Freedom in video games comes in different shapes and forms and more often than not the word open-world comes to mind. Sure enough, a huge sandbox provides the player with the freedom to do whatever they like within the limitations of the game’s design, but freedom is not only limited to the games world but to the choices you’re able to make as well. A simple example would be most of Bioware’s recent role-playing games. The player is free to shape their experience based on their choices and actions within the game. Monster Hunter doesn’t fall into any of those categories though but it still provides what I find to be the most enjoyable form of freedom; the freedom to choose how you play and how you build and grow your character.

3DS_MonsterHunter4Ultimate_01

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate for the most part still follows the same pattern as before. Hunt monsters, gather materials from them to build better gear so that you can hunt even greater and larger beasts. The hook however is the wide variety of playstyles it provides and while it’s common for a game of its kind to provide these options, especially when it comes to weapon types, Monster Hunter doesn’t fall into the similar pattern of having weapon type’s fall neatly into categories based simply on weight. This is not to say that weight doesn’t play a role as you can still choose between the slower Great Sword and the faster Short Sword for instance, but each type feels unique and provides a different experience thanks to their inherent set of skills and combos.

3DS_MonsterHunter4Ultimate_02

There are a total of 14 weapon types with 11 of those being close range and the remaining 3 being long-range. Each weapon has a special skill, set of combos and different characteristics. For instance, The Great Sword is all about timing and observation. It requires precise timing of its attacks and because it’s slow due its weight, you have to be able to predict a monster’s movements so that your attack connects. You’re also able to block and charge up for devastating attacks. On the other end of the spectrum and new to this iteration is the Insect Glaive which grants users the ability to shoot out an insect like creature called the Kinsect to drain essences from a monster for temporary stat buffs and it also has a pole vault attack. The focus then shifts from constantly going on the offence to mixing up your attacks with the Kinsect to gain those buffs for an added advantage. The pole vault attack also ties into a new feature introduced in this game which is mounting a monster.

3DS_MonsterHunter4Ultimate_03Similar in style to Shadow of the Colossus, you’re now able to mount an enemy if you time your attack correctly when doing a jumping attack from either a pole vault or from jumping off a ledge. While it’s not as deep as other mounting systems, it does add a nice touch to battles. As an example, while one of your team mates has mounted the monster and is in the process of dishing out some pain, everyone on the team gets a short reprieve to recuperate and get in shape to continue fighting. It adds a lot to the team dynamic as it is always beneficial to have a member that can easily pull off a mount. Unfortunately the lack of voice chat does hurt when coordinating your attacks but the visual cues are adequate enough to facilitate a natural synergy between party members.

Monster Hunter is meant to be played with other humans as the most fun can only be had when you’re all struggling together to overcome some of the behemoths in this game. There is nothing quite like a group panic that sets in once a monster goes into its frenzy mode which is an aggravated state that increases its power and changes its behaviour. On the flip side of the same coin, when you overcome this beast as a group you can’t help but feel an immense sense of camaraderie amongst your fellow teammates and it just serves as a catalyst to inspire a group to challenge even greater hunts. It’s an amazing cycle of hunt, gather, craft and more hunting. It never really gets stale as Capcom did an amazing job of gradually introducing new challenges to keep hunters fighting and growing. I should also note that playing online was near perfect and I never experienced lag or any sort of latency issues.

3DS_MonsterHunter4Ultimate_07

While the bulk of the enjoyment does come from online play, Monster Hunter 4 actually has a decent campaign this time around, and while it’s nowhere near as extensive as what you’d find in other RPGs, it’s a welcome addition considering what we were given in the past. That said, it still follows the usual Monster Hunter formula of questing but it’s just dressed up in a better fashion this time around with some witty dialogue, CGI cut scenes and an actual story that means something. Expect a ton of cat puns as well, and while the dialogue is no way purrfect, it is entertaining.

On the presentation side of things, Monster Hunter is pretty easy on the eye, more so on the New 3DS as textures are much more defined. Monsters are extremely well designed and each looks and feels unique. Most of the eye candy comes from the various weapons and armour sets which looks so cool that you’ll sometimes just want to stop playing and stare at your character. Sound design is pretty good as well, but nothing particularly outstanding. As an overall package, Monster Hunter looks and feels more alive than previous versions especially in the town areas and does a fantastic job of maintaining a steady and constant frame rate throughout.

3DS_MonsterHunter4Ultimate_16

It’s also very flexible in its control scheme and while it would handle better on the New 3DS due the added analogy nub, playing on older systems works just as well with a lock on system for bigger monsters and a virtual d-pad on the lower screen to control the camera. The lack of voice chat does hurt the online experience but the game is designed in a way to make the co-op experience feel natural, even without it. Quest separation between online and single-player is tedious and it’s definitely something I feel should’ve been tweaked even though it makes sense in terms of the game having more of a proper single player campaign this time around.

 

Last Updated: February 27, 2015

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is the best game in the series by far, sporting some welcomed additions and improvements. Ultimately though, whatever complaints there are are minor, as this is probably one of the deepest games you’ll find on the system and one that will have you playing for hundreds of hours.
9.0
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate was reviewed on Nintendo 3DS

35 Comments

  1. Looking at those screenshots, I thought it was on Xbox One for a second.

    Reply

    • Nikola

      February 27, 2015 at 15:31

      Hahahahaha!!

