It took quite a few tries, but I've finally gotten into the behemoth that is Monster Hunter. This Japanese phenomena has never done particularly well in the western market, but of course everyone knows that and most people know exactly why. Similarly to the "Souls" games, Monster Hunter requires the player to unearth a lot of information about the game on their own. I found however, that Monster Hunter was considerably harder to get into than Dark Souls, because the game is a lot more open ended early on. True, on a very first play-through of Dark Souls it can be hard to figure out where you need to go next, but once you've found the right path it takes a while to get lost again. In Monster Hunter Tri (the version which I've been playing), aside from some smal text boxes and early gathering quests, you are tossed headfirst into a world filled with a myriad of resources and monsters. For anyone new to the series, I strongly recommend picking up the Monster Hunter Beginner's Guide, which covers the basics of the entire series, so no matter which version you're playing it will be of great importance. There is some guidance by the game itself, but the intricacies of combat (which I'll elaborate on later) are never truly explained to the player. For example, it is extremely important to roll after each attack, as this will give you an opportunity to strike again sooner than simply letting the previous attack animation play out.

Like the "Souls" games, Monster Hunter uses "animation-priority", meaning that when the player uses a button input, the animation doesn't happen immediately like in a hack and slash. The animation (which can be quite long for the larger weapons) must completely play out before the player is able to strike again, and the player is also vulnerable while they are attacking (but not while they are rolling, making this technique all the more valuable). When I first picked up Monster Hunter, this system frustrated me more than it did in Dark Souls. But after pushing back at the game and making an effort to learn the ins and outs of combat, the system became extremely rewarding. By committing to actions the player must truly mean what they are about to do, because a slip up could cost them health. In the early stages of the game a healthy stock of potions is all that is needed to avoid death, and not many enemies deal a whole lot of damage. But I imagine later in the game this will not be the case. Simply put, I now love the combat in Monster Hunter, and from trying a few different weapons it's clear that the variety will be staggering.

The monsters do not have visible life bars in the Monster Hunter games, instead the player must discern the various "tells" that the monsters make. For example, a monster may develop a limp, or start drooling when they are low on health, signalling the player to give it all they've got to finally defeat the beast. This seemed fairly frustrating at first, because I normally like to know exactly how much damage I'm dong, but after time the system grew on me.

From what I can tell so far, the gameplay loop of Monster Hunter seems to be: gather materials, to combine and make items and upgrade and build new weapons, to complete quests and defeat larger monsters, to get yet more materials and upgrade weapons further. Breaking it down this much is selling the game short, and even knowing this is really all there is to the game, still excites me. I'm currently using a great sword and progressing through the various quests. I will say I've only spent 3 hours and I've barely scratched the surface yet. But I can't wait to learn all there is to learn, and try Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate when it arrives here early next year.

What does the GiantBomb community think of the Monster Hunter series? If you have any helpful info for beginners, it would be greatly appreciated!