Tainted Publications

I’m not going to mince words. I love Monster Hunter. I love the series. I always have. I began playing Monster Hunter on the ps2 way back when. It really feels like an eternity after its incarnations on the psp. To which I had also immersed myself. The vistas are captivating. The flora and fauna amazing. The animals are even more so. With this, MH3, the bar has been raised to a place that Wii owners are going to be chortling with delight. This is a Wii exclusive. Yep. Wii ONRY!

For sometime now the Wii has had some great exclusive titles. However I have not felt that the majority of them have been for the hardcore or mature gamer. Partly because the Wii itself wasn’t designed to be a powerhouse of graphic fury. It was meant to be an affordable platform for families to enjoy good games with solid playability. And Nintendo, had done just that. They also expanded their peripheral market to utilize their wii-mote technology. Some praise this, others like myself, aren’t too happy about it. I remember when the Sega Genesis (Mega Drive in other parts of the world) where some games had specific peripherals to be played with. Like the light gun that Sega had to compete with Nintendo’s. There was one game that had 5 mini games on it. Then there was the Terminator 2 arcade game and the Aerosmith arcade game that utilized it. Both of those games were also available on the SNES. Nintendo had a few more light gun games if I recall, which in my mind justifies the existence of the gun itself. In this generation of consoles we see a decided lack of peripherals from anyone else that Nintendo. The PS3 and 360 have cameras, keyboards and mice.
The Wii has, the nunchuk, the wheel, the fishing rod, keyboard, the wii-speak, the “blaster”, “link’s cross-bow”, the wii motion plus, and more than a few more that I can’t think of off the top of my head. Oh wait… one more. The retro controller and the retro controller pro.

What does this have to do with MH3 you ask? Well, there is a bundle with MH3 and the retro controller pro. Is it worth it? Hell yes! The retro controller is a great addition to your wii-mote collection. It makes playing SNES titles on your Wii a joy. It feels like you never left that gem of a console. With the pro, there is an addition of “wings” that your decidedly larger man-hands (or woman-hands) have an easier time gripping. It’s also a tad lighter they say. And how does this fit into the grand scheme of MH3? If you played it religously on the ps2 or the psp, your thumbs must have gotten used to the controls. Capcom and Nitendo probably noticed this considering monster hunter and Pokemon have been battling for the #1 franchise in Japan for years. Now, Nintendo has a win, win situation on their hands. Both mega-franchises! Huzzah!

It’s ok though. If you don’t care to get the bundle, you don’t have to. The wii-mote and nunchuk have a whole new set of moves, different for every weapon, complete with swings and chops of the wii-mote itself. Now onto the game.

MH3, looks better than any other version to date. In my opinion, it is one of the best looking games on the wii as a whole. The water shimmers in the distance as you run across a mountain path on your way to the next zone. As the wind blows on the top of the mountain snow is pushed along as you dash away from certain death. And when you dive into water it ripples like a pebble being skipped on a pond. YES! That’s right. When YOU DIVE into WATER! You get to swim! For most people reading this I’m sure it’s not going to mean much. But, for the seasoned hunter… it is arguably the last place hunters have yet to hunt. I didn’t think much of it until I actually tried it out. It brings a whole new feeling to a seemingly old concept. But, everything is solid. As a hunter, I love it.
However, it is not a game for everyone. The controls are hard to understand in some cases. The move sets are sometimes complicated. The gathering at times can be tedious.

With all that said, If you give it time and learn these things and stick with it, you will be given a game that is a true joy to play. Now add 3 friends, and you have an honest to god, fulfilling bonding experience. Add wings and pizza, and you got a full on PARTY!
Finally, enjoy the world you’re in, but don’t hesitate to let your imagination go to other places once in a while.

(This is dedicated to all my MH firends; Matt, Adam, Mike, Sean, and to those hunter who I have not crossed paths with yet.)

Monster Hunters UNITE!