CAPCOM’s Monster Hunter series returns to PSP screens for the third time with Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. Known in Japan as Monster Hunter 2nd G, the series in Japan has phenomenal success selling 8.5 million copies as a whole with just over 2.3 million copies going to this incarnation of the series alone earning it the top place in all time sales for PSP games.

The Japanese fans of this game are just about the most die hard of all gaming fans, meeting in groups anywhere from the street’s of Japanese famous electronics prefecture Akihabara to the forest and woods PSP’s in hand for group monster hunting sessions, and the skill level of these fans is just as insane, with player refusing to use items or taking inferior equipment in against the biggest of monsters to prove their skill.

It stands as a testament to this series that such fans exist, but strangely elsewhere in the world the series goes largely ignored and it’s easy to see from the sales figures why CAPCOM are keen to replicate it’s success on these shores. Just check out the unusually large amount of viral marketing videos, which take the form of fly on the wall documentaries of Japan’s top Monster Hunters in the field – like The Blair Witch Project with a sense of humour.

You begin the game in a small hut with clothing designed for warmth rather than protection against an 100 foot wyvern and a selection of weapons that would be hard pressed to cut your dinner let alone the aforementioned wyvern (although veteran monster hunters will be pleased to know that you can carry ALL items and equipment as well as completed quest over from Monster Hunter Freedom 2).

As you take you first steps out of your hut you are greeted by a village of which you are the protector and as such you will need to complete quests for the village elder, which starts out easy enough gathering herbs and meat from herbivores.

These early missions are used as a gentle introduction into the game and importantly getting used to the impressive selection of truly diverse weapons on offer, which they have kindly provided you one of each of, so you can get a feel for what works best for you with out having to make a commitment to one weapon.

Soon the quests become more of a challenge as you face the assortment of wyverns, monster pigs and other creatures the series is famous for. These beasts will not go down without a fight, and many times a creature will seem impossible to kill, however by going back over older quest and collecting various materials carved from monster remains as well as other places, you can craft new weapons and amour and that is where the appeal lies: when you finally see a monster fall that has been the bane of your existence for days (and it will be days) there is not many gaming moments that can match the sheer bliss of that. On top of that you can relish in carving off the hide of the monster and wearing armour made from its own skin in future battles, adapting the creature’s attributes in the process.

For fans of Monster Hunter the new features are worth a purchase alone; there are new upgrades to existing weapons and amour (and all new weapons and armour), expanded storage boxes, new quests against a handful of new monsters as well as the returning monsters having new attacks, also if you don’t have any friends (or an internet connection) you will now be able to take a Felyne into battle with you (yes that’s a giant walking cat, and if your lucky it will even cook you dinner before heading out in a quirky little Japanese cut scene).

Technically the game is impressive with an enormous amount of content squeezed onto the UMD. The graphics (while the same as its predecessor) are impressive, with reduced load times helping the flow of the game and there is also the option to install the game should you feel the need. If this game hooks you be prepared to loose many an hour especially if you have friends who are also playing it either through local play or wifi gaming, although be warned the difficulty of mission multiplies by the number of hunters in you party.

Words > Jason Potter