Monster Hunter

So, it's no secret that I am a big fan of Monster Hunter. Although the series does have issues (being inscrutable to newcomers or running the best version on the missing-a-second-analog-nub-and-no-true-online PSP to name just two) I am a true believer in the franchise and I think it has much to offer. Sadly, it's only been able to carve out a very small niche for itself here in the United States, but there's now an opportunity—maybe—to help change that.

Earlier this evening, my oldest son and I were sitting together with PlayStation Portables (PSPs) in hand, team questing in Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. After a while, he randomly turned to me and gave me a big hug, telling me that I was the best dad ever. I asked him why.

I just tried the El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron demo available on Xbox Live. Although I've been hearing about the game for quite some time and seen loads of screenshots, seeing the game in motion is something else entirely.

So the wife and I have spent the last couple of days playing Hunted: the Demon's Forge in co-op. This is an interesting game for the fact that Bethesda did not send out any pre-release copies to reviewers, instead mailing them to coincide with the retail sales date. In general, this is a sign of a publisher who has no confidence in the product, but I'm not quite sure what made them send it out with such little fanfare.

So a while ago I gave up on my dream of completely finishing Monster Hunter Freedom Unite since the upper-rank missions are clearly designed for team play, and I've been unable to find a group of people to quest with. However, my good friend @SilentHitoshura recently got into the game in a big way and I've also made contact with a few other folks who were interested in getting a group going.

Three Hundred Hours and Still Going Strong

HIGH A skin-of-my-teeth victory after a knock-down, drag-out, forty-five minute battle.

LOW Struggling to survive the nasty dual Tigrex mission... Twice.

WTF Watching my Felyne companion get the game-winning hit in on the last boss.

I announced this on twitter a few days ago, but it was such a milestone for me that I felt like a little micro-commemoration here at the blog would be appropriate. The big event? I finally finished the single-player campaign in Monster Hunter Freedom Unite on PlayStation Portable.

I scored a copy of Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom for cheap during Black Friday, and I've been putting time into it since then, albeit haphazardly. While it's true that my work schedule has been kind of erratic and disruptive to my game schedule (which clearly, is far more important) the truth of the matter in this case is that I'm having a hard time finding the motivation to push forward. The game is cute and I'm always interested in how developers implement team/partner mechanics in singleplayer titles, but Majin just isn't doing much for me.

Have you ever had a game that you just knew was going to take serious effort to complete, but you dug in for the long haul and stayed with it until the end? I'm not talking about the average (and tedious) 60-hour Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) or anything that's a simple matter of hours devoted. No, I'm talking about something that's really difficult, or something that presents some sort of extraordinary obstacle to overcome. Something like the video game equivalent of a brick wall.

The Third Time is (Kind of) the Charm

HIGH Getting saved a split-second before death by my AI sidekick.

LOW Getting helplessly pinned by bosses while the camera goes crazy.

WTF Why does this feel like it hasn't advanced in years?