Quick Look: Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

I really like these Jason-quick looks. Informative and fun.

@pkmango7: Jason can dig a lot deeper than Patrick, Patrick only played about 10 hours before giving up. And I have no real problems with people saying they dislike a game in the comment section of a QL; a lot of GB fans watch pretty much everything GB records, even QLs of games they don't like. It's not like going into a thread about a game on the forum just to say you don't like it, you're expressing your opinion about a game you just watched/are gonna watch someone play.

I was about to get standard new 3ds (too late today for special ed.), and though i could technically afford it, i chickened out as it felt silly to drop ~300 on it at this time. Just went with the game for my og 3ds xl and wondering if i'll regret it...

Stay tuned for the exclusive Skylander Rock Jaw. Haha.

Maybe consider that users generally gravitate towards websites that have internet personalities that generally match their own? This is especially such with Giant Bomb because it is such a heavily personality and community-driven website - there's nothing wrong with that.

The game looks a lot worse on video than it actually does in person. It looks real nice and sharp and runs pretty well even with the 3D turned all the way up. It's all down to if you like monster hunter or not.

Not sure why the trash talking of Monster Hunter meme is still going on. You don't have to like it, but its still a functioning video game with a shit ton of content (and new content in this version especially). Also it's great Jason is a part of GB so that someone who really knows MonHun can try to show it off more.

Don't know if it has been mentioned, but the graphics are quite a bit better on the New 3DS than they are on this capture unit.

JASON FIGHTS FOR THE HUNTERS!

Anyone else think this looks like a step down graphically from 3U? I got the same sense from the demo, but wondered if it'd be canged in the final release. The QL doesn't seem to look any better.

It just hit me: Monster Hunter is a like a free-to-play game without the ability to pay your way through the bullshit.

Positivity Time! - I'm glad that Dan and Jason are able to "fill in the holes" in the crew. Dan's got modern Nintendo and fun while Jason's got fighting and beat-your-head-into-a-wall games.

Thumbs up Jeff for trying so hard. You could still hear the cracks but he tried. Please remember to be nice if you want to talk mad opinions about MH4 and why Jeff is wrong :D

I am excited for this game. So there.

@amyggen: It makes sense that people will watch content regardless, but it's a pretty flimsy justification for the desperate baiting on both sides that inevitably results with each new iteration's QL. That's my only real beef, not that people dislike a game I like.

My guess is they had to keep it lean because of the step up in verticality. There's really no reason for the fast climb animation to look as jank as it does though.

@homelessviking: Anyone else think this looks like a step down graphically from 3U?

That was my first thought upon seeing screenshots as well but the sorta positive thing is I think this was actually a factor of space. There are significantly more monsters, weapons, and armor sets then there were in 3U so I think they just straight up did not have enough cart space for better textures. Obviously that's just speculation on my part but it seems kinda reasonable.

Quicklook with Jason, hype!

There's a pretty huge visual difference between the game on N3DS and normal 3DS.

Nice to have Jason on staff for games like this. I've never gotten into Monster Hunter myself, but listening to someone who understands how it works is a lot more interesting than watching people just fumble around.

@amyggen: fuck, i have to get a new 3ds now huh

You haven't seen the comments on the latest Bombcast then. Seems like most people disagree with his opinion of Majora's Mask.

so many baddies in the comments, git gud.

DOUBLE J

Man, why is Jeff on this QL?

He knows he doesn't like the series. We know he doesn't like the series.

The QL is basically Jason explaining the game better than any other GBer ever did, but Jeff just oozing negativity every chance he gets.

The banter just ends up being. "Oh, hey this is what happens", "I hate MH". "Yeah, and these are additions", "I still hate MH". "Well, I like [----] because [-----]", "I hate MH with a passion".

All that aside, and more importantly, Jason really does a good job in this QL.

He needs to be in more QLs and not just the little voice (of wisdom) in the background!

I downloaded the demo to this to try and give Monster Hunter a chance finally. Took only a few minutes to decide that the way you control the camera with a virtual d-pad on the touch screen can fuck off.

You're smooth on the mic Jason. I like that a lot.

I look forward to seeing more Quick Looks hosted by you.

My copy just finished downloading when the QL ended. My day is spoken for (until UPF that is)!

I've never tried Monster Hunter before but I picked up the New 3DS today and grabbed it. Not sure if this is the game to start with, but, what the hell...

@spankmealotus: there's also the physical dpad, or new 3ds with c stick or circle pad pro. There are other options.

Oh man, I just got a Wii U and tri ultimate. I'm gonna play more of that then get the new 3ds and this

Oh man, the guild ladies have Qurupeco feather pens! Guess it's time to buy a New 3DS.

I got MH3U with my WiiU and barely touched it. I like it on paper, but didn't think it played well (WiiU controller sucks).

I'm watching this for Jason's smooth voice.

I came up with "Rockjaw" exactly two seconds before Jeff did. Pretty sure that means he owes me a million copyright bux.

