There are few upcoming video games that excite me greater than Monster Hunter: World. After an preliminary bout of skepticism over the transfer to a extra intuitive open-world setting, each successive piece of latest gameplay proven and each element expounded on makes me all of the extra wanting to rejoin Capcom’s ‘Cavepunk’ world after a protracted hiatus.
Capcom should be feeling assured too, as they’re letting everybody throw footage of the sport round. The newest slab is coming courtesy of Japanese website Dengeki Online. This time, 20 minutes of hacking, slashing, cooking and character-creating. There’s a bit little bit of Japanese textual content right here with no translation (but), however that is largely footage that speaks for itself.
The first chunk of footage is basically targeted on essentially the most thrilling components of Monster Hunter – the large weapons and the even larger monsters that you just’ll be utilizing them on – and nearly completely targeted on long-range fight utilizing bow and gun. Perhaps not essentially the most environment friendly strategy to deal harm within the collection, however simply the easiest way to get a great view of a monster and study its assault patterns from safely exterior of its pure assault vary, and thus a pure choose for a gameplay video.
I ended up skipping the 3DS entries within the collection, however bow fight on this newest Monster Hunter iteration is wanting a lot extra attention-grabbing than I bear in mind, and greater than a bit paying homage to Dragon’s Dogma. No longer is a bow simply an arrow supply methodology, however a multifunctional launcher able to multi-arrow charged unfold assaults and launching air-detonated bombardment shells. Not conventional bow-and-arrow habits, granted, however becoming for a world packed to the gills with nigh-invulnerable terror-beasts.
One significantly thrilling featured creature on this video is the Tobi-Kadachi, a big however agile blue-white quadruped lizard with some mammalian quirks to its design, together with flying squirrel-esque webbing to permit for gliding assaults, in addition to a big fanned tail that it could use for broad slapping assaults. It’s additionally able to channeling electrical energy by its physique, making it possible able to doling out the ever-frustrating paralysis standing ailment. I particularly love its animations for climbing up and leaping off tall timber and cliff partitions – very convincingly animalistic.
The second chunk of Dengeki’s footage is way extra carefully targeted on the nitty-gritty of Monster Hunting life, together with a peek on the character creation system (each for your self and your feline Palico companion) and a whirlwind tour of a few of the non-combat stuff you’ll be doing, together with getting your weapons tricked out on the blacksmith’s forge.
Most cute by far is a visit to the kitchens of the well-known Meowscular Chef (no, critically, that’s the official translation), who appears like a cat higher suited to punching dinosaurs within the face, however has devoted his life to the culinary arts. The cooking animations are nothing wanting phenomenal, and the meals appears scrumptious too. Cooking and consuming has at all times been a part of Monster Hunter, however by no means has it left me hungry and drawing up dinner plans simply from pre-release footage.
Outside of city, the video exhibits a few of the practicalities of dwelling on this planet of Monster Hunter, together with the brand new world map and navigation, and a bit little bit of subject cooking. There’s additionally a peek at utilizing your useful swarm of scout-flies to level you in direction of particular substances to brew up therapeutic potions, making gathering a way more free-flowing expertise; simply hold operating on by the world whereas the sport calls out necessary gadgets for you.
One attention-grabbing selection proven is the choice to maintain the map of every zone cut up up into distinct, numbered segments. In earlier video games, this was as a result of your entire world was damaged up into rooms with loading transitions between them, however within the extra open surroundings of Monster Hunter: World, they’re a great navigational help.
Being capable of name out ‘It’s headed to space 12’ to a celebration will undoubtedly pace up the method of studying the maps. Last factor proven right here is a little bit of footage of the gamers combating a Barroth, a creature coming back from earlier video games. It’s the sturdy-looking shovel-headed beastie coated in mud which doubles as armor plating when dried.
This footage units my final fears over Monster Hunter: World to relaxation. This is the Monster Hunter I’ve recognized and liked (despite its many flaws) because the PS2 period, now with nearly all of these thorny design points eliminated. One factor that appears particularly improved to me is the verticality of the sport. It’s not a lot that there are platforms and ledges, however pure variances in top, and only a few actually flat items of floor. The indisputable fact that the monsters navigate so gracefully throughout this terrain is a testomony to Capcom’s animators.
Monster Hunter: World is ready for launch on consoles subsequent January, with a PC launch to comply with quickly after.
