Hell no, but I'm not a critic if I don't find something I don't like to nitpick.

The Hunting World:
If you had told me that Monster Hunter needed more story, I would have laughed. If you had come back and told me it needed voice acting, I would have laughed harder. To be fair, that second still applies.

While I'm still not the greatest fan of story in a Monster Hunter game, World seems to bring a healthy dose to an otherwise cut and dry concept. Every game in the series had a pretty simplistic plot. There are monsters. You have a very sharp stabbing or shooting thing. Your goal is for there to be significantly less monsters.

With World's plot, it gives just enough of a story dose without making you seem minuscule in an existence where Wyverns and infinitely hungry T-Rexs also exist. You have a reason for being here, here's your stabby implement of choice, and there's the monsters. Go get'em champ!

The voice acting is another story. Could anyone tell me why it was strictly necessary? Was there some schoolyard fight over the pronunciaton of Rathalos? I don't know, but it really adds nothing for me. I guess in an environment of triple-A games you have to have some form of voice acting. Is it well voiced and every actor really feels a part of the environment? Yes. It just doesn't click with me.

Finally, it comes down to the monsters. After all, we have to hunt something and since Kelbi's are still immortal, the aforementioned scaly menaces will have to do. With all new beasties, comes learning them all. Learning their patterns and weaknesses takes a bit of work, however the game is incredibly helpful by providing you guides as you gain experience with fighting them. I do kinda miss alot of the older cast of monsters, but at the same time the newer ones are already solidifying several spots in my top ten, such as the Legiana pictured above.

The Round Up:
All in all, Monster Hunter World is currently my top game of the year. I know that's not saying much, being just near the end of January and all, but it'll be fighting with the best of the coming year. It is one of the very few games that I can say is well worth the base price, and one of the few big-budget games that I can argue does right by the next-gen gaming world. Now then, I've got my special edition all set up and ready; So you'll have to excuse me. It's time to grab my favorite hunting partner and dive back in.