Can't wait to get off work and pick-up my copy. B|

I still think MH as a whole is pure clunky garbage. The fact that some bosses LITERALLY took over half an hour to kill fucking blew my mind in MH3. Sorry, but until this dev actually tries to deepen the gameplay and not make it for the purely obsessive types I'll never enjoy it.

As soon as this N3DSXL system transfer completes. I'm diving into this game and no one is going to see me for about 10 days.

As someone who has never played a Monster Hunter game, mostly because I just do not want to play on or even own a handheld, I don't get the hate for it that always seems to show up on the site. I get if it's not for you, but it seems pretty great for what it's trying to be. Yeah it's got a sort of "single-player mmo" thing going on and is really grindy because of it, but then why do I not see the same amount of hate on, say, World of Warcraft videos? Am I missing something, or are people just arbitrarily tossing judgement around like usual?

The actual act of flexing is to add personality. Monster Hunter is a light hearted game about having fun and doing stupid things with friends while hunting brightly colored monsters, not about an oppressive, super serious atmosphere of dispair like dark souls or soul sacrifice or whatever you want to compare it to.

The reason for the delay is to teach you through negative reinforcement that you heal and sharpen when you're out of danger, not at any possible moment. They're generous enough to give you the effect half way through rather than at the tail end, but you've still got to make sure you chose the right time to do it or else you're going to get a hip check, diving tackle, or fireball to either negate some of the healing you just did or at least give you something else to worry about. This isn't any different from the estus flasks in the souls games, or even just using a heavier weapon.

That's kinda like complaining "jeez, that RTS battle took 30 minutes." The monsters in MH are less bosses and more the entire gameplay, so if you think of it that way it's not that weird of a thing. The whole point is the hunt. (That said, the hunts don't take that long once you know what you're doing.)

Definitely not for everyone, but this series is plenty deep. In fact, its fucking abyssal depths are why it's so hard to penetrate.

Blah blah, I'll stop boring you now.

The Circle Pad Pro XL is available stateside, it is just like most other Nintendo console accessories, pretty much only on their online store https://store.nintendo.com/ng3/browse/productDetailColorSizePicker.jsp?productId=prod30063

It's too bad Jason was constantly apologizing for liking this series throughout the video. Even though I dearly love MH3U on the WiiU, I'm not getting any MH games that aren't on console - it's so much better on the big screen and the camera controls seem like a mess on the 3DS.

Sounds like you never bothered to learn how deep the gameplay actually is if it's taking you that long to kill bosses. Unless you're talking about soloing end-game guild-hall bosses that are balanced for a party of 4 to kill in which case no shit it takes that long.

And there's a world of difference between slow and clunky and properly balanced for deliberate action. But you seem pretty determined to get your hate on so this is probably just a waste of time.

Fuck I need a N3DS.

One thing I really like about MH and I don't think any of the clones do is that the monsters have needs too. They get exhausted and need to eat or sleep and by knowing how a monster handles those things (e.g. where it likes to take a nap) you can get an advantage. E.g. in Mercenary Kings the bosses just run away and go to an arbitrary spot, there's no logic to what they do. In many other games I played the monsters never even retreat, they act like videogame bosses do, no sense of self preservation.

I really enjoy Jason's Quick Look style. He's very calm and collective while getting across as much information as he can. I'm glad there's still someone on the staff who knows how to deadpan with Jeff. I've never even played Monster Hunter. The only game remotely like it that I've played is Peacewalker and that's a bad Metal Gear Solid game. Even if I had the free time I can think of so many more time consuming games that I'd rather play. I just don't dig this game's styyyyyle. Thanks for the video and for the website.

My emotions on MH have run the gamut from love to hate to Stockholm Syndrome. The thing is, I love these games, but they are among the most hostile to new players of any game this side of DOTA, but whereas DOTA is just impenetrable from the outside, Monster Hunter appears to be relatively self-evident, but plays very differently from other games that happen to look similar.

I imagine a lot of people went into the game with an open mind, had an utterly miserable experience, and (understandably) gave up before any of it made sense. My guess is that's where most of the hate comes from.

I've really liked how Jason and Dan have rounded out the games coverage on Giant Bomb. Good stuff, fellas.

You probably are wasting your time. :P

I started with MH2 and hated the hell out of it. I tried it again when my cousin bought MHF2 for PSP and hated it. And then I bought MHFU after watching a bunch of Youtube tutorials, and oh boy, I got addicted to it.

The gameplay definitely feels terribly clunky on a first impression. It's not until you realize you are the one being clunky and not the game, that the game starts to click.

It's one of those games where you need to tell people, "You are doing it wrong". But hard to explain exactly what they are doing wrong in a short sentence or two. I found it easier to sit next to people and teach them the ins and outs of the game.

I did manage to get some of my friends into it by coaching them when they first started. Otherwise I'm sure they would have just quit. In fact, the friends I couldn't reach... Yeah, they definitely quit.