LogFAQs > #949361467

#77 - Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Wii U, 2013)

I legitimately couldnt tell you the backstory for why I ever bought this game. I never played with Board 8. I never had any real life friends that enjoyed Monster Hunter. I dont think an excerpt from a gaming magazine drove me to play it. Maybe it was on sale and it looked different, so I tried it out? I have no idea, but my god, what a can of worms this game opened.

The gist of a Monster Hunter game is very simple to explain. You pick a weapon, you grab some gear, and you go out on a mission to hunt a monster. When youre done, you come back, use the spoils of your plight to craft new armor and weapons and then go out and hunt more dangerous monsters. Each weapon you pick will make it feel like youre playing an entirely different game. For example, my favorite weapons in the series are the Sword/Shield, Greatsword, Hammer, and Hunting Horn. I legitimately do not enjoy playing as many of the ranged weapons or the Longsword at all, but those 4 weapons really gel with my playstyle.

Eventually, youll reach a point where you find a set of gear that gives really good bonuses for the weapon you like to use, and one certain monster will drop the parts you need to make it. So you then have to go hunt it a few (dozen if you have really bad luck) times so you can build it. Then you equip it and feel like a total badass. For a few hunts and then theres a new set you see that will do even better. This is how Monster Hunter goes. Its not for everyone, but I love this gameplay loop. Its very easy to get addicted. This might be the single game Ive spent the most time playing in my entire life. Ive never spent an extended time playing an MMO or any game that incentivizes extended playing with continuous bonuses over time. All the time I spent with MH3U was entirely because I felt like playing it. Im pretty sure I broke the 400 hour mark. I actually dusted off my Wii U to check, but something horrible has apparently happened.


Im not too sad about it, because I will never come back to 3 in particular when I have 4, Generations, and World to play if I ever get the ol Monster Hunter itch, but it still feels like those 400 hours of my life where I had that itch the most have been erased from history.

---

Xbox GT/PSN name/Nintendo ID: TatteredUniform
http://www.scuffletown.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/tRBE1.gif