Those who've bagged and tagged their last beastie in Monster Hunter Freedom can carve up some new carcasses in this meaty yet garden-variety sequel. The follow-up's visuals, controls, and play mechanics are clearly cut from the same (loin) cloth as its predecessor. Much of the new content simply involves new areas to explore, weapons to master, and loot to collect. Few of the original's shortcomings have been addressed, making Monster Hunter Freedom 2 a bigger but not necessarily better action adventure.

Transfer Credits

One bright spot is the option to transfer characters from the first game. Rare weapons and items are automatically traded in for tickets, which can be redeemed for new equipment. Some of your existing cash is carried over as well, and you can reset your character's appearance or even change gender. You can't, however, edit names, so switching a "Buffy" or a "Xena" into a manly hunter might confuse the local villagers. Other transfer perks include plans for a sword and extra clothing for "Piggie," your pet pig.

Once you're ready begin, a wave of déjà vu will hit you like the avalanche of snow that initially befalls your character. You start off in a small village containing a handful of vendors and buildings. New hunters can go on various training runs led by a genuinely funny instructor, or veterans can head straight to a posting board of quests, each offering varying challenge levels, time limits, entry fees, and so forth. While over 100 solo quests are available, players who team up with friends can complete more than 200 of these monster quests.

Grindhouse

Monster Hunter Freedom 2 also includes infrastructure support for the first time. Yet before you proudly hoist up a flagon of mead, dance with a nearby wench, and otherwise make with the merry. Be warned. Online content is for downloads, not multiplayer questing. Other unresolved issues from the first game include a slow camera that needs frequent adjusting, confining environments, an inability to save progress at any time (though you can finally pause the game at any point), and an emphasis on tedious grinding and gathering to get the right combination of equipment to tackle the more difficult encounters.

Monsters Brawl

What the game does right is the thrill of the hunt. From giant crabs and baboons to dinosaurs and wyverns, the creatures are both challenging and exciting to capture or kill. Each of 11 weapon types also offers distinct play styles and techniques to perfect, and crafting fans will find more to make here than at an entire summer at Martha Stewart's house. With the mini-games and side activities, you're looking at content that could easily last for hundreds of hours. It's just familiar content. The developers clearly played it safe with Freedom 2, all too eager to stay on target when they should have been aiming higher.

Article by: Scott Alan Marriott