      Reply

  2. Blood Emperor Trevor

    February 27, 2015 at 14:38

    Damn Umar why do you hate this game? Only a 9? Normally it would be 11/10!

    Reply

    • Umar

      February 27, 2015 at 14:42

      This is why we need to get rid of scores!!

      Reply

      • Blood Emperor Trevor

        February 27, 2015 at 14:47

        But then I’d have to read the review, and reading is HARD. So many words, and they expect you to read them in a specific order. WTF?! What happened to freedom? Why can’t I read it in any word order & it still makes sense? Why are writers so bad at writing reviews? Gams jounalizms man!

        Reply

        • Pariah

          February 27, 2015 at 14:47

          tl;dr

          Reply

        • Umar

          February 27, 2015 at 14:54

          How dare you not use 12 font and comic-sans!…This is why the industry is the way it is.

          Reply

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            February 27, 2015 at 14:56

            You have no idea how close I came to leaving the “s” off “gams” lol

  3. Umar

    February 27, 2015 at 14:38

    Ay, yo! This is yo boi Lil Umarion, if you wana meetup for some monster beat up, hit me up with this FC,yo:
    Izanagi89 – 4184-2898-5954

    I ain’t into that late night booty call though, I don’t swing that way, but if you’re down to hunt, I’m down to hunt. Any time of the day. FO breezy for reelzy, boom boom dollar dollar. Young Moola!!!

    Reply

    • Pariah

      February 27, 2015 at 14:40

      I nearly flagged this is spam. My eyes hurt.

      Reply

      • Umar

        February 27, 2015 at 14:41

        90% of modern hip-hop 😛

        Reply

        • Pariah

          February 27, 2015 at 14:42

          I know. That shit hurts my ears. XD

          Reply

        • Blood Emperor Trevor

          February 27, 2015 at 14:49

          Modern hip-hop?…

          Reply

          • RinceThis

            February 27, 2015 at 14:53

            hahahaha

          • Pariah

            February 27, 2015 at 14:57

            GILF

          • CAE9872

            February 27, 2015 at 15:04

            LOL

  4. RinceThis

    February 27, 2015 at 14:52

    9. Because Unmar *Runs

    Reply

    • Blood Emperor Trevor

      February 27, 2015 at 14:56

      LEAVE UMAR ALONE!

      Reply

      • Umar

        February 27, 2015 at 14:57

        Yeah leave UNMAR alone!….who is that btw?

        Reply

        • Rock789

          February 27, 2015 at 15:23

          He’s the anti-you… Probably hates JRPGs! o_O

          Reply

      • RinceThis

        February 27, 2015 at 15:02

        It’s too much fun! http://i.imgur.com/VKMhWWn.gif Umar one day…

        Reply

        • CAE9872

          February 27, 2015 at 15:05

          You can see that kitten thinking “Now I wonder just how far I can push it with this stupid dog.”

          Reply

          • RinceThis

            February 27, 2015 at 15:06

            And it’s face as the dog strikes, hahahah

        • Umar

          February 27, 2015 at 15:10

          Never! Too much love for the ginger.

          Reply

          • RinceThis

            February 27, 2015 at 15:15

            Nice article there boet 😉

          • Umar

            February 27, 2015 at 15:20

            Tx dude 😀

        • ReaperOfSquirrels

          February 27, 2015 at 15:15

          That last hit tho… lmao.

          Cat: “hey, look at me when I’m bugging you”
          Dog: “don’t you dare try that again”
          Cat: “what? this” *smack* “hahahahahaha!”

          Reply

          • RinceThis

            February 27, 2015 at 15:15

            HAHAHA!

  5. Dragoon of death

    February 27, 2015 at 15:03

    Awesome game, loved the old ones… but the question now is… Will my character be able to wear the blue and black dress or is it the gold and white…

    Reply

    • Sgt. M

      February 27, 2015 at 15:35

      Damn #theDress

      Reply

      • Dragoon of death

        February 27, 2015 at 15:49

        I Damn #theDress to, but I work around people who can’t shut up about it.

        Reply

        • Sgt. M

          February 27, 2015 at 15:56

          *too
          Here at my work too. That and the Cricket

          Reply

          • Dragoon of death

            February 27, 2015 at 18:08

            Apologies, I blame my spelling mistake on it being Friday.

  6. Nova

    February 27, 2015 at 18:09

    I think the SP camp is the best the series has implemented, having to progress to unlock things is always worth the reward. Im only at town 3 and have those mini cat hunt games and fishing mini game unlocked. I like the fact that they acknowledged the absence of monsters but have made the items available via trade or capturing a plessy 😀

    They have really took MH4U to the drawing board. 😀 CANT WAIT to catch you online Umar/koeksister/Boodah

    Reply

    • Umar

      March 2, 2015 at 11:32

      I’ve fallen so far behind also lol Gonna catch up soon!

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

Capcom Announces Street Fighter 6

It’s been a long while since we’ve seen a mainline Street Fighter. After six years Capcom …