Platform: PSP
Developer: Capcom of Japan
Publisher: Capcom
Monster Hunter Freedom 2 follows up the PSP’s remarkably popular Monster Hunter Freedom. Once again, it’s back to the world of dragon-slaying, reptile-stalking madness that left fans demanding more after completing the original game that debuted on PSP in 2006.
Utilizing an MMO style of gameplay, Monster Hunter Freedom 2 is a unique action-based RPG in which players tackle hundreds of missions either solo or partied up with up to three other players. You begin the game in the shoes of a young hunter set to carve out a name for yourself. The game progresses with you being tasked with taking on contract quests to slay mighty (and sometimes not-so-mighty) beasts. Gathering valuable materials and animal parts help to make you the best you can be in this diverse game of hunt or be hunted as everything you gain can be used to make hundreds of weapons and different armors.
The right weapon for the right job is the motto in Monster Hunter. The original 6 weapon types –Great Sword, Sword and Shield, Dual Blades, War Hammer, Lance and Bowgun– return to your arsenal but now you can pick up one of the 4 new expansion weapons to do battle with. The expansion weapons include the Long Sword, the Hunting Horn, Gun Lance and Bow which all add their own style and challenge to the overall feel of the game.
Long Swords, considered the close cousin to the Great Sword, still pack heavy power just like their cousins, but are more agile and can string devastating combos. Hunting Horns are similar to their War Hammer brothers in nature, but add the nice element of being support weapons. Melodies played from the Hunting Horn endow you and your party with status effects that boost strengths and eliminate weaknesses (for a short time) to give a new edge in battle. Possessing all the strengths of the original Lance, Gun Lances eliminate the consistent need to poke and prod you prey. Shelling and burst style attacks can be delivered with a Gun Lance and chained together with a powerful blast attack that deals critical fire damage to your foe. Last but not least there’s the Bow. Just like the Bowgun, Bows specialize in ranged attacks but add the ability to strike quickly and evade damage. Bows are also proficient in dealing status effects to the enemy.
Brand new to the Monster Hunter series is the inclusion of a story mode that loosely helps the player connect more with the game. Originally, the only hint of a storyline for the series was the tidbits of information received from various NPCs and scattered literature throughout the game. Though these elements are still here, now the player is pushed through the game with cutscenes and dialogue that help progress their way to the ultimate goal of being the best hunter in history.
The creatures that you hunted in the original game triumphantly return to Monster Hunter Freedom 2 with a few new tricks and attacks in their bag. Also joining their ranks are new beasts that stalk and terrorize territories such as giant Land Crabs (Hermitaurs) and crazed Baboon (Conga) creatures. A stepped up AI eliminates scenarios where you simply wag your weapon and crush a monster. Additionally, Capcom has provided 2 brand new creatures exclusive to Monster Hunter Freedom 2 – the Tigrex and the Akantor. The brutish and overpowered Tigrex will become the new pain in your side with its bladelike claws and a terrifying roar that actually deals damage the player.
Alongside the wyverns and reptiles that provided adventures and peril to your path, four new fierce and powerful elder dragons enter the fray and pose new challenges to the classic kill-or-be-killed formula. Giant chimera beasts known as Teostra and Lunastra terrorize volcanoes and ancient ruins while lurking in plain and undetected sight is the sly Chameleos that waits in ambush for unwitting players. Kushala Daora is the new flagship monster for Monster Hunter Freedom 2. Like MHF’s Rathalos wyvern, players encounter the Elder Dragons throughout various quests and in a new and surprising twist, the fight won’t always end with either success or failure, but with the beast retreating completely from the fight to regenerate. Each one of the new dragons have movements and attacks that will confound even true veterans, but just like in the previous iteration of the series, studying the creature’s behavior is key to mastering the hunt.
Gameplay in Monster Hunter Freedom 2 is all based in real-time. During the missions, combat flows swiftly so the action never lets up for a second and it’s your job to learn to juggle ferocious monsters, gathering materials and healing to make sure you don’t become a casualty in the field. 7 zones wait for exploration and many come with environmental twists and challenges.
As a reward to players that spent time on Monster Hunter Freedom, starting a brand new character in Monster Hunter Freedom 2 offers to convert data from MHF and give your new character carried over items, tickets, a small percentage of your money and access to fast shortcuts to get you started with better weapons and armor. Using the newly added Background Loading option enabled by the PSP Slim allows the system to preload adjacent areas in-quest before you enter them shortening load times and keeping the fight seamless. With no delays in the action, the hunter truly stays in the game.
Even though Monster Hunter Freedom 2 has an MMO formula, true infrastructure is absent from the game. While this doesn’t necessarily hurt the game, it does take away from a tradition that made the Monster Hunter series popular on PS2. Ad hoc mode fills in the gap and downloadable content keeps the game fresh and fun.
As a game that first landed on PS2 in late 2004, three years later, Monster Hunter has evolved into something that is truly enjoyable for both the hardcore gamer as well as the casual one. Though not truly a “pick up and play” type of game, Monster Hunter Freedom 2 has enough action and unique style to keep your attention for a couple hundred hours while you wait for that next must-have game to hit.
