monster hunter?

Soon as some one gets this game and puts a few hours in please post impressions.

The game sounds great but i played the demo i got on disk from GS and i found it insainly hard. i had to kill a monster but there was a time limit and every time i tried to kill the monster "which was gaurded by smaller monsters i was forced to retreat to regain health, by the time i cought back up with it it seemed its health had recoverd as well and i always ran out of time. Also i found the controls very wonkie. it was hard to keep the cammara were i needed it to be and i could not find a lock on feature. what would happen is the beast would charge and by the time i got the camra turned around ect it was charges again ect. also i had a lot of trouble lineing up my shots. Any way let me know your impressions.
do all the hunts have a time limit? can it be played SP with out online friends?

I had those same camera issues with the demo. But the AI is so organic and overall it was impressive, even for a demo.

Alas I shouldn't have posted since I don't have it yet. Maybe within 3 weeks.

WildCard wrote:

Soon as some one gets this game and puts a few hours in please post impressions.

The game sounds great but i played the demo i got on disk from GS and i found it insainly hard. i had to kill a monster but there was a time limit and every time i tried to kill the monster "which was gaurded by smaller monsters i was forced to retreat to regain health, by the time i cought back up with it it seemed its health had recoverd as well and i always ran out of time. Also i found the controls very wonkie. it was hard to keep the cammara were i needed it to be and i could not find a lock on feature. what would happen is the beast would charge and by the time i got the camra turned around ect it was charges again ect. also i had a lot of trouble lineing up my shots. Any way let me know your impressions.
do all the hunts have a time limit? can it be played SP with out online friends?

Friend bought it, says everything you said here. Online is better, and the lobby is far superior to any other Wii titles, not relying so heavily on friend code nonsense.

Really, I haven't had the same control issues you guys had. Probably because I am so experienced with Phantasy Star Online which feels very similar sans the lock on (use the classic controller or classic controller pro, it makes a world of difference). Pressing the shoulder button to center the camera feels like second nature to me. Plus, if you are really having that hard a time keeping up with the beastie, its always an option to use a paintball or two. This makes him pop up on the little mini map as a pink dot.

Not having a lock on was a little disorienting at first, but with a little practice I was becoming pretty accurate with my swings. While many are turned off by the delay present with each attack (unless you use a sword and shield or dual sword setup) I think it makes each weapon feel like it actually has weight to it. As others have said, you're swinging a weapon often far bigger than yourself; it's not going to swing around like a butter knife.

I myself have been having a blast, especially since I have discovered my favorite weapon so far, the hammer (I started out with the lance and used it for a couple hours, but it just didn't feel natural). Each person will have different tastes for what they prefer. I plan to still try some other weapons once I have time. The game is part resource gathering, part monster fighting, part item management. It probably helps that I enjoy MMOs like EQ and WOW as this makes this game right up my alley. I already put nearly twelve hours into the game (I have only had one day to play it so far), and can't wait to put much more time into it.

I believe the problem is when people go in expecting a God of War like experience where the game makes you feel like the bad ***. Someone on another message board said it best when they said that monster hunter is not about making the monster hunter feel like a bad ***. The point of the game is that the monster is the bad *** and you are merely its dinner unless you use your one advantage, intelligence. That and possibly teamwork if you have an online setup. Learn to play by the rules of game rather than fighting them because this game will not hold your hand (although it does more than any previous monster hunter title from what I hear).

Finally, as silly as this sounds, don't use the demo as a determinant for whether you like the game. It is a poor example of the full title. I was on the ropes after I experienced the demo. I am so glad I took the plunge though. So fun.