Waldy565 Tue Mar 12, 2013 11:00 pmJust a little note, this IS the DEMO, so there will be very few, if any, pictures. This demo has a lot of content however, so it is worth reviewing. Anyways, ONTO THE REVIEW!
Once the demo has loaded, (to which you are greeted with an amazing score, but more on the music later), you can pick between an easy quest and a hard quest. I found the hard quest easier ironically, but I suppose the easier quest is because the monster is land based, while the harder one is amphibious, that is, can go on land AND in water, but that's just me.
Once you have chosen your quest, you choose your loadout. I think there is, erm, 10 loudouts, which range from a standard bow (well, acts like a bow, it's actually anything but standard, quite mechanical in look actually,), to a long sword (again, self explanatory) to a Switch-axe (half sword, half axe, all awesome!). I tried out the bow and dual swords, the bow was powerful but slow, and shot straight, so you had to face your enemy to attack, while the dual swords were agile and had a good range.
Once that is done, your treated to a screen with loads to do, so, naturally, I pressed every button. Please note, this is the layout of the buttons on the demo, it coud change! - The R shoulder button seems to do nothing, while L cycles through your items, such as potions, barrels (I don't know either,), and meat. The start and select button both do the same, it opens up a menu that allows you to do things like craft (not available in demo) and do gestures like nodding and clapping. The Y button uses your item you selected via L, so if you have a potion, you'll drink it. It also sheathes your weapon, so it adds strategy, as you can't heal AND fight. Some may find it frustrating, but I found it added risk/reward to the gameplay. X attacks, as does A. With the bow, for example, X shoots while A you attack with an arrow, like a dagger (yes, that's how big your bow is!). B allows you to evade (normally a roll,), the Circle Pad moves you, and the D-Pad moves the camera. YES, the DIRECTIONAL PAD moves the CAMERA!
That is my only gripe. It works, but why couldn't they use the shoulder buttons to turn it left and right, and the D-Pad to select your items? However, your character moves with the camera (that is, say, if you're swimming, you need to move the camera down to dive,). There is also a little button in the top right that allows you to kick. I'm sure there's a reason for it, but I couldn't find one, apart from kicking my companions, that was of some amusement. And booting little enemies.
Speaking of enemies, there is such a range! Most are dinosaur-like, but there is such a variety on this design, there are ones like stegosaurs, and some like woolly mammoths! The environments are stunning, the easy quest is your typical snow level, but the 3D work well in this level, with mountains looming over you, and enemies only being an inch away from you. However, the hard quest is set in a swamp-like setting, with the land based part of the level being so organic, with trees, and just the level of life in the level! Then, when you get to the water part, just wow! The lake is teeming with fish/eel-like monsters, with water particles sprinkling when your character breaks the surface. The boss of this level resides here, who is like a snake/water dragon, and is an amazing battle of tracking, battling, fleeing, tracking, battling... And the environments and quick pace stop it from getting stale.
The touchpad has a zoomable map and a virtual D-Pad, which I found more useful, as you need to keep moving your character, and you can't do that as the physical D-Pad is situated under the Circle Pad! The music is an absolute epic! Orchestral scores start up when you find a monster, and as the battle ensues, drums rage and trumpets blow, much like if you were thrown into a time machine and went back to the medieval battles, such as the Hundreds' Year Wars! It absorbs you into the battle, and really amplifies the fact you are a puny human that has a strong will to defeat any adversary!
So, should you buy the game when it's released? If you played 2009's Monster Hunter Tri, and wished it was portable, I whole heartedly recommend this. And for people who didn't? If you want a mammoth quest, with plenty of humourous and quirky characters, engaging worlds and epic, leviathan-like battles with amazing weapons, then yeah, maybe you might just like this... I just hope the camera is changed! (maybe Circle Pad Pro support, or bundle one in, like Resident Evil Revelations,)?
Once the demo has loaded, (to which you are greeted with an amazing score, but more on the music later), you can pick between an easy quest and a hard quest. I found the hard quest easier ironically, but I suppose the easier quest is because the monster is land based, while the harder one is amphibious, that is, can go on land AND in water, but that's just me.
Once you have chosen your quest, you choose your loadout. I think there is, erm, 10 loudouts, which range from a standard bow (well, acts like a bow, it's actually anything but standard, quite mechanical in look actually,), to a long sword (again, self explanatory) to a Switch-axe (half sword, half axe, all awesome!). I tried out the bow and dual swords, the bow was powerful but slow, and shot straight, so you had to face your enemy to attack, while the dual swords were agile and had a good range.
Once that is done, your treated to a screen with loads to do, so, naturally, I pressed every button. Please note, this is the layout of the buttons on the demo, it coud change! - The R shoulder button seems to do nothing, while L cycles through your items, such as potions, barrels (I don't know either,), and meat. The start and select button both do the same, it opens up a menu that allows you to do things like craft (not available in demo) and do gestures like nodding and clapping. The Y button uses your item you selected via L, so if you have a potion, you'll drink it. It also sheathes your weapon, so it adds strategy, as you can't heal AND fight. Some may find it frustrating, but I found it added risk/reward to the gameplay. X attacks, as does A. With the bow, for example, X shoots while A you attack with an arrow, like a dagger (yes, that's how big your bow is!). B allows you to evade (normally a roll,), the Circle Pad moves you, and the D-Pad moves the camera. YES, the DIRECTIONAL PAD moves the CAMERA!
That is my only gripe. It works, but why couldn't they use the shoulder buttons to turn it left and right, and the D-Pad to select your items? However, your character moves with the camera (that is, say, if you're swimming, you need to move the camera down to dive,). There is also a little button in the top right that allows you to kick. I'm sure there's a reason for it, but I couldn't find one, apart from kicking my companions, that was of some amusement. And booting little enemies.
Speaking of enemies, there is such a range! Most are dinosaur-like, but there is such a variety on this design, there are ones like stegosaurs, and some like woolly mammoths! The environments are stunning, the easy quest is your typical snow level, but the 3D work well in this level, with mountains looming over you, and enemies only being an inch away from you. However, the hard quest is set in a swamp-like setting, with the land based part of the level being so organic, with trees, and just the level of life in the level! Then, when you get to the water part, just wow! The lake is teeming with fish/eel-like monsters, with water particles sprinkling when your character breaks the surface. The boss of this level resides here, who is like a snake/water dragon, and is an amazing battle of tracking, battling, fleeing, tracking, battling... And the environments and quick pace stop it from getting stale.
The touchpad has a zoomable map and a virtual D-Pad, which I found more useful, as you need to keep moving your character, and you can't do that as the physical D-Pad is situated under the Circle Pad! The music is an absolute epic! Orchestral scores start up when you find a monster, and as the battle ensues, drums rage and trumpets blow, much like if you were thrown into a time machine and went back to the medieval battles, such as the Hundreds' Year Wars! It absorbs you into the battle, and really amplifies the fact you are a puny human that has a strong will to defeat any adversary!
So, should you buy the game when it's released? If you played 2009's Monster Hunter Tri, and wished it was portable, I whole heartedly recommend this. And for people who didn't? If you want a mammoth quest, with plenty of humourous and quirky characters, engaging worlds and epic, leviathan-like battles with amazing weapons, then yeah, maybe you might just like this... I just hope the camera is changed! (maybe Circle Pad Pro support, or bundle one in, like Resident Evil Revelations,)?